The Pacific - OAD 3/28/10 - "Part Three"

[pjenkins]

I really enjoyed part 3, getting to know the characters a bit better before they head off to the next battles (given how intense those will be) is just what I wanted. I thought they might include Eugene Sledge a bit I s'pose it wouldn't have worked given the focus on the current group and Melbourne. I know it might not be some people's cup of tea, but glad to see them not just hop into the next battle straight away.

[terpfan1980]

This episode felt a bit like a rest stop that was added along the way. Not bad at all, and yes, it helped a little to get more familiar with the characters.

[Barmat]

This show is great. We needed this break because the next battles for the Marines are some of the worst in history.

[kaszeta]

I'll agree that this episode seemed to flesh out the characters a bit.

I'll have to watch the episode again, but I think I have my first nitpick: very shortly after arriving in Melbourne, members of the 1st Marine Division had the familiar blue diamond shoulder patch (which if you look closely, says "Guadalcanal" down the 1). These patches didn't even exist until a factory in Melbourne produced them for the 1st.

The episode also is a little vague on the timeline, but the Marines were in Melbourne for over six months, many of them recovering from various jungle illnesses (malaria being the primary one) in addition to injuries.

[pjenkins]

I'll agree that this episode seemed to flesh out the characters a bit.

I'll have to watch the episode again, but I think I have my first nitpick: very shortly after arriving in Melbourne, members of the 1st Marine Division had the familiar blue diamond shoulder patch (which if you look closely, says "Guadalcanal" down the 1). These patches didn't even exist until a factory in Melbourne produced them for the 1st.

The episode also is a little vague on the timeline, but the Marines were in Melbourne for over six months, many of them recovering from various jungle illnesses (malaria being the primary one) in addition to injuries.

not sure on the patches, i cant imagine them getting that wrong, but perhaps :)

i thought the timeline was pretty well done, although not explicit in the time the character developments/relationships did appear to be many months in the making. i felt horrible for Lecke after getting dumped like he did :(

[Marco]

Did the Marines really get off the ship and walk / ride through Melbourne looking that bad?

The Marine Corps didn't insist on (or have on hand) new uniforms for the men?

[robojerk]

Good episode.

I still wish that they would put dates on the bottom of the screen so the audience can get a better grasp of time.

[goblue97]

Did the Marines really get off the ship and walk / ride through Melbourne looking that bad?

The Marine Corps didn't insist on (or have on hand) new uniforms for the men?
This question came up with a co-worker and I. I didn't think anything of it but he thought it was ridiculous that they wouldn't have had new uniforms for them. I wonder if there is any way to find this out. Has anyone read the book?

[kaszeta]

This question came up with a co-worker and I. I didn't think anything of it but he thought it was ridiculous that they wouldn't have had new uniforms for them. I wonder if there is any way to find this out. Has anyone read the book?

From what I remember from the book (and I might be confusing this with another source, I'll check tonight), they stored most of the Marines' sea bags (which held their uniforms and personal items) in New Zealand prior to the Guadalcanal landing, and it took a bit for those to catch up with them. Until they had their dress uniforms, they weren't supposed to go on leave, but (like the episode showed), the MPs were lax in enforcing that.

As far as new US Marine uniforms? Those don't exactly show up overnight, especially for most of a division, so aside from uniforms and spares brought with them, they went with what they had. What they had was actually Australian uniforms, and they seem to have gotten this detail right, When the 1st Marine Division arrived in Australia, they got Australian battle dress coats and trousers instead of hte US forest green service uniforms. You can tell from the buttons, US Marine dress coats had four big dark buttons, not the hidden buttons shown. This style became so popular they actually changed the Marine uniform to match after the war, look up "Vandegrift Jacket".

[dbranco]

I read somewhere that the whole romance between Lackey and the girl he met on the cable car was fiction. I understand taking some liberties, but it bugged me that the entire storyline was fiction.

[kaszeta]

I read somewhere that the whole romance between Lackey and the girl he met on the cable car was fiction. I understand taking some liberties, but it bugged me that the entire storyline was fiction.

Yeah, it's at best a pastiche of his memoir descriptions of multiple people on Guadalcanal

[Ment]

I read somewhere that the whole romance between Lackey and the girl he met on the cable car was fiction. I understand taking some liberties, but it bugged me that the entire storyline was fiction.

Since The Pacific is an amalgam of several perspectives and it's 'based on' the memoirs of Leckie, Sledge and Tatum is not surprising some of the storylines aren't literal. As long as they are historically accurate as to battles, troop movements and the characters view of their war experience, I'm ok with 'made-up' side stories.