197: The Doolittle Raid & the Bataan Death March (Spring 1942)

“We had been promised relief but none was coming, and all of us in Bataan shared a sense of betrayal.” This is the story of the United State’s earliest—and most disastrous—days of war in the Pacific. Almost immediately following Pearl Harbor, America and the Axis powers exchange rapid-fire war declarations. While embattled Britain breathes a sign of relief to have the US officially in the war, the Japanese Empire’s sun is rising on the Pacific fast—and at great cost to the Philippines. As the Commonwealth’s islands fall one by one, General Douglas MacArthur is forced to beat a hasty retreat. He evacuates to Australia and pledges to return; but what of the American and Filipino forces cornered on a small peninsula on Luzon? Well, they’re not called the “Battling Bastards of Bataan” for nothing. But there’s only so much they can do without outside support. Many thousands of POWs will be murdered or massacred in the post-surrender Bataan Death March of April 1942. Amid these defeats and the ensuing crisis of morale, Washington concludes a successful counterattack on the Japanese home islands just might be the psychological win that America needs. Lieutenant Colonel James “Jimmy” Doolittle will lead an air attack… on Tokyo itself. ____ Go to squarespace.com/HTDS for a free trial and use the offer code HTDS to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain from our advertising partner Squarespace. Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com https://www.htdspodcast.com/ and go deep into episode bibliographies https://www.htdspodcast.com/bibliography and book recommendations https://www.htdspodcast.com/book-recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community https://www.facebook.com/groups/257926761619618/ get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette https://www.htdspodcast.com/newsletters-1 come see a live show https://www.htdspodcast.com/live-shows get HTDS merch https://htds-team-shop.fourthwall.com/ or become an HTDS premium https://htds.supercast.com/ member for bonus episodes and other perks. HTDS is part ofAudacy media network. https://www.audacy.com/ Interested in advertising on the History That Doesn't Suck? ContactAudacyinc.com https://audacyinc.com/contact.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Greg Jackson?

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• 0:45Greg Jackson?

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• 1:17Greg Jackson?

  It's a little before 8:00 in the morning, April 18th, 1942. We're in the open waters of the Western Pacific, about 650 nautical miles east of Japan, where Lieutenant Colonel James "Jimmy" Doolittle is doing something highly unusual for a US Army airman. He's reporting to the bridge of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. And it doesn't take long for Jimmy to read the room. Something's wrong. Captain Mark Mitcher briefs the 45-year-old, cleft-chinned flyboy. "It looks like you're going to have to be on your way soon. They know we're here." "That's right. The Japanese have spotted them." "There isn't a moment to lose." Shaking the captain's hand, Jimmy rushes back to his cabin

• 2:01Greg Jackson?

  to grab his things, spreading the word as he runs. Until the loudspeakers spread the word faster, that is. "Now, hear this. Army pilots..."

• 2:13Greg Jackson?

  Surprised flight crews rush to get ready. Det crews snap into action, spotting the B-25s into launch positions. But wait, why are Army Air Force crews, not Navy pilots, doing the flying? And what exactly is this mission? Well, it'll take a bit to warm up these medium bombers. Let me fill you in as they prepare for the mission. Here's the deal. Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle is leading an aerial strike on Tokyo. Yes, the capital of the Japanese Empire. The plan's origins go back to last December's attack on Pearl Harbor, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt, seeing the need for a national morale boost,

• 2:55Greg Jackson?

  asked his top brass to find a way to hit Japan. That need only grew over the next few months, as Japan racked up victories at Wake Island, Guam, and, ugh, Bataan in the Philippines. America badly needs a psychological win. The plan is audacious. It calls for Jimmy's armada of 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers to take off from the Hornets' flight deck, roughly 500 miles out from Japan. Now, carrier aircraft can normally strike around 200 miles out and make it back safely, but they want to push that range today. Moreover, launching these medium, twin-engine bombers off a carrier is one thing,

• 3:38Greg Jackson?

  but landing these big boys on such a ship? That would be a different story. The answer to both of these dilemmas is simple: Don't come back. Yeah. Instead, these B-25s will fly over Japan, continue onto airfields in China, refuel, then rendezvous in Chongqing before heading home. Maybe via India. Possible? Sure, but it demands skill, guts, and a dash of crazy. Little surprise, then, that every participant is a volunteer. And because they need all the range they can get, they're using these Army B-25s. The Navy doesn't fly land-based medium bombers. Only Army Air Force pilots have experience with them.

• 4:23Greg Jackson?

  Hence, Army crews on a Navy carrier.

• 4:27Greg Jackson?

  But everything got thrown off this morning by Japan's little picket boat, number 23, Nito Maru. Planes from the carrier USS Enterprise attacked her, and the light cruiser USS Nashville finished her off, but not before the former fishing ship radioed about the American presence. And that's why Jimmy has to launch now, still roughly 150 nautical miles before the intended point of departure. Meanwhile, some sailors wonder: Can these twin-engine bombers with five-man crews really take off from the Hornet's comparatively short flight deck? And in this foul weather? Well, a betting pool aboard the Enterprise says, "Probably not." Let's find out.

• 5:14Greg Jackson?

  It's now 8:20 a.m. With a 30-knot wind blowing down the deck, the Hornet pushes to 20 knots, hoping to give Jimmy's B-25 all the help it can in lifting off. With a checkered flag waving and the chocks pulled, Jimmy throttles up as the deck heaves beneath him. Everyone watches with bated breath as he roars toward the end of the flight deck and... Yes! He's airborne, disappearing into the gray sky. Fifteen more bombers follow. Sailors who lost the bet have never been happier to be out in box.

• 5:52Greg Jackson?

  It's about noon in Tokyo. Civilians look up at planes overhead. In a twist from Pearl Harbor, some on the ground even wave, thinking these must be friendly aircraft. At least until the B-25s start dropping their 4 500-pound bombs, some of which aren't sent here. But the targets aren't random. Flying over the Imperial Palace, as well as Yokohama, Nagoya, Kobe, and Osaka, they hit factories, an oil tank farm, warehouses, steelworks, and power facilities. They never use their machine guns. Jimmy Doolittle has specifically prohibited that. Likewise, they stayed clear of the Imperial Palace, though they could easily hit it.

• 6:36Greg Jackson?

  And with their work done, the Americans dodge scrambling fighters and push on toward China.

• 6:44Greg Jackson?

  Hours pass. It's late at night. With no response from Chaozhou Airfield, Jimmy's crew fly a dead reckoning course in what they hope is the right direction, until it's time to abandon ship. One by one, each man perishes into darkness.

• 7:03Greg Jackson?

  Jimmy splashes down in the cold wet of a rice paddy. No crew in sight. But he sees a light. A farmhouse. Yes! Sloshing through the mud, he reaches the door. He knocks. Nothing. Jimmy hollers, "Lushu hu, mei gua fuji." This phrase, he was told, means "I am an American." But is this the right dialect? Is he even saying it correctly, or did Jimmy just spout complete gibberish? Whatever the case, the lights go out as he hears a bolt slide shut. It's now the next morning. After a sleepless, frigid night, Jimmy encounters a Chinese officer, a major, who speaks a little English. But the major doesn't buy his story.

• 7:49Greg Jackson?

  So, here's our flyboy, walking under military escort back to the rice paddy, where he swears he can show the major and his men his abandoned parachute. There's just one problem. When they get there, there's no parachute. The soldiers question the nearby farmhouse. The family insists no one knocked last night. Nothing happened. The major's men tighten their circle around Jimmy, ready to disarm and detain this supposed American. But just before things turn ugly, a few soldiers return from the farmhouse, holding the parachute the family had tried to hide. That changes everything. With Jimmy's story confirmed, the Chinese major smiles,

• 8:33Greg Jackson?

  extends a hand in friendship, and officially welcomes Jimmy Doolittle to China.

• 8:54Greg Jackson?

  Welcome to History That Doesn’t Suck. I’m your professor, Greg Jackson, and I’d like to tell you a story. Flying in five-man crews on sixteen separate B-25s, eighty daring men, including Jimmy Doolittle himself, participated in the Doolittle Raid. Incredibly, only four were killed in action. Eight were taken prisoner by the Japanese. One B-25 landed in Russia, and after a year’s detention, its crew makes it back to the States.

• 9:37Greg Jackson?

  The rest of these Flyboys get back home relatively quickly, thanks to the assistance of Chinese civilians. But the Chinese suffered dearly. Japanese reprisals escalate into something far more, as a campaign of violence leaves tens of thousands of Chinese dead. Meanwhile, Japan is psychologically shaken, as it feels a new level of vulnerability. And as for the United States, well, Uncle Sam is feeling a massive morale boost. One that is desperately needed after the recent surrender of more than 75,000 American and Filipino soldiers on Batan only the week prior. And the tale of that surrender and its heart-wrenching aftermath? That sad tale is ours to hear today.

• 10:22Greg Jackson?

  This is the story of the United States in the Pacific Theater, from the aftermath of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 through the Japanese conquest of the Philippines in May 1942. We’ll start with the big picture. Picking up where we left off at the end of Episode 194, with President Franklin Roosevelt calling on Congress to declare war, we’ll follow the cascade of war declarations, the post-Pearl Harbor shifts in US military leadership. Then, after noting Japan’s decisive victories in one territory after the next, join General Douglas MacArthur on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Once we're there, we'll follow the battle. Or the retreat, as the case may be. While the combined American and Filipino forces will give their all,

• 11:07Greg Jackson?

  including a cavalry charge unlike anything in recent memory, we'll find that the Japanese soon corner the defenders of Luzon Island on a peninsula called Batan, or, as we usually call it in American English, Batan. And yet, these Americans and Filipinos will fight on tooth and nail. Almost literally. Even when Doug MacArthur disappears to Australia on the White House's orders, even when no help follows, leaving them feeling completely abandoned, these boys don't stop until there's truly no other choice. It's with good reason they'll be known as "The Battling Bastards of Batan." As we'll see, they'll display a perseverance that only makes their horrific, inhumane fate

• 11:52Greg Jackson?

  a death march to an even deadlier prisoner of war camp, all the harder to hear. On that note, if you're listening with the kids, maybe preview this one on your own first. The tales from this march might not be for the littlest of ears. It's a dark tale, but a necessary tale. So on that note, let's leave Jimmy and his Doolittle Raiders in China and get to it by heading back to Washington DC of December 1941. You know how we do that. Rewind.

• 12:26Greg Jackson?

  President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is right. December 7th, 1941 is a date that will live in infamy. And the nation responds to that reality immediately. In fact, as FDR is delivering this instantly famous speech calling on Congress to declare war but one day later on December 8th, our most prominent proponent of isolationism in many a past episode, Charles Lindbergh is coming to the same position. Speaking in Chicago at the headquarters of the America First Committee, the famous aviator concedes that what happened in Hawaii means it's time for war. To quote Lucky Lindy, "We have been stepping closer to war for many months. Now, it has come,

• 13:10Greg Jackson?

  and we must meet it as united Americans regardless of our attitude in the past. Our country has been attacked by force of arms, and by force of arms we must retaliate." Congress agrees and act swiftly. That same December 8th, to be exact. Following Franklin's speech, the Senate takes a mere 25 minutes to vote unanimously to declare war on Japan, and the House falls just 10 minutes after that. Across both chambers, the sole vote against this joint resolution comes from the same lone voice that stood against President Woodrow Wilson's call for war two and a half decades ago in April 1917. Montana's recently returned to Congress Representative Jeanette Rankin.

• 13:53Greg Jackson?

  The boos and hisses from her peers extend beyond the halls of Congress, and her political career will end as a result of this vote. The next day, December 9th, 1941, Franklin returns to one of his favorite methods of communication: the fireside chat. In his broadcast, FDR makes it clear that this war isn't just against Japan; rather, it's a concerted effort against all the Axis powers.

• 14:20Speaker 01

  The sudden criminal attacks perpetrated by the Japanese in the Pacific provide the climax of a decade of international immorality.

• 14:31Greg Jackson?

  He then connects Japan's invasion of Manchuria to Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, to Germany's invasion of Czechoslovakia and Poland.

• 14:40Speaker 01

  It is all of one pattern: Germany and Italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the United States at this moment, just as much as they consider themselves at war with Britain or Russia.

• 15:02Speaker 01

  We expect to eliminate the danger from Japan, but it would serve us ill if we accomplished that and found that the rest of the world was dominated by Hitler and Mussolini.

• 15:20Speaker 01

  So, we are going to win the war, and we are going to win the peace that follows.

• 15:29Greg Jackson?

  Yes, this means war with all the Axis powers. And two days later, on December 11th, Adolf Hitler makes the first move. Nazi Germany declares war on the United States. Congress returns the favor that same day, declaring war on the Third Reich. This time, Jeanette abstains, thereby making the vote unanimous, and does the same as Congress immediately proceeds to declare war on the third and final of the Axis powers: Italy. Franklin signs the declarations in a solemn ceremony, glumly noting, "I've always heard things came in threes. Here they are." As we detailed in episode 195, the holiday special,

• 16:13Greg Jackson?

  Franklin's British BFF, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, soon arrives in Washington. The two spend Christmas together, and amid meetings codenamed "The Arcadia Conference", they make some key war-planning decisions. These include landing on a "Germany-first" approach that will prioritize defeating the Nazi threat, and the establishment of the Anglo-American Combined Chiefs of Staff, which will become the Supreme Allied Command early next year. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Much more is still happening in December 1941. For one thing, Admiral Husband Kimmel is taking the brunt of the blame for Pearl Harbor. Hardly surprising. The national wound remains very much an open wound.

• 16:57Greg Jackson?

  More than a week after the attack, military families are still freshly processing their grief and loss. Like Army Air serviceman Dave Keane, who writes to his mother in Hunter, Kansas about his brother: "I will tell you that Elmer is dead. He was about the first to go."

• 17:15Greg Jackson?

  Now, it might not be fair or right. Historians will eternally debate that. But as Commander in Chief of both the Pacific Fleet and the entire US Fleet, husband Kimmel's taking the fall and losing both commands. Amid other shifts and consolidations, Command of the US Fleet will pass to Admiral Ernest J. King early next year. No relation to the young soldier just mentioned, by the way. Command of the Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor goes to Admiral Chester Nimitz that same December. Meanwhile, the Japanese offensive in the Pacific is hardly finished. As we learned in Episode 194, the Empire of the Rising Sun launches several concurrent attacks.

• 17:55Greg Jackson?

  These include British Malaya, Hong Kong, and Singapore, as well as several American territories. By 5:45 in the morning on December 10th, the Japanese force US troops on Guam to surrender. On Wake Island, 422 Marines and 58 enlisted men initially hold off continual air raids, but they too surrender to Japan later that month. The Japanese have also launched air raids on Midway, and as all of this goes on, General Douglas MacArthur is doing all he can in the ongoing fight for the Philippines.

• 18:31Greg Jackson?

  Ah, the Philippines. It's been a while since we first acquainted ourselves with this group of almost 7,100 islands and islets that extends 1,150 miles from north to south, back in Episode 107's coverage of the Philippine-American War. Let's get you up to speed before we get too deep. First, I trust you recall that the Philippine-American War ended in 1902 with an American victory. Well, mostly ended. Some fought on, but 1902 is our official end date. Yes, that was a brutal war. Nonetheless, relations between the Philippines and the United States have strengthened significantly since then. In fact, independence is now in sight.

• 19:15Greg Jackson?

  Particularly ever since 1934, when Filipino representative and advocate Manuel Quezon succeeded in convincing Congress to pass the Tydean's McDuffie Act. This made his country an alba autonomous Commonwealth under congressional oversight on a 10-year path to full independence as a sovereign nation and republic. One year later, in 1935, General Douglas MacArthur became the Commonwealth government's military adviser. In brief, this seasoned World War I vet, whose own father once fought on these islands in the Philippine-American War, was to help modernize the Philippine military and get it into shape before the nation went fully independent. Doug continued to serve in this advisory role even after his retirement from the US

• 20:00Greg Jackson?

  Army in 1937. A retirement that ended as the looming threat of war with Japan brought him back to the US Army in July 1941 as commander in the Far East. And I'd say that gets us up to speed on the Commonwealth of the Philippines, its relationship to the United States, and Douglas MacArthur's past and current role on the archipelago when the Japanese landed that devastating blow against Doug's still-on-the-ground planes on December 8, 1941. I'm sure you recall that initial attack from episode 194, and with this background, we're now ready to continue the tale of the fight for the Philippines. That same December day, the Japanese spread throughout the archipelago.

• 20:41Greg Jackson?

  They hit the island of Luzon and the Devao region of the island of Mindanao. But Doug insists that, despite the destruction, his combined American and Filipino forces will face any Japanese invasion. On December 10, Japanese General Homma Masaharu's troops land on the island of Luzon, just north of the Philippines' capital city of Manila. General Jonathan "Skinny" Wainwright and his American North Luzon Force, or First Philippine Corps, fall back. Meanwhile, General George Parker's Second Philippine Corps is also pressed to withdraw. Both forces are moving southward as air power is virtually destroyed. In fact, by December 19, remaining B-17s flee across the skies to Australia.

• 21:28Greg Jackson?

  Meanwhile, more Japanese troops arrive north of Manila on December 22. General Douglas MacArthur, Philippine President Manuel Quezon, and all of their families and staff headquartered in the capital recognize that it's time to fall back. They do so on December 24, Christmas Eve, and on December 26, Doug declares Manila an "open city," meaning that the Japanese will encounter no resistance. Under international law, that means the Japanese should occupy the city peacefully, and they do. Walking under banners raised over the streets that declare "no shooting," the Japanese freely take Manila. But make no mistake, our American general and Philippine president haven't given up.

• 22:12Greg Jackson?

  Lacking a better or more updated path, they're abiding by a plan that predates Pearl Harbor, War Plan Orange, which means using delay and defensive tactics while awaiting the Pacific Fleet. The combined American and Filipino force prepares to hold a mountainous and heavily forested peninsula on the western side of Luzon, just across the bay from Manila. That peninsula is called Batan, or again, as we often pronounce it in the States, Batan. With the dawn of 1942, the defense of the Batan Peninsula begins. General Skinny Wayne Wright's roughly 22,500-strong First Philippine Corps and General George Parker's 25,000-strong Second Philippine Corps take up defensive positions along the

• 22:57Greg Jackson?

  Abukay Mauban Line, usually shortened to just Abukay Line. This 20-mile front stretches across the northern neck of the Batan Peninsula, where it opens to the rest of Luzon. Meanwhile, Japanese General Holma assigns General Nada Akira's 65th Brigade to clear out what he believes to be the demoralized and defeated remnant of the Allied Army. Well, that might not be quite as easy as it seems.

• 23:30Greg Jackson?

  It's early in the morning, January 16th, 1942. We're near the coastal town of Morong, where Lieutenant Edwin Ramsey is leading a small mixed force of American and Filipino men, each of the 26th Cavalry, as they ride through the dense jungle vegetation. They're here as advanced scouts. Word came in at about 0300 that Japanese soldiers are nearing this town toward the top of the Batan Peninsula. And given its position next to the Batelon River, General Skinny Wainwright wants to make sure they don't lose control of Moong, or this precious waterway that serves as a natural defense barrier. That's why Ed is here, on this trail, so well-known both to him and his trusty Chestnut Brown steed,

• 24:15Greg Jackson?

  called Bryn Arwen. Approaching the town, Ed's men ride in columns of eight, their pistols cocked and ready. Point riders silently move toward the settlement of thatched huts. It's completely deserted. No people, no livestock. Just huts perched on bamboo stilts, surrounded by coconut palms gently whispering in the wind. With no visible enemy forces, the cavalrymen push forward into Morong. With their horses' heads in line with the roofs of the huts, Ed and his troops maneuver through eerily empty dirt paths. Pedro Uperio, the 19-year-old Filipino cavalryman, riding point on today's mission, looks behind the only stone building in town:

• 25:00Greg Jackson?

  the Catholic Church. Then suddenly, the monotonous sound of horses' hooves is interrupted by an explosion. Amid a flurry of rifle and machine gun fire, Pedro gallops back, his horse covered in blood. It's the Japanese army, all right, entering the town from the opposite side. Startled, Ed looks up to see their far more numerous enemy: the hundreds of Japanese soldiers dressed in drab khaki uniforms, wading their way through the river. Ed knows he has exactly one chance to stop this. It's by no means a guarantee, but they have to act now and fast. Raising his pistol in the air, Ed shouts to his 26 cavalrymen to make a line. The men snap to, and with every man and horse formed up,

• 25:46Greg Jackson?

  he brings down his arm while shouting to command: "Charge!"

• 25:51Greg Jackson?

  Vent down over their horses' necks, each man pushes his steed to a hard gallop as they fire pistols at nearly point-blank into their foe. It's a truly terrifying sight, and utterly unexpected: a cavalry charge. An actual, old-fashioned "yester-year," or rather "yester war" cavalry charge. A few Japanese soldiers attempt to fire back, but most are so cut off guard, they flee in confusion, running into the river or swamps. As Ed will later recall, to them, we must have seen a vision from another century: wild-eyed horses pounding headlong, cheering "whoopie men" firing from the saddles.

• 26:44Greg Jackson?

  What we just witnessed was the last American cavalry charge, or at least the last of the century. Yeah, century. In 2001, US Army Special Forces will ride with Afghan cavalry against the Taliban. And does that classify as a "charge"? Well, let's not worry about that. We're getting way ahead of ourselves. Sticking with our present of January 1942, Lieutenant Edwin Ramsey's charge is instantly seen as the stuff of legend. Between his bravery and shot-up knee, he's awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart. But alas, it only buys the American and Filipino forces at Morong 24 hours.

• 27:27Greg Jackson?

  The 26th Cavalry suffers heavy losses and ultimately must abandon the town to the advancing Japanese. Taken to medical on account of his knee, Ed learns of the loss of Morong when he wakes the following morning. The news is crushing. As he explains, "We had been promised relief, but none was coming, and all of us in baton shared a sense of betrayal. We were fighting as hard as we could just to stay alive, and with each of us who died, that fight became more desperate." January 1942 continues like this, with heroic moments like Ed's charge, followed by yet another retreat deeper into the peninsula, all while American and Filipino forces wait and pray for deliverance:

• 28:12Greg Jackson?

  aircraft, battleships, any help at all from Uncle Sam. General Skinny Wainwright even leads a counterattack of his own, but every attempt to advance only ends with more lost men, vehicles, and artillery. Seeing success in his Philippine campaign, Japanese General Homma takes a calculated risk. He attempts to land troops on the Bataan Peninsula's west coast and flank the Americans and Filipinos by coming in south of their line. But choppy seas, the rugged shoreline, and a mix of fierce Marines, sailors, and aviation personnel repulse this Japanese offensive. Yes, Douglas MacArthur's "boys," as he affectionately calls his American and Filipino troops,

• 28:57Greg Jackson?

  are holding on, but they're paying dearly for these small victories in lives and blood. And yet, things are even worse up north at the Abukai Line. By the end of January, the Japanese manage to punch through the line and form two pockets: the so-called Little Pocket and Big Pocket. Knowing that these pockets must be closed, General Skinny Wainwright sends everything he can, including one brave Minnesotan.

• 29:27Greg Jackson?

  It's the morning of February 3rd, 1942. Sergeant Leroy Anderson's tank company is pushing along the densely forested Trail 7, located between the American and Filipino-held Abukai Line and the Japanese Big Pocket. Reconnaissance from Leroy last night says that this forest is filled with Japanese soldiers and snipers. That is to say, Leroy was shot at a lot trying to cross this trail last night. Now his tanks are advancing with rifle batties. And one extra man, a dark-haired Minnesotan named Willabald Bill Bianchi. See, Bill isn't assigned to these units.

• 30:07Greg Jackson?

  He's simply asked to come along to, quote, "be in on the action," close quote. The mix of Filipino and American troops creeps forward, scanning the trees in brush, distrustful of every glint of morning light that might actually be a Japanese gun. On the left flank of the tank lines, Lieutenant John McGrew, a communications officer, feels safe enough to relay info with his telephone in hand. But there's no such thing as "safe" in the jungle.

• 30:37Greg Jackson?

  Just then, a bullet rips through John's hand, taking off a finger. Firing erupts in every direction as the men try to locate and kill the Japanese snipers. Leroy's tanks attempt to continue advancing, but an enormous banyan tree with huge, jutting roots and draping, flanged branches blocks the way. Next to this halted tank, Bill Bianchi fires his rifle, but soon suffers the same fate as the communications officer. Two bullets rip his left hand apart. Still standing, he drops the rifle and switches to his pistol. It's in this moment, as bullets fly and blood pours from his mangled hand, that Bill notices a machine gun nest on the far side of this enormous twisted tree.

• 31:20Greg Jackson?

  So, the one-handed soldier throws two grenades at it. His excellent aim silences this nest, but still more guns farther back are firing from the jungle trees covered. Bill climbs on top of the tank as it attempts to maneuver. He reaches toward the anti-aircraft machine gun, and suddenly, two more bullets come his way, tearing into his chest. Somehow still conscious and not incapacitated, the bullet-riddled, one-handed Minnesotan steadies himself, grabs the machine gun, and fires into the brush. And that's when an explosion throws him from the top. Miraculously alive, Bill is dragged to safety as the singed tank crew crawls from their

• 32:03Greg Jackson?

  burning vehicle under rifle cover. Only when another tank arrives do other grenade-lobby infantrymen finally clear the last of the Japanese troops from behind the banyan tree that started it all.

• 32:20Greg Jackson?

  Later in the night, the wounded American and Filipino soldiers are loaded into a truck bound for evacuation to a hospital. Among them is Bill Bianchi. He not only survives, he's back fighting a month or so later. Bill receives the Medal of Honor for his one-handed, shot-through-the-chest courage under fire. That's the third Medal of Honor awarded amid the action here on Batan so far. Meanwhile, the Battle of the Pockets drags on for days. Sometimes, there are direct attacks. Other times, the Allies sit in foxholes, waiting for Japanese soldiers to pass in the darkness. Medical doctor Captain Paul Ashton describes one night: "Very slowly and quietly, I brought my arm out into the complete darkness and touched

• 33:05Greg Jackson?

  the end of a rifle. Then brought my hand along it, and felt a nose and face. I managed to grasp the rifle and hold it long enough to plunge the bayonet again and again, deep into his neck. I cringed as deeply into my foxhole as I could and listened as the gurgling and choking gradually slowed." After nineteen straight days of fighting, with almost no artillery and barely any rations, the Americans and Filipinos stopped the Japanese from linking the pockets and managed to reform the Abukai Line on February 17, 1942. Batan is still theirs, and for the first time since the first torpedo struck in Pearl

• 33:45Greg Jackson?

  Harbor's shallow waters, the Japanese have not only been stopped, but pushed back. But the good news doesn't last. General Homma responds with a blockade around the peninsula. By February 26, American and Filipino forces on Batan are completely cut off from the outside world, including American units on other Philippine islands. Food is so scarce that, soon, Ed and the 26th Cavalry will resort to slaughtering their horses for meat. As the news tightens, General Douglas MacArthur, now headquartered on the island of Corahidor, just south of Luzon Islands' Batan Peninsula, gets an order from Washington: An order to leave.

• 34:28Greg Jackson?

  See, President Franklin D. Roosevelt doesn't want the Japanese winning a propaganda victory by capturing Doug. So, the Far East commander and Philippine President Manuel Quezon are ordered to evacuate to Australia. Previously, Doug had refused such suggestions, insisting he'll stay with his troops, his boys. But this is a direct order from the president. He feels that he has no choice. That said, one sailor will later remark, "This is the only time Doug ever does as he's told." But even then, doing as he's told isn't easy.

• 35:08Greg Jackson?

  The journey to Australia begins at 7:30 PM, March 11, 1942, on Corahidor's bomb-damaged south dock. Doug is joined by several generals, his staff, including chief aide and friend Sid Huff, and his family: his wife Jean, his four-year-old Arthur, and the boy's nanny, a Cantonese woman named Lau Gao, called Achu, who Doug insists has been part of the family since Arthur's birth. This whole group is traveling to Australia, though no one knows if they'll make it even the first 10 miles.

• 35:43Greg Jackson?

  The first leg is by sea. Four PT boats move in a diamond formation from Corahidor to Mindanao. Well, boat is a generous term. Doug calls them, and I quote, "77 feet of light plywood." They pass Japanese minefields and traverse the rainy, rough Sulu Sea. At one point, strong winds pushed them within two miles of Japanese-held Cabra Island, where bonfires glow on shore. Somehow, they go unnoticed. Doug describes the more than 500-mile boat ride as, quote, "What it must be like to take a trip in a concrete mixer." And adds, "It was a bad night for everybody."

• 36:27Greg Jackson?

  Doug, Jean, little Arthur, and, well, everyone takes turns tossing cookies into the sea. But finally, on the morning of March 13, the weary group arrives at Kagayan, on the Philippine island of Mindanao.

• 36:43Greg Jackson?

  Four B-17 Flying Fortresses are supposed to pick them up, but only one has arrived, and it's in bad shape. Sixteen in the group hop aboard, but Doug refuses to risk his family. Instead, he sends a strongly worded message back to DC to Chief of Staff George Marshall and waits at the dirt airbase. This does the trick. The US Navy's top brass in Australia are voluntold to do better, and three days later, on the evening of March 16th, two brand-new Flying Fortresses arrive. Still one plane short from what was planned, the McCarthers only take their clothes and a mattress for little Arthur, who's feeling seasick. This mattress generates rumors later that the general has stuffed it with gold coins

• 37:27Greg Jackson?

  that he's smuggling into Australia. In reality, he's importing straw. Flown by a pilot operating on eight cups of coffee and nerves, the B-17 is no better for motion sickness than the PT boats. The battered metal behemoth backfires and stutters through the skies, but survives enemy fire over the Dutch East Indies. Nor is that the end of their troubles. As the 10-hour, over 1,000-mile flight nears Darwin, Australia, word arrives that the Japanese are attacking the city. As a result, they're rerouted to nearby Bachelor Airfield. Finally on Australian soil, Jean McArthur shouts, "Never, never again will anybody

• 38:10Greg Jackson?

  get me into an airplane, not for any reason." Oh, the irony. Moments later, they learn that the Japanese are moving in on Bachelor Airfield. With no other choice, the McCarthers are once again back in the air for another 1,000-mile flight to the safety of Australia's outback. Landing yet again, a train awaits them in the small town of Alice Springs. On March 18th, seven days since their initial departure, Doug rests his head on Jean's shoulder as the train carries them over 1,000 miles south. She tells his aide Sid Huff that's the first time he's really slept since Pearl Harbor. But his rest is brief.

• 38:53Greg Jackson?

  As this journey of just under 5,000 miles nears its end, Doug encounters a cheering crowd at one of his last stops in South Australia.

• 39:05Greg Jackson?

  It's about 2:00 in the morning, March 20, 1942. The train carrying Douglas MacArthur, his wife, his son, and his entourage is coming to a stop in the small town of Terre Aue in South Australia. They're here to change rail cars. The 62-year-old general in a laurel-reathed cap, a loose-hanging tan jacket slacks, rises from his wooden train seat, ready to stretch his legs. And then, he hears something. Is that cheering? Stepping onto the platform, Doug is stunned to see his supposedly-secret car surrounded by a crowd, an excited one at that, shouting "Welcome to Australia!"

• 39:50Greg Jackson?

  As Doug looks on in surprise at his kind Aussie hosts, someone seizes his hand. It's his deputy chief of staff, Dick Marshall. Dick has arranged for a new, more comfortable private car to carry Doug the last 600 miles to Melbourne. But he couldn't do it without attracting some attention. No matter, Doug immediately asks if it's true what he's heard about American troop numbers in Australia. Dick confirms it: barely over 25,000. Doug feels gutted. He left his boys back on Baton, believing help was coming, but with so few troops, what can he possibly do? Still, the crowd can't know any of that.

• 40:34Greg Jackson?

  And the mission hasn't changed. It will take time, but come hell or high water, Doug intends to restore the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Stepping toward the crowd, he flashes a million-dollar smile, and they roar. Reporters ask for a statement. Doug hadn't planned on speaking until Melbourne, but when the reporters say his words will reach the United States, well, he can't miss the chance to influence Uncle Santa. Doug decides to speak off the cuff. He looks at the crowd and at these reporters as he firmly declares: "The President of the United States ordered me to break through the Japanese lines and proceed from Koryador to Australia for the purpose, as I understand it, of organizing

• 41:17Greg Jackson?

  an American offensive against Japan, the primary purpose of which is the relief of the Philippines. I came through, and I shall return."

• 41:32Greg Jackson?

  History That Doesn't Suck is supported by Vistaprint. This podcast is a small business passion project, and seeing our vision come to life offline is cool, too, thanks to our expert partner, Vistaprint. On my recent book tour, we were able to order custom, high-quality banners for book readings. It also added a nice professional polish. It also made the events more memorable because readers and I could pose together in front of the banner for selfies to post online. And that's just one of the countless premium products Vistaprint offers to elevate your brand identity. From postcards and posters to tumblers and t-shirts, Vistaprint makes high-end, custom printing accessible to everyone, giving you exceptional quality and results that make every single dollar go further. With real people on standby and seamless tools, Vistaprint guides you through every

• 42:15Greg Jackson?

  step of the process so you always look completely polished. There's a reason over 17 million small businesses trust Vistaprint to elevate their vision. Vistaprint: Print Your Possible. Right now, new customers get 20% off with code NEW20 at Vistaprint.com. That's 20% off at Vistaprint.com using code NEW20. Hello, my friends. Professor Jackson here, and I want to tell you about a podcast hosted by a friend of mine, the 11th archivist of the United States, Colleen Shogan, and it's called In Pursuit Podcast. On this podcast, Colleen explores what we call "The American Experiment" and how, over the last 250 years, we've learned a lot about what's worked and what hasn't.

• 43:00Greg Jackson?

  It dives deep into the lessons that we can learn from America's past to write the history of America's future. This season, Colleen and her guests explore the trials and triumphs of America's former presidents and first ladies. You'll discover why George Washington willingly gave up power at the end of the American Revolution, how Mary Todd Lincoln had to fight with her own independence in the wake of the Civil War, and what their stories can tell us about America today. New episodes are available every other week. In Pursuit Podcast by More Perfect is brought to listeners by PRX. Learn more at their website, inpursuit.org.

• 43:46Greg Jackson?

  General Douglas MacArthur's "I Shall Return" Declaration of March 20, 1942, becomes an anthem and a mission statement for the Allied forces in the Pacific. When the general reaches Melbourne, FDR's representative, Patrick Hurley, tells him he's now a hero to America, on par with aviator Charles Lindbergh and Great War Commander, General Blackjack Pershing. Doug is also promoted to Supreme Commander of the Southwest Pacific Area. In other words, all US military branches, and even some Allied forces in the region, now answer to him. But Doug's popularity isn't soaring back in Baton.

• 44:25Greg Jackson?

  Feeling abandoned, his soldiers mock their distant and safe commander, calling him "Doug-out-Doug." With rations running low and any sign of relief still wanting, the men on Baton are losing steam and hope. United Press correspondent Frank Hewlett penned a poem that becomes an instant hit with many an American on the peninsula. To quote it in part, "We're the battling bastards of Baton. No mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam. No aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no nieces. No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces. And nobody gives a damn."

• 45:06Greg Jackson?

  An understandable sentiment, but more people give a damn than Baton's defenders—or the "battling bastards," as the poem calls them—might feel. With Doug MacArthur running the bigger picture from Australia, General Skinny Wainwright is giving all the dams he can as he steps up as Commander of all American and Filipino forces in the Philippines, leaving General Edward King as the Field Commander over Baton. As Skinny tells one of his aides, "Lee marched on Gettysburg with less men than I have. We're not licked yet." Nice thought, Skinny, but... Robert Lee lost that one. And right now, the Japanese are determined to ensure that aspect of the comparison holds true as well.

• 45:51Greg Jackson?

  Frustrated that Baton hasn't fallen as quickly as Burma, Singapore, the East Indies, and Java, the Empire of the Rising Sun withdraws thousands of troops from other areas to flood the peninsula with an additional 50,000 men. This renewed attack begins at the end of March and continues into April. General Skinny Wainwright mournfully notes later that the Japanese attacked the Second Corps “with bared bayonets and were met by the bayonets of malaria men with not enough food in their bellies to sustain a dog.” The American and Filipino soldiers do their best to muster a counterattack, but many are so weak, they can barely carry a weapon 100 yards.

• 46:33Greg Jackson?

  General Edward King refuses to watch these starved boys get mowed down. He feels compelled to make a hard choice. Disobeying orders, he surrenders Baton on April 9, 1942. Meeting with General Holma’s representative, Colonel Nakayama Moto, Edward does so unconditionally, but with assurances that his men will be treated properly. After all, when he asks if Japan will abide by the rules of the Geneva Convention, a fair question since the land of the Rising Sun signed but didn’t ratify the 1929 Conventions on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Colonel’s translator answers, “Of course, we are not barbarians.” Let us be clear, this is a commitment.

• 47:16Greg Jackson?

  Article 2 of the 1929 Geneva Convention states, “Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated and protected.” Article 3 guarantees the respect of their person and honor, and Article 4 requires the capturing power to provide for their maintenance. The Convention goes on specifying proper evacuation procedures, how POW camps should work, and more. It is with this understanding that General Edward King feels confident that surrender is the ethical decision, that it is the best way to save the lives of the over 75,000 men under his command. But this is not the reality these men soon experience.

• 47:59Greg Jackson?

  Many of these starving, exhausted, and malaria-infected soldiers will never reach their soon-to-be POW camp, Camp O’Donnell. In fact, their march to this camp will come to be known as the Baton Death March.

• 48:16Greg Jackson?

  It's early morning, April 10th, 1942. We're in the US Army's bivouac, or temporary camp, near Marivelas, on the southern end of the Batan Peninsula, where tank commander Lester Tenney of Company B of the 192nd Tank Battalion, and others, are still sleeping. Until they're awakened by loud voices speaking Japanese. The moment of surrender has arrived. Barging into the camp, Japanese soldiers attempt to communicate with their soon-to-be American prisoners through sign language. It seems they want cigarettes. Then, they get forceful. They beat Lester with a cane in the butt of a rifle. The bleeding tank commander probably never wished more that he had a cigarette on him,

• 49:00Greg Jackson?

  but unfortunately, he can only answer, "I'm sorry, but I don't smoke." So, he's beaten again, until blood gushes down his nose and cheeks. And there's no time to catch him up. Only moments later, Lester and his fellow 75,000 or more American and Filipino soldiers are herded to the main road, under the blazing sun, then ordered to "get in line", forming columns of 100 to 150 men, to march from kilometer marker 167, roughly 2 miles east of their camp, to an unknown destination. As Lester remembers, "We had no idea where we were going. The way we left our bivouac area is the way we lived for the next 8, 10, or 12 days." By that, I mean,

• 49:45Greg Jackson?

  if you had a hat on, you walked with a hat. If you had a canteen, you walked with a canteen. If you had shoes, you walked with shoes. If you happened to have been caught without a hat, or without a canteen, or without a pair of shoes, and they told you to start walking, that's how you walked. So I was lucky. I had a canteen with me, and I had a hat on my head." Lester also has a picture of his girl, Laura, tucked into his sock, right by his ankle. Already exhausted, the prisoners slog along the twenty-foot-wide sand and gravel road. As they do, they're given no food or water.

• 50:26Greg Jackson?

  On day two or three, a twenty-eight-year-old, clean-shaven blond-haired, six-foot-tall lieutenant struggles to move forward, staggering, barely managing to get one foot in front of the other. As the handsome lieutenant falls, Lester is passing and asks if he needs any help. There's no response. The tank commander later recalls feeling, quote, "awful not being able to help someone who obviously needed help and was going to die," close quote. As the men continue on, the lieutenant crumples completely on the ground. A Japanese guard then yells something the Americans can't understand. After this, Lester tells us that the guard, without a moment's hesitation, shoved his

• 51:10Greg Jackson?

  bayonet into the young officer's chest. Then, with a mighty scream, the guard yelled what we interpreted to mean "get up." Of course, it was too late. The bayonet had finished the job, the march started. I could not help but think, "There but for the grace of God go I." While walking forward, we looked back at the sickening scene. There, the lieutenant lay in the middle of the road. Within minutes, we heard the rumbling of trucks coming down the road. The Japanese were moving some of their fighting men in position against Corrida Door. Making no attempt to avoid the fallen body, they ran over the dead man, leaving only the mangled remains of what once was a human being.

• 51:55Greg Jackson?

  No sympathy, no concern for us as humans, no burials. The Japanese were treating us like animals. We had no doubt as to how we would be.

• 52:06Greg Jackson?

  It's now day four, April fourteenth. Lester waivers on the outside of the column of men, slowly trudging forward, and a Japanese officer on horseback rides by. The tank commander later recalls the officer, swinging his samurai sword, trying to cut heads off, I assume. Stuck in a way at just the right minute, Lester avoids decapitation by mere inches. He's struck in the back, with a huge gash by his left shoulder blade. The tank commander continues on, leaning mightily on two friends, the black-haired, bearded, and soft-spoken Walter, Wally Seagoy, and the blond-haired, blue-eyed loudmouth, Bob Bronge. A duo known to everyone as "The Meatball Twins" on account of their Italian heritage.

• 52:51Greg Jackson?

  And they've got to hold Lester up. Everyone knows that falling means certain death. The Meatball Twins manage to maneuver their tank commander to a medic, who uses a needle and thread to sew him up, and try to stop the bleeding. They carry him for the next two miles. And so, the overheated, underfed, dehydrated, makeshift-stitched-and-dried-blood-covered Lester Tenny, continues on for the total ninety-mile march.

• 53:24Greg Jackson?

  I wish I could tell you that Lester, Wally, and Bob make it home safely. Well, Lester will survive. He'll go on to become a university professor and advocate for POWs, desperately pushing for the Japanese government to acknowledge and apologize officially for what he and his fellow soldiers endured. As for the Meatball Twins, to quote Lester once more, "Seagoy and Bronge saved my life. I only wish I could save theirs." Both men will die of dysentery before the end of the war. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's still summer, 1942, and this death march isn't over. In fact, its brutality can be even worse than what Lester described.

• 54:10Greg Jackson?

  It's around 12:00 noon, April 12th, 1942. Twenty-eight-year-old Captain Pedro L. Felix and some fifteen-hundred Filipino officers and soldiers from the 91st Division are at a junction of jungle roads in the foothills of Mount Samat, just past the bridge that the Japanese forced them to build this very morning at gunfight. Suddenly, a car drives up the road. It's marked with a star, used on Japanese military vehicles. Top brass, perhaps? "Yes," the Japanese officer tells Pedro. "It's General Nada Akira, commander of the 65th Japanese Brigade." On the general's instructions, Japanese officers order the prisoners to separate between

• 54:52Greg Jackson?

  officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates. About four hundred officers and NCOs, including Pedro, remain behind while the privates are marched farther up the trail, toward the prison camp at Belanga. Meanwhile, the officers are sorted into three lines. Their hands are bound with telephone wire, creating chains of men. At the head of his line, Pedro watches as each column is pushed along, disappearing into the vegetation of the jungle. It's now about 3:00 in the afternoon. Pedro and the mainly Filipino officers have arrived at a ravine in these thick jungle woods. Hands still tied with wire, the men are roughly plotted by bayonets and swords to a place alongside the ravine.

• 55:36Greg Jackson?

  Then, a civilian steps forward and shouts in Tagalog to the nearly four hundred men. Translated into English, he says: "Dear friends, pardon us. If you had surrendered early, we would not be killing you. But we suffered heavy casualties, so pardon us. If you have any last wish before we kill you, just tell us." Knowing that death is now imminent, some men ask for cigarettes or water, others plead for their lives. Pedro asks to be executed by gunfire, or at least to face his executioners. All requests are denied. It seems the offer of a "last wish" was only for show. Then, the order is given.

• 56:21Greg Jackson?

  At the last of his line, the unmistakable sound of swords slicing through flesh causes Pedro to look to his right. He watches as three of his comrades’ heads tumble into the ravine. Knowing what’s coming, Pedro takes a deep breath. A bayonet thrusts into his right shoulder, then another plunge goes through the front of his chest. He crumples to the ground. Another thrust goes all the way to his backbone, and then, one more straight through the chest. He falls into the ravine alongside the others, all still bound to him. A close friend, Lieutenant Luciano Hasinto, lands nearby, riding, kicking. And incredibly, his dear friend’s thrashing body landing on top of him is just what saves

• 57:05Greg Jackson?

  Pedro from the Japanese soldiers as they look for survivors. Hours later, after darkness falls, the bayoneted captain is able to chew through the wire and free himself. He and four other survivors will eventually make it to safety as the last voices of those slaughtered at the Bataan Death March’s Pantinan River massacre. We don’t know how many American and Filipino men die in the Bataan Death March. Numbers range from 5,000 to well over 12,000. Even when the journey comes to a close at Camp O’Donnell, things don’t get much better. We’ll come back to this and other such prisoner-of-war camps in future episodes, but suffice it

• 57:48Greg Jackson?

  to say that nearly 30,000 of these POWs, mostly Filipinos along with some 1,500 Americans, will die at Camp O’Donnell before the end of 1942. By early summer, the Philippines are conquered by the Japanese in all but name. The Japanese hit the last holdout, the US Army Headquarters on the island of Corahador, with intense sustained barrages from April 17th right into the next month. Eventually, General Skinny Wainwright is forced to fly the white flag, literally. Initially refusing to surrender the entirety of the Philippines, Skinny complies as the Japanese threaten to take his lack of compliance out on his captured men. That gets him.

• 58:31Greg Jackson?

  The vanquished American general signs the paper surrendering the whole of the Philippines on May 6, 1942.

• 58:39Greg Jackson?

  With President Manuel Quezon safe in Australia, the Japanese further confirmed their power over the Philippines that same week by executing his current substitute, Acting President Jose Abad Santos. Regularly serving as the Commonwealth's chief justice, the dark-haired, handsome 56-year-old meets this end with dignity near the city of Malaban, on the island of Mindanao. He only asks for 10 minutes with his 22-year-old son, Jose Junior, or Pepito as everyone knows him. And this request at least is granted. When Jose breaks the news to Pepito, the young man naturally bursts into tears. Calmly, Jose responds, telling him, “Do not cry, Pepito.

• 59:22Greg Jackson?

  Show these people that you are brave. It is a rare opportunity for me to die for our country. Not everybody is given that chance.” From there, the father and son are given the time to enter a nearby shack to pray the Catholic act of contrition together. But soon, the soldiers come. The acting president offers his son his last words: “Take good care of your mother, your brother, and sisters. Tell them to live up to our name. God bless you, my son.” Looking out from the shack, Pepito watches as his father is led to the base of a tall coconut tree near the riverbank. Still wearing his tattered and crumpled white suit, Jose is offered both a cigarette and a blindfold. He declines.

• 1:00:07Greg Jackson?

  Pepito takes out his prayer book and with trembling hands turns the yellowed pages to the prayer for the dead. As he reads, he hears it. The now fatherless son continues to pray until his eyes are dry.

• 1:00:25Greg Jackson?

  As the land of the Rising Sun's leaders look out on the setting sun of May 6, 1942, they're delighted by their empire's reach. Their domain now stretches over multiple time zones. It contains some 500 million people in captured territory, not to mention their over 300,000 allied prisoners of war. And they've achieved this while suffering remarkably light naval losses, only a handful of relatively smaller ships and aircraft. Thinking broadly over this episode's tale of loss in the Philippines, I'm reminded of the opening lines of the American war correspondent William White's book, "They Were Expendable", which is published in 1942 and soon turned into a movie. A young naval officer explains,

• 1:01:10Greg Jackson?

  "In war, anything can be expendable: money, or gasoline, or equipment, or most usually, men. They're expending you and that machine gun to get time. They don't expect to see either one again." Close quote. I'd imagine that many of the soldiers involved in the Bataan campaign, the battling bastards, if you will, would agree with this unnamed naval officer. With the Philippines' ultimate surrender, their four-month hold on the peninsula might feel pointless. But that struggle, that holdout, it wasn't in vain. As we'll soon hear, US naval intelligence has been working tirelessly to break the Japanese codes, and it seems that,

• 1:01:53Greg Jackson?

  with all the messages flying around and about the Philippines, they're getting quite close. And Jimmy Doolittle's raid, that brazen attack, not just on Japan, but on the capital city itself just over a week after General Edward King's surrender on Bataan. Oh, that left a mark. It may have punctured Japan's sense of invulnerability just as much as it proved a boon to the American psyche. In fact, Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku is now intent on drawing out Uncle Sam's aircraft carriers before they can strike again. Hmm. Might American code-cracking and Japanese haste mean a shift in the Pacific Theater's tides of war? Might this empire of the rising sun be on the cusp of becoming

• 1:02:38Greg Jackson?

  an empire of a setting sun? We'll find out next time in a vicious fight at a small atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in a toll known as Midway.

• 1:02:55Greg Jackson?

  History That Doesn't Suck is created and hosted by me, Greg Jackson. Episode researched and written by Greg Jackson and Will Keane. Production by Airship. Audio editing by Mohammed Shazade. Sound design by Molly Bott. Theme music composed by Greg Jackson. Arrangement and additional composition by Lindsey Graham of Airship.

• 1:03:13Speaker 02

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• 1:03:50Greg Jackson?

  HTDS is supported by FAN, at htdspodcast.com/membership. My gratitude to you kind souls for providing funding to help us keep going. Thank you. And a special thanks to our patrons whose monthly gift puts them at producer status. Adam Goran, Ahmed Chapman, Amy and Ross Hensman, Andrew Nissen, Andrew Sherwin, Anna M. Huta, Art Lang, Baby Nico, Bob Stinnett, Bonnie Brooks, Ryan Gavigan, Ryan Boils, Ryan Goodson, Bruce Hibbert, Kayden Hallitz, Charles Clanden, Charles Starkey, Charlie Majes, Christopher Merchant, Christopher Lyle, Christopher Pullman, Christopher Young, Cody Brown, Colleen Martin, Colin Ferris Pennington, Connor Hogan, Craig Burrhost, Dan G., Daniel Beecham, Daniel

• 1:04:32Greg Jackson?

  Lucana, Darren Chambers, Daryl the Kid Lovell, David Rifkin, Dean Heiser, Donte Spencer, Donald Moore, Eli Edwards, Elizabeth Chris Janson, Ellen Stewart, Ernesto Franco, Ernie Lomaster, Ethan Lowery, Evan Thompson, G2303, Jeffrey Nelson, George J. Sherwood, Gareth Griffin, Gina Johnson, Gordon Garwood, Henry Brunges, Holly Hamilton, Jake Gilbreth, James Bledsoe, James Blue, James Schlender, Jarrett Zangora, Jeffrey Moots, Jennifer Mingioni, Jennifer Ruth. Jessica Popick, Joe Dobis, John Booby, John Frugal Doogle, John Huber, John Messmer, John Oliveros, John Riddleyich, John Schaefer, Jonathan Schaff, Jordan Corbett, Joseph Curry,

• 1:05:14Greg Jackson?

  Joshua Steiner, Julian Wright, Justin Tolman, Karen Bartholomew, Carl Friedman, Carl Romer, Ken Culver, Kim R., Kimberly Pruitt, Kristen Kraft, Kyle Decker, L. Paul Goringer, Laura Norman, Lawrence Neubauer, Linda Cunningham, Mark D. Worrell, Mark Ellis, Marcia Smith, Mason Glenn, Matt Siegel, Michael Longus, Michael Sullivan, Nick Caprell, Nicholas Powell, Owen W. Sedlak, Paul Huguenrock, Philip May, Randy Keen, Rich Ruckel, Rick Brown, Rob Dravovic, Robert Shelton, Rock Gay, Ryan Fogelman, Sam Holtzman, Sarah Prescott, Sarah Traywith, Scott Hurst, Shane Smith, Shannon Hoagland, Sharon Feasen, Sean Baines, Sean Collins, Stacy Ritter, Steve Williams, The Creepy Girl, Thomas Churchill,

• 1:05:59Greg Jackson?

  Thomas Matthew Edwards, Thomas Sabbath, Tim and Sarah Turner, Todd Curran, Tom Bostovka, Travis Cox, Walter M. Ames, Wesley McKeat, William Durham, William Curry, William Thompson, and Zach Jackson. Join me in two weeks, or I'd like to tell you a story.