"The Pacific" gives the viewer an experience of the war in the Pacific through the eyes of three very different men: Sgt. John Basilone, PFC Bob Leckie and PFC Eugene Sledge. The result is a complex portrait of the experience of the 1st Marine Division in WWII.
This story covers a much longer period than "BoB." The combat action stretches from 1942-1945. Also,Easy Company stood at 200+ men,while the 1st Marine Div. totaled appox. 15,000, 9,000 men in the 3 infantry regiments (7th, 5th, 1st) that bore the brunt of the action. Each principal in this series had a different experience of the war: Basilone (7th Mar. Regt.),a Sgt. at the start of the war, won the Medal of Honor on Guadacanal. He then left for the States for War Bond tours until returning to action with the 5th Marine Div. on Iwo Jima where he was killed in action.
Bob Leckie (1st Mar. Regt.)enlisted after Pearl Harbor and fought with the division from Guadalcanal to Pelelieu. He was severely wounded on Pelelieu and evacuated back to the states.
Eugene Sledge (5th Mar. Regt.)joined later in the war due to a heart murmur and fought through Pelelieu and Okinowa, surviving without a (physical) scratch.
This makes "The Pacific" a tougher series to follow than "BoB": few familiar faces and a lot of shifting of perspective and location, often within a single episode. There are also significant non-combat periods when the division was recuperating from the terrible campaigns it fought in. But I think if you have the patience to work through it, you will find it a valuable viewing experience. Then you should pick up the books written by Leckie and Sledge to gain a fuller understanding of what they experienced. Plus, there is a book on John Basilone available as well.
This story covers a much longer period than "BoB." The combat action stretches from 1942-1945. Also,Easy Company stood at 200+ men,while the 1st Marine Div. totaled appox. 15,000, 9,000 men in the 3 infantry regiments (7th, 5th, 1st) that bore the brunt of the action. Each principal in this series had a different experience of the war: Basilone (7th Mar. Regt.),a Sgt. at the start of the war, won the Medal of Honor on Guadacanal. He then left for the States for War Bond tours until returning to action with the 5th Marine Div. on Iwo Jima where he was killed in action.
Bob Leckie (1st Mar. Regt.)enlisted after Pearl Harbor and fought with the division from Guadalcanal to Pelelieu. He was severely wounded on Pelelieu and evacuated back to the states.
Eugene Sledge (5th Mar. Regt.)joined later in the war due to a heart murmur and fought through Pelelieu and Okinowa, surviving without a (physical) scratch.
This makes "The Pacific" a tougher series to follow than "BoB": few familiar faces and a lot of shifting of perspective and location, often within a single episode. There are also significant non-combat periods when the division was recuperating from the terrible campaigns it fought in. But I think if you have the patience to work through it, you will find it a valuable viewing experience. Then you should pick up the books written by Leckie and Sledge to gain a fuller understanding of what they experienced. Plus, there is a book on John Basilone available as well.
Tell Your Friends