As a great scholar once said. "The US is like 50 war tribes in a trench coat with a defense budget big enough to fight god."

What nobody has mentioned is how many lives the 77th probably saved going that hard at the young division during the war game. They taught those kids some very valuable lessons.

“Be careful. The older I get, the less a lifetime sentence is a deterrent “. Unknown

Im 53. Bit of training. Went paint balling with my teen son and his friends. One kid cried. I had fun.

I'm 62 and every time any cheeky youngster calls me grandad I just say "I don't know, what was your grandma called?"

Hes the history teacher we all wished we had in school

That old man "greeting" people at Walmart that you made fun of? It is entirely possible the he patrolled the I Drang Valley with The 1st Cav. "We Were Soldiers Once and Young".

My only wonder is how many of the 77th failed their eye exams? (:

"Number 1 seed in the tournament gets a bye, don't hate the player, hate the game" is a criminally underrated line. lol.

My great grandfather was 77th through all the things described. He finished WWII at 35 years old. I love this original video because it’s something I can share with my family about history. I’m blessed to be retired from service and staying here in Okinawa. Land and sea fought for by my great grandfather and my great uncles in the Navy.

As a sixty year old USMC Veteran, disabled, I know for a fact I'll never again have the strength/stamina I did when I became a Marine at the age of 18. THAT said, I also know the two Tours I 'Enjoyed' and the decades that followed, all the life experiences I've enjoyed, gives credence to the phrase- "Old age and treachery will surmount youth and exuberance!" Damned right! ;-) LOVE Nick, and his style of Oration/Teaching! Whoever gets him as a Student is Blessed!

What's even crazier about Doss saving 75 men is that is probably not the accurate number. The army wanted to credit him with 100 men saved. Doss said he felt it was actually closer to 50 men that he lowered down, so it was decided to split the difference and credit him with 75.

To use a military phrase: “Go shit me a couple of divisions.”

Also just a point to remember is that the older men had already lived through the Great Depression and understood more about hard living than any other generation since. My father was in the Navy in the South Pacific on an island repairing fighter planes, he was 23 when he volunteered he was already an airplane mechanic.

38:38 original quote “all your base, are belong to us” it’s a very bad translation from Japanese on an old video game

Navy basic, 2016, we had a 34 year old guy named Chang, we called Grampa Chang, he was the guy you asked how to fold your rack sheets into 45s and shine your boots and dress shoes. And he was the one to teach us how to use an iron to get the creases. None of us ever had to use one before.

Regarding the Okinawa surrender stats, I saw in the comments on another video that the Japanese soldiers did some torture to some 77th PoWs and once the 77th learned of that, well...

What's the difference between a "War Story" and a "Fairy Tale"? A "Fairy Tale" starts with "Once Upon a Time", a "War Story" starts with "Now This Ain't no Bulls*it" (although sometimes it's "And There We Were").

Or as Wyatt Earp said "speed is fine, accuracy is final"

Here's the thing; all of those older guys were likely working class men during the Great Depression. They probably looked at military training and combat as, "Well, shit, this sucks, but at least we get fed and have a place to live and get paid."

I volunteered to be a number for my country in 1968, Sent to Southeast Asia. My dad volunteered to be a number in 1941, sent to South Pacific. Many of my friends did the same as their dads did before them. My father ended his service at Okinawa. I ended my service at Okinawa. Thanks pop! Okinawa was a much different duty for me thanks to you and many other brave guys who were numbers for their country.

My late father, who was 28, almost 29 years old, enlisted in the US Army in early 1943..He was the second fastest runner in his company! He served in a medical unit until 1946. He barely survived & helped feed & treat many concentration camp victims.Yeah, these spoiled entitled college brats are clueless fools! Miss you Dad!

These guys are essentially Special Forces with all the training they went through. They had HELL MONTHS not just Hell Weeks

Ukraine are currently using their middle aged men to fight against Russia. They have more life experience. Better living with hardship. They panic less. While also saving the young to rebuild the country, once the war is over. The average Ukrainian soldier, on the frontline is 43 years old!

This is why most people in the US I feel respect and admire our soldiers and veterans. Those who join the military sacrifice their lives, their time, their dreams to further the American Dream as a whole. One can only hope that those who don't will get the opportunity to realize it and be thankful.

18yo's = cannon fodder. 30yo's = war fighters.

I've had 40+ years of contemplating the most diabolical ways of hurting someone who wants to FAFO

When I joined the Marines at 23 I had to laugh to myself as the DI took all the recruits and had a teaching session on how to shave. Blew my mind how many guys had never learned how to shave properly. I'd take the 30 year old's to war every time.

im from the philippines .. and i just realized😅 theres a monument in leyte named "the landing" .. it depicts the historic amphibious landing of general mcarthur, and the completion of his promise when he left the country years earlier, his promise to the philippines is probably one of the most famous quote in philippines history! general mcarthur promised to the philippines "I SHALL RETURN!" .. and he did! AND I THINK HES WITH THEM OL' BASTARDS ...

When I was in the military and if you went to the beach and got a severe SUNBURN that kept you from working (in uniform) then you were eligible for a Captain's Mast for 'damaging military equipment'. Seen it happen with a reduction in pay for two months.

What always got me was 43,000 CONFIRMED kills for the 77th ID. A lot of the island warfare included flamethrowers and explosives, meaning a lot of demise and burial all in one lit fuse, and once they're buried there's no confirmation counting done. So that total kills number is potentially significantly higher, meaning their ratios were potentially more impressive. But, hey, they weren't here for the trophies, they were only here to get the effing job DONE and get the eff HOME. Dad's got better things to do than spend all day dealing with your penny-ante bullsh!t. Just get done so I can go do the important stuff at home!

40yr old in the US Navy. Back in March (2024), got hit by a car while walking to my car. Fractured (not broken) tibial plateau and a need for my meniscus to be repaired. Mostly annoyed because I was planning to fly home for leave the next day. We ‘old folks’ can be quite tough.

Robert Duvall in diner on Second Hand Lions, and Colin Firth in bar on Kingsman. FAFO

I was 29 when I joined the Navy, the cutoff at that time was 34. Most of the guys in my company at bootcamp were 17 to 22. They looked at me like I was an old man, lol. I did a lot less pushups than most of them, because I knew how to keep my mouth shut. lol. Our Company Commanders, a couple of 1st Class Petty Officers, wanted me to be the recruit company commander. But they couldn't force me to, I had to volunteer to do it. I quickly saw that the first three guys that tried did more pushups than anyone else, so I was like, no thanks. I know how to do a pushup. They saw in my records that I was a Drum Major in my High School Band, so I knew how to give directions and I knew how to march. I would have done a good job, it's just all those pushups you had to do when someone else fucked up, nah. I'm good.

I graduated high school in 1979, and while I was on school, there was a Japanese soldier who was found on some small island who still didn't know that the war was over.

something else to take into account is the marksman scores of most of the 77th its hard to leave many pow's when your taking the head and shoulders off every enemy you come across.

All your islands belong to us is a gaming reference. All your bases belong to us. I think it originated in StarCraft in reference to the Zerg rush tactic… but I could be wrong about that, but it is a gaming reference.

The one thing I always hate with people claiming that America came in late or something is that it was only 6 months before Pearl Harbor when the Soviet Union was invaded by the Germans. The war wasn't over, it was only just getting started. The "America came in late" argument only really works for World War 1. And yet, despite "only" entering the war with 4 years left to go, in that time the United States went from the world's 19th largest military to the world's largest and most powerful military by far, the latter being a title it still holds to this day. All while also supplying the British, Australians, Canadians, AND the USSR. For a reference for the age, the Army currently only accepts a recruit up to the age of 35 and the Marines go to 28.

I did not think of it until Daniel mentioned it, but yeah, they 77th was practically getting SF training with these various "experiments". Great observation!

Nick is by far the best history channel on the internet. The humor/punchlines are 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼

When I was at MEPS in Sacramento joining, one dude that was part of our group was in his late 40's. Which I thought was past the max age.

I was 30 when I joined the army lol. Hell yeah old age and Treachery. I love it. I'm 52 now

I monitor you guys daily waiting for these reactions....still waiting for the man hole cover story😂😂😂

"Why is there always time to do it twice, but not enough time to do it right the first time!" - my mother.

My take on the taking of POWs is these guys probably got families and by the time they got to the Pacific and knew the Japanese fake surrendered a lot, so why take the chance.

37 and 32? I'm right there with y'all! I'm 35, but damn... Us old dudes can throw down! Can't wait to see what y'all got going next! Love you guys, and stay safe, and keep your arms close and maintained for the next one!

I went through Parris Island when I was 23. I was older than one of my Drill Instructors. As a parody on the nickname given to John H. Lejeune, who was Commandant for so long he tried to sell his official residence upon retirement. So i was called "the Grand Old Man of Recruit Training "

Wait a damn minute, I'm a 54 year old Desert Stormer now Texas State correctional officer, anyone want to test me?

His merch for this video is outstanding!

I love your channel guys and also Fat Electricians channel.. you have brought so much joy to life and also information.. Kudos to you...

Going to a newly stood up division was probably better for the AARP division since they did not have to modify existing practices to play to their strengths but instead got to use their experience to figure out how to complete the mission. And it was "Be all that you can be" that was the siren song of my enlistment.

38:23 It’s a classic meme. An old game (I can’t remember which one) got translated poorly when sent to America, and the most famous kind from it is “All your base are belong to us.”

Right. As documented in the book, The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940-1941: The Forgotten Story of How America Forged a Powerful Army Before Pearl Harbor, America DID have a battle doctrine by Pearl Harbor, at least for the war in Europe. America DID have the command structure of a modern army, forged between 1940 and 1941 through a series of massive war games all across the South that essentially contributed to the formation of the army that would wage war in World War Two with the generals already sorted out, Patton and others among them, with a lot of career noncoms still with their units, even though many of the recruits left at the end of their enlistments, that was soon to change when the war broke out. Many of those recruits came back because of the draft and because of recruitment. The ranks were there, the divisions ready to be filled and trained, the order of battle already determined, tactics, logistics, already tried and improved upon. All they needed was troops and materiel; the structure was already in place. That is one of the huge misunderstood facts of World War Two. We weren't unready. We had been preparing for two years. The United States was far more prepared to go to war at the time of Pearl Harbor than the media portrayed at the time, and that historians have often missed.

The "I shit you not" stories are some of the best.

I was waiting on this one. Nick is great

Looks can be deceiving

I wonder how many soldiers in the 77th division cheated on their eye exam. ( if you know, you know. )

I joined the US military 3 times, 1st hitch was in the Army at 17. 2nd was Navy at 27 and 3rd was 31 in the Army. I can fully relate with everything Nic is talking about, because I went through it. The 2nd and 3rd times I was called everything from Old Man to Grandpa.

The National Guard of several States were activated by the President or their Governor and sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. Men 55! They still fight and show youngsters how not to die when possible.

I'm 46 and have been in pain for 26 years. My nephew came to live with when I was 38, I' sure he is stronger than me now but he knows how far I will go if needed and he is unwilling to test it.

Nic is funny asf great reaction guys. Yeah the Bismarck sunk on its maiden voyage but man it sunk the hms hood In like 6 minutes and there was only 3 men that didn't parish 1415 went down with the ship

Plus there was a lot of "isolationism"...I>E> A LOT OF Americans didn't want to get involved in another war. That's why America didn't come "militarily" in the picture until 43.

there is a difference between a "personal problem" and a "we problem" .

"All your Island are belong to us" is a play on words of "All your base are belong to us", an infamous Internet meme back in the early 2000's. It's based on a poorly translated phrase from the opening cutscene of the Japanese video game Zero Wing ported to the Sega Saturn in the 1990's. Long story short, an overwhelming force just took every single base you had and there's not a damn thing you can do about it.

You guys should do his video on the last war chief, Joe medicine crow. As a montanan that's part native, I have a regional and cultural pride from his story. It's not as popular on reaction channels but it's so worth it

The phrase "All your base are belong to us" is a venerable old meme from the 90s, apparently from an old badly translated game called Zero Wing. It was even used as a cheat code in, if memory serves me correctly, Warcraft III, along with another line from Zero Wing "Somebody set up us the bomb"

He needs to be a History teacher. Our kids are lacking there and he puts in a way they will listen too.

A Vietnam vet I knew who was put in logistics, and eventually got to pick which helicopters he flew on, told me a valuable piece of advice...fly with guys that have grey in their beards. He said they will fly high, while the young guys fly low looking for something to shoot at...but also getting shot.

Suggestion: watch The Limping Lady. The story of the American spy that drove the Nazi's crazy. Fat Electrician does "as usual" a great job. They made a movie about her called "A Call To Spy" but the movie seems more Hollywood than factual. And Nick covers more of the story than the movie does.

Lol, i joined at 36 and almost instantly got the name "Old Man Penn"😂

The statue of liberty patch was used during the first world war for the liberty division check out the Sabbaton song the lost battalion from their last stand album there's definitely something in the water them their yankees be drinkin.

"All your base (are belong to us" is an early internet meme derived from a video game with very poor localization. "Give us up the bomb.

I knew two guys who got Article 15ed for getting sunburned. Charge was destroying Government property. Both got fined and 2 weeks of restriction.

Love your posts. Mama wanted to be a Marine but would have been a clerk in the Navy… Dad always felt cheated: had triple deferment: born ‘1914, functionally blind in left eye, making steel decking that ended up in LST ‘s. My choices in 1969 were nurse, teacher & mother. ( so I do all 3)

I have a step uncle who was in Nam. He would tell the most hilarious stuff. Even when he was in a real fight, he'd make it funny. I haven't that long since then.

The old guys that can whoop your ass trope rocks hard in RED Retired Extremely Dangerous, yall should watch it (even casually if not as a reaction) it's a fun movie that I love rewatching on occasion and it's got a stacked cast!

Whats scarier, A bunch of young men that need to prove they are him? Or the old men that KNOWS he's him?!

As a 37 year old that spent time in Iraq as infantry back in the day, when I go to work.... I am there to do my job. They all had the same mentality! They had a job to do and they did it fucking well!

The other thing about guys averaging 32 years old in the early 1940s: those dudes spent their young adulthoods in the Depression, being out of work, maybe one of the many thousands who got a job in the Civilian Conservation Corps (which, oh by the way, was run by the U.S. Army). Many of them were intimately aware of what doing without was all about, which is almost a job requirement for military success. Just ask the Marines.

16 unit citations!! where did they have the room on their uniform! BTW The 77th ID was also the Lost Battalion of WW1 !!! Heroes of both world wars!

"Now all your island belong to us". I can't remember the name of the video game but it was considered the worst translated video game. It went something like: Hero- Main screen turn on Villain (in bad robot voice). Hello gentlemen. We will win this battle. All your base are belong to us.

"All your island are belong to us." is a paraphase of an ancient meme "All of your base are belong to us." from the a badly translated Japanese game for the Sega Genesis called Zero Wing.

America at the beginning of WWII: Oh no! A world war started and we aren't ready? Well, guess we have to make sure that never, ever happens again...

Sweet been waiting for this reaction

I'm 50... I ain't no gramps. Old man strength and decades of training boi. Lol

53:00 "Take no prisoners" is a war crime. The most likely reason for the high ratio is that remember All of the 77th were considered Expert Marksmen with a ton of experience. They were likely getting more lethal head and chest hits than the average grunt. Hard to take POWs if everybody's first shot kills the other guy. Also, the 77th was going through them so quick that the Japanese leaders didn't have time to realize how bad they were screwed and choose to surrender. The average Japanese soldier wasn't big on surrendering without orders in triplicate from somebody really high up the chain of command. Some didn't surrender even on orders from the Emperor.

Old men have a much bigger hate tank...and it's full.

slow is smooth and smooth is fast. I learnt this way before I went into usmc marine corps boot where? my grandma and grandpa. " a stich in time saves nine" we fixed our own clothes, grew up poor. fixed our own shit. In bootcamp, i could not believe how many pussies would cry at night. I slept like a babe. I was in San Diego, even slept through a few earthquakes I felt so at ease.

The way they trained back then and we wonder why they were so tuff to beat .

Yes after WWII, the USA became the superpower that we are, but let’s be sure to point out that if the USSR had not went on a conquer and subjugate rampage, there would have been no need for the USA to commit so many resources and would have done what happened after WWI, settled back into our own interests. But since the Soviet Union decided they were going to take over Europe and hopefully more, the USA stepped up as the counterpoint to their aggression and has been doing that ever since to any nation that tried to push around our friends, allies, and pretty much anyone who needed our help.

I was twenty eight years old when I was at Benning. Even one of the drill sergeants called me grandpa. 😁

Old Man strength Is a real thing!

Everyone seems to miss the chapter 1 title joke... It's the first line of a cadence that has been around for a long time. We used it in the '93 at RTC San Diego. My division was the last through it.

When will you learn When will you learn That you dont touch the boats

Yes, to every thing said. Especially how awesome the Gore-Tex shelled, Military Sleep System is, compared to the well insulated bags those guys had, that turn into sponges in wet weather, and weigh a ton, no matter how "improved" your load bearing equipment is. Old guys get it done, and go home. Get in, get out. No fucking about.

I love watching y’all react to his videos. Nik is the best and y’all are too❤❤

I can't believe that you forgot Uncle Al's cookies. I hope you feel sufficient shame.

Noland Ryan pitched a no-hitter at age 42.

And a lot of those 30-year-olds had taken part in the '40-41' war games, and had then mustered out. But they had already been blooded, often literally in the war games, which amassed their own casuality toll. A lot of these guys knew the job already, and were ready to fight.

"All your base are belong to us" is a phrase from an old game that spawned a weird moment in pop culture in the late 90s