Some questions about World War two in the Pacific?

Question

What was life like for American soldiers fighting in the Pacific?
What were some turning points in the war??

How did American soldiers feel about the bomb being dropped...do you think that they agreed it was a good idea or just did it cause they were being ordered?

Answer 1

The Battle of Midway was the big turning point. We, (The US Navy), wiped out 4 Japanese carriers in about an hour. We only lost one and an old one at that. The battle itself lasted longer but the point is, after losing their best carriers, Japan could never again seriously threaten the Amercan Navy in an offensive battle. Mainly it was Japan's screw-up, the commander made a mistake in terms of if he should re-fuel his plane, send them off to attack on offense or keep them in the air above their own carriers for defense. Of course, our Navy did a great job taking advantage.

As far as the atomic bomb goes, the average solider, sailor and marine was overjoyed and thrilled. It meant the war was over and they would go home instead of possibly being killed in the invasion of the Japanese home islands. Plus, they had little notion of the damage that was done after the bombing.

I believe that some of the crew that actually dropped the bomb, (the ones on the Enloa Gay that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima), and some immedate remose once it was done.

There was more of a mixed reaction in the upper echolons of the US high command. Most agreed with the decision of Pres. Truman to drop the bomb but some, most notably Ike, thought it was not needed.

My personal view is that it was a proper decision, athough the number of American lives said to be at risk in a land invasion of the Japanese home island is often widely over-estamated. But to go on about the immorality of the act is somewhat naive in my view, it ignores the massive carnage already done by the firebombing of Toyko or Dresden, in Germany.

Answer 2

Life as a soldier in the Pacific was hot and miserable at the front, especially faced with an enemy that would not quit until the very end. For Sailors, not quite as miserable, but with periods of intense action and mayhem.

First turning point would be Guadalcanal. It was the first time the Japanese were denied the ground they wanted. The second major turning point was the battle of Midway, where the US Navy sunk four large Japanese carriers, in a masterful ambush, at the cost of one US carrier. After this, the Japanese never manage to regain the initiative.

US troops were of mixed feelings about the Bomb, just like the rest of the population. On one hand, it brought the war to a quicker end. But on the other, it was a heinous weapon.

For the flight crews, they were just doing their jobs, and following orders. In fact, they really had no idea what was going to happen, it was the first time these weapons had been used. The pilot of the first plane was wracked with guilt after the fact.

Answer 3

That question has such a broad scope. If you can get DVDs of the NBC early 50's series "Victory At Sea", it is by far the most comprehensive documentary of both the Atlantic and Pacific fronts, particularly the Pacific because it was Navy war. As for the reaction of the GIs at the time the bomb was dropped, I doubt many regretted it because it meant that they would not have to invade Japan and it was what the Japanese "deserved" for Pearl Harbor and all the other atrocities committed such as the Burma Railroad and the Bataan death march. If one were to pick a single "tactical" strategy that actually did the most damage to the Japanese forces, it would have to be MacArthur's "Island Hopping" decision which struck at key points in the South Pacific that would in turn be converted into US strongholds. In doing so he left other Japanese islands surrounded and cut off from re-supply. That in turn caused those garrisons to "die on the vine" to use a metaphor. As far as turning points: Midway and The Coral Sea.

Answer 4

GI's in the PTO experienced intensive, exhaustive periods of combat interspersed with periods of inactivity and boredom. There was a lot of jungle fighting, but some of the islands were desert-like as well. The turning point in the war in the Pacific was no doubt the Battle of Midway, when the ability of the Japanese to wage sustained, aggressive war was broken. The Americans used an island-hopping campaign, wherein a Japanese-occupied island stronghold was conqured, then nearby islands were bypassed and the Japanese combatants left to wither and die, then another island conquered, etc. As far as the bomb (or rather the two bombs as it were) is concerned, the average GI knew nothing of the bomb until the war ended. I believe the average GI would have been in favor of virtually anything that would have brought victory and a return home.

Answer 5

The few people that I knew that fought in WW2 in the Pacific rarely talk about it. One was a soldier in Bataan in '41. He was one of a few who were too sick to march and were shipped. He missed the death march but doesn't talk about it.

There were basically three turning points in the Pacific:
1 Coral Sea - Japan suffered its first setback, not really a defeat but the Japanese Navy had two of their big carriers (Shokaku and Zuikaku) out of action which meant they missed the next battle where they could have been decisive,
2. Midway - Japanese Navy loses four big carriers (Akagi, Kagi, Soryu, Hiryu) along with the majority of its elite pilots. They never recover.
3. - Guadacanal (sp?) - A long drawn out battle that wasted a lot of the limited Japanese resources.

As for how American soldiers feelings for the bomb. In 8th grade I had a teacher who had been assigned on the seventh invasion wave. He thanked God every day for the bomb. He truely felt it saved his life.

I think how much soldiers talk depends on their war experience.

Hope this helps you out a bit.

Answer 6

A good book that I'm reading now is Flags of our Fathers and from what I read so far is the major turning point was at Midway (first pacific battle won by US i think) during the Pacific Campaign. But the BIGGEST turning point was at Iwo Jima, which at the time was Japanese soil. When we took that island our bombers could come back to their carriers after bombing Japan without being shot down by AA guns on Iwo.

Answer 7

Six months into the war, in the South Pacific was the Battle of Midway. It was an important turning point. Look it up.
The atomic bombs dropped on Japan saved lots of American lives so I guess the soldiers would agree that Truman made the right decision. The Japanese were told to surrender but they refused. After the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima they were again told to surrender but they refused. Nagasaki was then bombed.

Answer 8

Life was very tough for American soldiers in the Pacific..
They were delighted when the atomic bombs were dropped
on Japan meaning they would not have to invade Japan with
great loss of life...

Answer 9

nicely...i could guard this fellow in saying that because of the fact the war in the Pacific grew to become into commonly fought between the U.S. and Japan that it would classify as a separate war. It does not be international war because of the shortcoming of alternative countries. in basic terms because of the fact it grew to become into an analogous timeframe does not make it an analogous war. whether, I consider you that it grew to become into in basic terms a diverse front of an analogous war. because of the alliance of the U.S. with GB and France and so on and the jap alignment with the Axis.

Answer 10

Life like ? Hard, risky, dangerous.
Turning points ? Truk, retaking the Phippinines, Iwo Jima.
Bomb dropped ? The best.
Planed in Washington - - great idea