This week Seth and Bill dig into the battle history of The Big E, USS Enterprise (CV-6) starting in 1943 until the end of the war. Tune in and see what the team has to say about the second half of the Galloping Ghost of the Oahu Coast’s war record. The team goes into the story of Enterprise and Butch O’Hare, Truk, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Marianas Turkey Shoot, the Battle of Leyte Gulf and more. The story of Enterprise’s magnificent war record is second to none, and the team breaks down her final battle with the infamous Kamikaze in May of 1945. Tune in and check it out.
#wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #Leytegulf #kamikaze
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Seth, I don't know of any of Jon's works (shattered sword, etc) have been released as audiobooks but if not and they are considering going that route, I'd nominate you as reader (no offence Bill!!!!).
The Tang rescue marathon is covered in a episode of The Silent Service. Lovely television series!
i normally don't say much, but in this this case. Bill they wanted to do the same thing to my shoulder, and i decided it wasn't worth the grief. i have wondered when you guys are going to get around to talking about the earlier version of the Indy, and the fiasco that surrounded her untimely sinking.
Another great episode gentlemen. I do have a question in regards to Enterprise. Wasn’t she designated as a CVN with the N signifying as a night carrier (before N stour for nuclear)?
As a retired sailor, I just have two words for Captain Toti, GO NAVY!!
CV-6 was tagged for night fighters early and later on
What refit work was done on Enterprise's bilge pumps? Perhaps there's a Jon Parshall of bilge pumps you could have enlisted.
I love the opening statement this morning. Forewarned, I will try to refrain from being an Idiot Asshole, something I have been accused of repeatedly over the years…
My interest in WWII in the Pacific is family related. My father, James Cox, enlisted in the Navy in 1940. In September of 1941he arrived at Wake Island. When the war started, he was assigned to LT. Art Poindexter's Mobile Reserve and served as a machine gunner until their surrender on 23 December. Dad, like the other 50+ Navy, 450 Marines and over a thousand civilian contractors spent the next 44 months and 18 days as "Guests of the Emperor."
He returned home after the war weighing 97 pounds. down from about 160. Ultimately, he retired with 21 years of service. And as you both spoke to, he seldom spoke of his experience. If asked, he would give a carefully worded answer that boiled down to a simple Yes or No. In the mid 1970's while I was in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman Dad found/was found, by the Wake Island Defenders Reunion. He started going, and being around men he had served, fought and suffered with, he started to open up a bit. I had the honor of attending two of the week long reunions and a couple of partials. It was amazing to sit and listen to stories, still carefully worded, about some of the worst things that man can do to man. And almost all of the stories ended with laughter. The term Greatest Generation hardly describes those men.
Their Christmas Day in 1941 was spent nearly naked, tied together with communication wire, under near equatorial sun and the constant sight of Japanese armed with machine guns being told they were going to be killed.
Dad died on Christmas Day of 1999, 58 years to the day after their Christmas Day on Wake.
Thanks for the wonderful podcasts and Captain Toti, heal quickly.
Gentlemen, I have been on board from the beginning of your pod cast. To date I have never commented, but after watching your opening I just wanted to add something positive. I can't thank you enough for the stories you are relaying, I think it is very entertaining, but more importantly, it gives us a glimpse into one of the most pivotable times in our collective history. Your passion and all of your hard work shines through in each episode. Thank you both and thank you to your fantastic guests. Keep up the great work!!
Thanks for another episode as we're on the road to NC. Glad you're doing the book lists as my kids were asking about a Christmas list. It will be something I can also bring to the retirement center I volunteer at for others to read as well. I'm trying to get a group together to play these on the big screen and discuss the episodes afterward with the other veterans.
You gentlemen continue to produce the greatest show available!!!
Keep up the great work!!!
Good show!
My grandpa missed the memo to not talking about the war. He told me so many stories. I miss that man.
Although my dad fought with the 101st and 17th in the ETO your comments about the WWII warriors not wanting to talk about it rings true. My dad was a Lt., combat engineer, qualified pathfinder and sapper. He made a glider landing at Normandy, was in the divisional assault at Carentan, jumped (first star on parachute wing) in Operation Market Garden. From there he did a tail gate jump into Bastogne. Afterwards he was reassigned to the 17th for his second star for a jump into Germany in operation Varsity. While he was a Taccoa veteran, he was very proud to have made the assault with the 17th. His name Bancroft Ellwood A. 139th combat engineers appears in the Division Roster of Honor in the book Thunder From Heaven, Story of the 17th Airborne Division. God bless you gentlemen for the most in-depth recount of a critical point of our military history the Pacific Theater of Operations.
I think the US Navy came to recognize the disservice that was done to CV-6 when she was allowed to be scrapped in 1958. I believe that keeping a USS Enterprise in the Navy by naming the 1st nuclear powered aircraft carrier after her was the least that could be done. And naming the 3rd Ford Class aircraft carrier would indicate that the history and spirit of both carriers will be carried into the future.
Saturday morning, A little coffee time, casually reading the cruise log of a WWII aircraft carrier. Seth has a history addiction. Which, for us, is a good thing.
OUTSTANDING guys! This episode (and the previous one on Enterprise) was absolutely full of great stories. If there was one ship that should have been saved after the war, it was the Big E. Even so, videos like this will always preserve her unmatched legacy.
Does anybody know if there are videos of the Blue Angels shows from the beginning when they were flying the bearcat
Listening to you chat about comments. Now I don't comment much about videos on youtube, but I do have a comment<Over the last few episods there's been an awfu;l lot more swearwords you guys have been using. You guys were a lot cleaner in your lanuage before. Please consider going back to that. Love the knowledge this podecase is sharing.
awsome guys.
Your YouTube has made Tuesday my favorite day of the week. The detail is fantastic and it brings WW2 Pacific to life for me. My dad worked on B-29's and I am looking forward to Saipan, Tinian and Guam episodes. Keep up the excellent work!
Nobody in my family served in the Pacific (Europe or welders in shipyards), but this program has brought me a much greater understanding and appreciation of what these people went through in the Pacific.
I don't understand why, as famous as this ship was, as many former officers made flag rank, The Enterprise was not saved.
It's scrapping is one of the saddest things in all of historical preservation.
I lived in Chicago for a year and never knew who O'Hare was named for.
You just tend to assume it's some forgotten, corrupt AF Chicago politicians in a long line of forgotten corrupt AF Chicago politicians.
Just curious, has the tradition of referring to ships as "she/her" gone out of style? I hear a lot of "it" used in reference to ships these days.
I'm old school, son of a USN WWII veteran, and when I hear a ship (a US Navy vessel especially) referred to as anything other than she or her it doesn't sound right to my ear. It's like referring to a person, say Admiral Nimitz or Admiral Spruance, as "it".
Also putting "the" in front of a ships name. As in "and then the Enterprise sailed west" instead of "and then Enterprise sailed west", the former sounds wrong to me. Ship names, I was taught, are treated like the names of people.
Bill I hope you get well. A tough surgery. I do hate deleting comments and I hope none of my comments are/were deleted but I'm not trying to attack anyone personally except for maybe MacArthur
It is an absolute crime the "Big E" was not preserved as a museum ship. She could have berthed next to USS Constitution.
Definitely put together that bibliography- the good and the bad!
I'm an idiot a-hole according to many.,. And I think you guys are great!!!!!
. Keep on truckin'!!!
I had 4 uncles who served in WW2. One was in submarine service from PearlHarbor to the end. One was a flight engineer on B-29’s bombing Japan. One was a chief petty officer running an ordinance crew on Guam. The 4th was in the OSS and served behind German lines in the ETO. All survived. They are all gone now and I am in my mid 60’s with many memories of these men. Every time I listen to one of your videos it brings back a memory and makes me smile. Thank you for all you do to keep our memories of these men and our history alive.
I feel ya Capt. Toti! I had rotator cuff surgery 3 uears ago.
1st: Your "Unauthorized History" should be the Authorized History of the Second World War in the Pacific, because the level of knowledge you share is magnificent. I have absolutely no appreciation for people leaving nasty comments for your work. This folk should look out for another hobby than disturbing our peace. Fu*** morons. Sorry.
Ok, I am not sorry for having written this.
2nd: Some time ago, I asked if you would like to put out a list with literature to dive deeper into the history of the Pacific War.
I would like to start this one by listing the books I have, for those who are interested:
– The Second World War in the East; H.P. Willmott, 1999
– Eagle against the Sun; Ronald H. Spector, 1985 (the whole Pacific War in one book)
– Pacific War Trilogy (1. Pacific Crucible/2.The Conquering Tide/3.Twilight of the Gods), Ian W. Toll, 2012/2015/2020 (the whole Pacific War in three books)
– Attack on Pearl Harbor; Alan D. Zimm, 2011 (focusing on the attack on Pearl Harbor and its technical aspects)
– Shattered Sword; Jonathan Parshall & Anthony Tully, 2005 (Battle of Midway in detail)
– Neptunes Inferno; James D. Hornfischer, 2011 (Naval battles during the Guadalcanal campaign)
– Leyte Gulf; Mark E. Stille, 2023 (Battle of Leyte Gulf)
– Saipan; James H. Hallas, 2019 (Invasion of Saipan and the Battle of the Philippine Sea)
– With the Old Breed; E.B. Sledge; 2010 (Memoirs of a Marine of the 1st Marine Division, focusing on Peleliu and Okinawa)
– Helmet for my Pillow; Robert Leckie, 2011 (Memoirs of a Marine of the 1st Marine Div., focusing on Guadalcanal and Peleliu)
– Tarawa; Robert Sherrod, 2013 (War correspondent who witnessed Tarawa)
– The Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific War; Mark E. Stille, 2013 (about the warships of the japanese navy /CV/BB/CS/DD/Subs)
– Also I recommend the corresonding books of Osprey Publishing, who made a bunch of books about different aspects of the Pacific War.
Every one of this books should be available. I bought most of this books during the last 2-3 years.
Take a deep breath and dive in….
And get well soon to Mr Bill Toti.
So many interesting details that I have never heard before. Awesome episode. Thank you
Outstanding. I too am an Enterprise fan boy. The first two books I remember reading on the war were Guadalcanal Diary and the Big E. I don't know which was first one I read but both made a huge impact on me. This was probably around 1970. Hooked on both since then.
Your work gentlemen is phenomenal. My father in law fought as a glider pilot in the European theater and I know first hand how important it is to remember what that generation did to preserve our freedom.
Mr. Paridon and Captain Toti, thanks again for never disappointing! I have a question that may or may not be relevant, but you had mentioned the innovation of great leaders like O'Hare using a 3 plane team of the Avenger, and the Hellfighters. Do you think there's any relation to his Bat team theory, and Evans Carlson's innovation of three man fireteams using a BAR, Thompson, and M1 rifle concept with the Marine Raiders?
With as much as you guys have talked her up, I was very happy to hear that Enterprise survived the war. I can't wait to visit her as a museum ship! Wait, what? They scrapped her?
I know, biggest crying shame in USN history.