Iwo was important for 2 reasons: 1. It provided an airfield where wounded B-29 bombers that had just bombed Japan could land. 2. The airfield provided a base where P-51 Mustang fighters could take off to escort the B-29 bombers hitting Japan. If we had not wasted time taking Pelelieu and instead hit Iwo before the Japanese fortified it the casualties would have been less.😮😢

“Manila John” was an American hero and had achieved celebrity status during the war. He made national headline news and as a Medal of Honor recipient he did war bond tours and rallies all over the U.S. to help with the war effort. Anyone that didn’t know him was living under a rock. He’s one of the most revered and iconic Marines in U.S. history and even today Marines visit and pay their respects to his statue in his hometown of Raritan, NJ. While Japan was known as Land of the Rising Sun, the Philippines was known as the Pearl of the Orient Seas. Manila was one of the most beautiful cities in the entire world pre-WW2. As a New Jersey native, John’s first overseas assignment was with the U.S. Army in the Philippines. He loved the tropical paradise he experienced in Manila and desired to return there. However, he had completed his 3-year enlistment term and had been discharged from service in 1937. Apparently he thought the best way back to Manila was joining the Marines rather than in the Army. However, he was sent to Guantanamo, Cuba as his first overseas assignment with the Marines. The next assignment turned out to be Guadalcanal.

Last year the very last Congressional Medal of Honor winner of WWII died. Pvt. Woody Williams of West Virginia manned a flame thrower and eliminated over a dozen Japanese pillboxes on Iwo Jima. The two riflemen who covered him both were killed. When interviewed many years later Williams said there wasn't a day that passed, that he didn't think of them. He involved himself with veterans affairs until the day of his passing.

You absolutely must do Masters of the Air, it's part of the trilogy done by Spielberg and Hanks!!! You'll love it just AS MUCH as you loved the first two!!❤❤

John Basilone is absolutely a legend in the United States Marine Corps. Marine Camp Pendelton in California has a road named after him. He is held in the highest regards, even outside of the Marines.

You probably already received recommendations to watch Clint Eastwood’s “Letters from Iwo Jima” & “Flags of Our Fathers.” If you haven’t seen them, then I would love to see your reactions. Also - If you’re into classic movies, “The Best Years of Our Lives” would make for an excellent reaction.

D-day in military terms means the start of an operation. So the first day of Iwo Jima would be "D-day" then the following days would be D plus 1, D plus 2 and so on.

One of my father's best friends was a Marine. He landed on the third wave at Iwo Jima. For some reason, about a year before he died, Bill actually sat down with me and told me some of his experiences on Iwo. I dont know if you know this, but it's very rare for WWII combat vets and combat vets in general to open up about their experiences. I dont know why Bill talked to me because I was told later on by his family that he never talked to them about it, but i was very honored that he told me. He said as they approached the shore that they could hear machinegun round bouncing off of their amtrak front. When he talked, Bill would get this faraway look on his face and I remembered him softly, saying to himself, " Why am i here and my buddies are dead?". Rest in peace, Pvt. William "Bill Dick USMC. Semper Fi Bill

Actually they underplayed Basilone's accomplishments in battle and the things he did to earn his Medal of Honor!!! Now now that you've watched this episode and see his fate you should research!! Even today's modern Marine Corps STILL hold John Basilone as a legend!!!❤❤❤

Like I said 2 episodes ago, Admiral William Halsey insisted that the Island could easily be by-passed; it didn't need to be taken. At the end of the Battle for Iwo Jima the Island was declared secured. The day the troops were to return to their ships the order went out that everyone was to turn on their ammo. Fortunately some men disobeyed their orders and kept a clip or two because that night several hundred Japanese carried out a bansai charge. The fighting was hand to hand and before it was over several dozen men were wounded or killed. The last Japanese to surrender on Iwo gave up the fight in 1949. The last Japanese soldier finally surrendered in 1972!😮

21:30 that’s my favorite part of the entire series. John is desperately trying to keep these kids alive by managing their attitudes and expectations

If you wanna know more of the battle of iwo jima there 2 films: letters from iwo jima(told from the perspective of the Japanese) and Flags of Our Fathers(American perspective)the landing scene shows how much the japonese prepare and how devastanting was.

D-Day just means the day of an amphibious landing. Technically, every naval invasion of the war was a D-Day, Normandy was just the most famous D-Day. They didn’t show it, but the Japanese commander ordered his forces to hold their fire until the landing beaches became crowded with Marines and vehicles. When he thought there was a suffficient amount of Americans on the beach, he ordered all of his machine gunners, artillery, and mortars to open fire all at once, and they obliterated the Americans.

Understand something. My uncle was a Marine from 1950-1955. My dad was a Marine from 1971-1977. My sister from 1995-2015. My cousin has been in since 2002. The all to a man STILL hold John Basilone as a legend of the Corps. The man is revered 80 years later. Basilone is HIM.

Basalon was that famous, there is still a day celebrated in his home ever year

I grew up in New Jersey a few miles from John Basilone’s hometown. I knew all about him before this miniseries ever aired and it was still gut wrenching to watch.

You are right. I thought Band of Brothers was excellent, but I liked The Pacific more

Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, and Okinawa were the 3 most famous island battles of the Pacific theater. You’ve probably seen the picture of Marines raising an American flag on Mount Suribachi, the highest point on Iwo Jima. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_the_Flag_on_Iwo_Jima It’s one of the most famous pictures in American history. It happened relatively early on in the battle. 3 of the 6 marines pictured raising the flag would die later in the battle.

Thank you for reacting. My father was decorated as a forward mortar scout on Iwo Jima. He never came back the same.

The difference in Pacific is the Japanese believed due was more honorable then surrendering, this made them very hard

Keep at it, your reactions are better than most others I watch! Much appreciated brotha!

oh come on dont do dexter, do masters of the air.

Whether or not Basilone was as big as portrayed in the series is hard to know, as none of us actually lived through the 1940’s. He may well have been at the beginning of the war, but I don’t think that he was as universally recognized as someone like Audie Murphy.

"Highest casualty rate" ironically, that belongs to the Army Air Force, especially the 8th AF flying from England to Europe. It was such a deadly service that a bomber pilot had a life expectancy of under two weeks. Oh, and apropos of nothing much: Elie! Coffee!! Just do it, pal.

Different branches have different critiques. The Air Force is known for being very soft”cushy” the Army brass is kinda thought of as overly cautious to a fault, and Marine generals have always been seen as very willing to sacrifice Marines lives to achieve their glory.

No Dad cameo? Dude!

John and Lena had more time together than this episode shows, but of course it wasn't nearly as much as it should have been.

Hanks is in band of brothers two times, and he narrated the Pacific

You are confusing "casualties", which are KIA, WIA and POW/missing with KIA. 6,000+ Casualties does not mean 6,000+ KIA. The Japanese OTOH, their casualty totals almost always were nearly 100% KIA. Any invasion day is called D-Day for that operation. It wasn't just 6/6/44. 02/19/1945 was D-Day at Iwo Jima. There was never an island in the Pacific that the Marines invaded that they did not take. Iwo Jima was a fly-speck of an island. With the dormant volcano Mount Suribachi on one end and endless crags and caves throughout the island. Despite being very small, the Japanese commander on Iwo was one of the best the Marines faced in the war. He dug in very deep and forbid Banzai Charges. Watch the Clint Eastwood produced/directed Letters From Iwo Jima. It is told from the Japanese perspective and is an excellent movie. Iwo was an iconic battle in the PTO and the picture of the Marines raising the second flag on Suribachi became the iconic photo of the war of the Marine Corps to this day.

Dday was a generic term for planning purposes, d day h hour for place holders for the date and time of an invasion or offensive or some some other planned event.

Hey Elie...are you aware that your reaction to Ep 9 is hidden from view? 🙁

The Pacific is the most expensive TV show HBO has ever produced

The Battle of Iwo Jima and events surrounding it is explored at length in two companion films directed by Clint Eastwood, "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima." The first is from the perspective of Americans, the second from the perspective of the Japanese, so it's a rare case of seeing a battle depicted from both sides.

If you want to react to the final hbo war mini series, GENERATION KILL is highly enjoyable and EXTREMELY REALISTIC and about as close to the source material as you could get. Pass on masters of the air, its garbage, not based on anything. the acting is awful, the cgi is terrible, it was just all around bad which is why hbo passed on tom hanks this time.

No wonder this series was a flop when you make a TV series about WW2's Pacific Theatre and make the Iwo Jima episode 99% RomCom and 1% action and don't get me started on the Melbourne episode.