Dale Dye's "Pacific War" Blog

[Terminus]

That would be a no... Who has a pink toilet, anyway?[:D]

[Raverdave]

*sigh* when I was a kid the "pink" toilet was in vogue  circa 1964-68.   It was pink with the "lid" being black plastic.

[Terminus]

(shudder)...[X(]

[trauth116]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

Trauth...

Respectfully I have to disagree - I believe that my reaction was right on the mark. Australians I have met, will typically *strictly out of courtesy* refer to America and the war - What Mr Dye wrote - read that he took that to be the proverbial kiss on the proferred ring. The conversations that Mr Dye so colloquially mentioned was, in my personal experience, definitely not the matter of deference that Mr Dye's own words made it out to be.
The part I am specifically referring to is his entry:

They understand that only the intervention of the American Marines put a stop to that and they remain grateful for it.

Underline added for emphasis.

Only? Imo, that is a little more than mere prideful posturing of an ex-jarhead- but more about completely missing the point about what those people he had had conversations with. Now this is something no American is going to figure out until they come down to Australia for a while, and talk to people of that same generation themselves. I mean, really, if you are expected to be a historical expert, it shouldn't be all that that unrealistic to actually write like one.

On another note:
-Interestingly enough the Battle of Guadalcanal nor Coral Sea (or Santa Cruz, or Eastern Solomons or, etc...) get no coverage in the USA on their anniversaries (you ca't really count some crap program on the History Channel as such either imo) - Hiroshima usually does as does Pearl Harbor; it is an interesting juxtaposition that Coral Sea and Kokoda track - does get such regular coverage in Australia in the mainstream news outlets.

I think though in considering things, the only person I would seriously consider contacting might be Peter FitzSimons.

[Plodder]

I think though in considering things, the only person I would seriously consider contacting might be Peter FitzSimons.

LOL, now his reaction to Capt. Dye's remarks would be interesting to hear. We'd probably hear him from this side of the Tasman..[:D]

[aysi]

I think though in considering things, the only person I would seriously consider contacting might be Peter FitzSimons.

Sorry to chime in but there are far better authors\historians to consult before i would listen to this guy,really he is just a big blow hard that loves the sound of his own voice.I thought his kokoda book was very poor just a rehash of the Australians at war series and Lex McAulays two great books,Peter Hams Kokoda from last year is far better,but FitzSimons has the machine behind him so he gets all the press.After a book on Kokoda and Trobruk i dont know what other famous Aussie battle he can cherry pick,bet he is pissed that Les Carlyon wrote that Gallipoli book a couple of years ago...........maybe he will make one up

[Raverdave]

Peter Brune wrote a better account of the the track in his book "Those raggard bloody heros".  Les Carlyon is up there as one of the best Military (Australian) writers.   Peter Fitzsimons writes for the "General Public" but at least he is getting Australian's to read Australian military history even if it is jingoistic.

[Neilster]

Fitzsimons is a bit of a knob IMHO.

Cheers, Neilster

[Fred98]

[font="compatilfact lt regular"]The truth is better than the myth.[/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"] [/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"]Post war, the Japanese records were studied and they had no firm plans to invade Australia.[/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"] [/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"]However the Allies did not know that at the time and the Japanese had just achieved one victory after another.[/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"] [/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"]It was obvious to the Japanese that the US would use Australia as a base to start counterattacks. So the Japanese wanted to control the air and the sea to the east of Australia thereby cutting communication.[/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"] [/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"]The plan was straightforward.  Capture Port Moresby and Guadalcanal and project air and sea power form there.[/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"] [/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"]They landed troops on the north coast of Papua New Guinea and marched over the Kokoda Track to attack Port Moresby. An invasion fleet set out to attack Port Moresby from the sea.[/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"] [/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"]At the same time a force would construct an airfield on Guadalcanal.[/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"] [/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"]The Australian army defeated the Japanese on Kokoda, the US marines defeated the Japanese on Guadalcanal and a US fleet intercepted the invasion fleet in the Battle of the Coral Sea.[/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"] [/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"]Due to the heavy fighting in both locations, the Japanese were unable to combine their forces which meant that strategically speaking, the US marines and the Australian army were supporting each other inspite of being thousands of ks apart. As they continue to do today.[/font]
[font="compatilfact lt regular"]-[/font]

[KG Erwin]

This is interesting: apparently one of the actors couldn't hack Dye's bootcamp routine, so the guy just packed up and left. No names will be mentioned, but he would've been one of the main characters. The cast list has been reshuffled.

[KG Erwin]

A shot from early filming. Judging from the uniforms, this is hitting the beach at Guadalcanal, August 7, 1942 (raw shot -- CGI to be added later) :

[105mm Howitzer]

You guys want to talk about forgotten? Try the Canadian battalions sent to Singapore early 1941 ( or was it late 40, heck ,even I cannot remember) It involved a mix of regulars and militia troops, but all fought to the very end, and so ended up being among the first Allied troops to be captured by the Japanese.

[aysi]

Try the Canadian battalions sent to Singapore
 
try,the Canadian Bn sent to Honk Kong....thats better 

[KG Erwin]

Fine, guys, but this miniseries , as in the style of BoB, focuses upon one unit and three central characters. Two of the three wrote books documenting their experiences. The third (John Basilone) won the MOH but didn't survive the war.

Leckie and Sledge went on to write classics ( "Helmet For My Pillow" and "With the Old Breed"), so there is ample extant material for a series dedicated to the 1st Marine Division in WWII. That's what the series is based on.

[JudgeDredd]

"Helmet For My Pillow"

Am I the only childish grown up here to find this amusing?

[KG Erwin]

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

"Helmet For My Pillow"

Am I the only childish grown up here to find this amusing?

Whatever did you mean? Remember, I'm an American. My sense of English humor doesn't understand that banter.

[JudgeDredd]

It must be the British in me then [;)]

[Terminus]

ORIGINAL: 105mm Howitzer

You guys want to talk about forgotten? Try the Canadian battalions sent to Singapore early 1941 ( or was it late 40, heck ,even I cannot remember) It involved a mix of regulars and militia troops, but all fought to the very end, and so ended up being among the first Allied troops to be captured by the Japanese.

Also some of the first to be murdered after being captured.

All things aside though, I don't think we should come down so hard on this series. If it IS BoB in the Pacific, then I'm very much looking forward to it. So what if it's US troops AGAIN; it's an American network making a product for the American market. Big deal.

[KG Erwin]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

ORIGINAL: 105mm Howitzer

You guys want to talk about forgotten? Try the Canadian battalions sent to Singapore early 1941 ( or was it late 40, heck ,even I cannot remember) It involved a mix of regulars and militia troops, but all fought to the very end, and so ended up being among the first Allied troops to be captured by the Japanese.

Also some of the first to be murdered after being captured.

All things aside though, I don't think we should come down so hard on this series. If it IS BoB in the Pacific, then I'm very much looking forward to it. So what if it's US troops AGAIN; it's an American network making a product for the American market. Big deal.

Right. But here's the fact of the matter -- other than some excellent documentaries, the contribution of the US Marines has been encased in Hollywood crap, for the most part.

What these guys really went through, especially in the desperate days on Guadalcanal in August/October 1942, is not well known by the general public.

[KG Erwin]

Latest blog post:

"Saturday, 25 August 2007
Week 2: Ashore on The Canal and Hunting

It's hot and muggy here in tropical North Queensland just as it was on Guadalcanal back in August 1942. We've managed to sweat our way through a second week of filming on this epic and are just about to begin night shoots. That's grueling on everyone, but a glance up at the night sky to see the Southern Cross hanging over us just as it did over the men who fought on the awful island during World War II is an inspiration. So far we have been running unopposed patrols out of the beachhead perimeter established to defend against a Japanese counter-landing. In a couple of story-days, General Vandegrift will realize the real threat to Henderson Field will come from the jungle at his rear and re-orient the Division perimeter. At that point we will stage the infamous Alligator Creek fight along the Tenaru River and see the devastation that can be wrought by heavy machineguns with inter-locking fields of fire backed by good mortar crews and 37mm anti-tank cannons firing canister rounds. The 900-man Ichiki Force is out there in our jungle somewhere and they plan to hit the 1st Marines sector along Alligator Creek. We've read about it, we've studied it, we've rehearsed it and this week we are going to re-fight it. Our production and set designers have done a masterful job re-creating the area up to and including the shot out LVT-1 AmTrac that was nosed into the creek on the night that the fight happened. The sand bar where most of the attacking Japanese died and piled up likes stalks of chopped wheat is also there. Sitting behind the sights of an M-1917A1 water-cooled machinegun or looking over the splatter shield of a 37mm cannon, it's not hard to believe you are actually on Guadalcanal at that moment in time. And at night, under flare-light, it's even spookier. More from the battlefront next week. Semper Fidelis."