World War II - In Color (Read 11932 times)

changemyoil66

Re: World War II - In Color
« Reply #20 on: August 03, 2018, 01:31:22 PM »
I guess in a positive outlook, it's good that Hitler used so much propaganda.  Because now we can watch history vs. reading articles and stories.  We were watching COW and Mrs. Change asked how come there's so much film from the nazi's.  And how scenes in Man in the High Castle were based on real life stuff (the thousands of soldiers in formation during Hitlers speech, the huge nazi flags draped over buildings, etc...).  She thought that was all make believe.

What always fascinated me was for all the guys in the film, did they make it to the end of the war?  Or some 90 year old guy is watching it and sees his younger self on TV.

drck1000

Re: World War II - In Color
« Reply #21 on: August 15, 2018, 07:40:05 AM »
Just finished the series on Hitler.  That was actually pretty interesting and a LOT that I didn't know about him.  He really was his own worst enemy and his ego cost him.  Something that one would hope leaders of today would learn from, but seems like history is repeating itself in many ways, even in the US military.  While not to the scale of Hitler, I still do see it in many ways.

I'm a couple of episodes away from finishing the WW II In Color series.  Hindsight is 20/20, but I often wonder what the world would look like today has Germany focused on Poland and east.  Or what if Japan had not gotten the US involved.  Like in any war, there are pivotal decisions that turn tides and seemed like Germany's rise was quick and ruthless and their fall was almost as fast. 

macsak

Re: World War II - In Color
« Reply #22 on: August 15, 2018, 07:49:29 AM »
Or what if Japan had not gotten the US involved.

the US would have gotten involved when the Japanese invaded the Philippines and SE Asia
treaties after WWI restricted Japanese access to oil, steel, and rubber
there is a museum in Tokyo that has an exhibit that talks about WWII as if it was not the Japanese's fault
they even refer to it as the "Greater East Asian Conflict"
there is a panel that explicitly says Japan was forced to start the war so that they could get raw materials
i'll write more later about this shrine/museum when I have more time

drck1000

Re: World War II - In Color
« Reply #23 on: August 15, 2018, 07:59:27 AM »
the US would have gotten involved when the Japanese invaded the Philippines and SE Asia
treaties after WWI restricted Japanese access to oil, steel, and rubber
there is a museum in Tokyo that has an exhibit that talks about WWII as if it was not the Japanese's fault
they even refer to it as the "Greater East Asian Conflict"
there is a panel that explicitly says Japan was forced to start the war so that they could get raw materials
i'll write more later about this shrine/museum when I have more time
I haven't visited any of those museums in Japan.  I've always wanted to visit one of the peace parks in Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

I guess I meant the timing of when the US got involved.  I'd have to look back at the timing, but the Japanese was in the PI and other SE Asia areas well before 1941.  Japan even attacked a US gunboat and I think something like 50 were killed, but no action was taken.  I think that was late 1930s.  Seems like if Japan had not bombed Pearl Harbor, the US would have still gotten involved, but maybe with a different focus.  At least that's what I wondered about when I was watching the series.  Just seems like the US got involved when Germany was stretching itself thin, but maybe they could have held off the British and gotten a better foot hold.  But then they eventually were getting whipped by the Red Army in the east. 

macsak

Re: World War II - In Color
« Reply #24 on: August 15, 2018, 08:07:14 AM »

drck1000

Re: World War II - In Color
« Reply #25 on: August 15, 2018, 08:18:55 AM »
http://www.philippine-history.org/japanese-occupation.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasion_of_Malaya

I think this was the attack mentioned.  It was in 1937 and the US didn't jump in.  I thought the report said 50 died on the attack on a US gun boat, but these articles say 50-something on board and a few casualties (depends which account).  I'll have to go back to the episode I watched, but I thought the name of the gun boat was different.

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17110447
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/uss-panay-sunk-by-japanese
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Panay_incident

Trying to focus. . .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_the_Philippines

macsak

Re: World War II - In Color
« Reply #26 on: August 15, 2018, 08:48:13 AM »
I think this was the attack mentioned.  It was in 1937 and the US didn't jump in.  I thought the report said 50 died on the attack on a US gun boat, but these articles say 50-something on board and a few casualties (depends which account).  I'll have to go back to the episode I watched, but I thought the name of the gun boat was different.

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17110447
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/uss-panay-sunk-by-japanese
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Panay_incident

Trying to focus. . .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_occupation_of_the_Philippines

this will help with focusing
http://www.slate.com/blogs/quora/2014/07/07/what_prompted_japan_s_aggression_before_and_during_world_war_ii.html

drck1000

changemyoil66

Re: World War II - In Color
« Reply #28 on: August 15, 2018, 09:28:18 AM »
On a side note, my friends dad worked as a civilian at PH in 1941.  He said everyday and every hour (24/7), there is a crew working on the ships.  Holidays and all.  But on Saturday 12/6, the boss told his crew to take the day off tomorrow (12/7/1941).  They were overjoyed because no crew gets the entire day off.

Hard to wage a war if the guys who fix the ships are dead.  So this, in combo with the carriers all of a sudden being out of port, the lack of believing a sub was shot and sunk, huge blips on the radar from the wrong direction of the arriving B-17's, all add up and make you go hmmmmmm.

Anyone want to borrow my "tin" foil hat?

drck1000

Re: World War II - In Color
« Reply #29 on: August 15, 2018, 02:00:57 PM »
On a side note, my friends dad worked as a civilian at PH in 1941.  He said everyday and every hour (24/7), there is a crew working on the ships.  Holidays and all.  But on Saturday 12/6, the boss told his crew to take the day off tomorrow (12/7/1941).  They were overjoyed because no crew gets the entire day off.

Hard to wage a war if the guys who fix the ships are dead.  So this, in combo with the carriers all of a sudden being out of port, the lack of believing a sub was shot and sunk, huge blips on the radar from the wrong direction of the arriving B-17's, all add up and make you go hmmmmmm.

Anyone want to borrow my "tin" foil hat?
I've heard lots of those conspiracy stories.  Are they true?  Who knows.  However, from what I can tell from history, the US had plenty of reasons to jump right in the fight.  Same for France and Britain, though way before the US was even remotely thinking about joining the fray. 

rklapp

Re: World War II - In Color
« Reply #30 on: August 15, 2018, 02:06:45 PM »
I've been curious about Japan after the surrender. The US wrote the new constitution which the Japanese government approved with the blessing of the Emperor. Despite the fact that it was written by a foreign power, it has never been amended, maybe because the politicians are afraid that the government will return to their old ways. Abe no longer wants to apologize for Japan's role in the war. Have they made up for their atrocities 73 years later?



Haven't seen Big Red One for some time. I remember it was the French Vichy who greeted the soldiers but could be wrong. One situation that was unbelievable was the sinking of the Vichy fleet. The French were about to hand over the fleet to the Nazis and Churchill said he'd sink it first, so that's what he did.



I consider my family to be victims of the Nazis.
Yahh! Freedom and justice shall always prevail over tyranny, Babysitter Girl!
https://ronsreloading.wordpress.com/

drck1000

Re: World War II - In Color
« Reply #31 on: August 15, 2018, 02:06:56 PM »
Having done a lot of work at Pearl Harbor, there are tons of history to be learned.  Both from the folks that work there as well as the facilities themselves. 

I've worked on repairing a number of the wharves/piers and dry docks.  Many of them were built in the early 1900s.  Most of them have graffiti below deck.  I've seen a bunch dated just prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. 

When I worked on one of the big warehouses where they fabricate panels for the ships hulls, one old timer told a story of why this one area was haunted.  The story was that just after the bombing, that area was used as a temporary morgue.  A high school classmate worked there and he said that he's worked in that building late a bunch of times and that "it's spooky" when they have to stay late and it's maybe just 2-3 guys. 

I've been to Yokosuka many times and they still have many of the bunkers and tunnels of the original base.  When I was walking around the base, I would think about what that place was like during the war days.  So much history in both places.  Some good, some bad. . .

drck1000

Re: World War II - In Color
« Reply #32 on: August 15, 2018, 02:11:09 PM »
I've been curious about Japan after the surrender. The US wrote the new constitution which the Japanese government approved with the blessing of the Emperor. Despite the fact that it was written by a foreign power, it has never been amended, maybe because the politicians are afraid that the government will return to their old ways. Abe no longer wants to apologize for Japan's role in the war. 1) Have they made up for their atrocities 73 years later?

SNIP

Haven't seen Big Red One for some time. I remember it was the French Vichy who greeted the soldiers but could be wrong. One situation that was unbelievable was the sinking of the Vichy fleet. The French were about to hand over the fleet to the Nazis and Churchill said he'd sink it first, so that's what he did.

SNIP

2) I consider my family to be victims of the Nazis.
1) Try asking the Korean and Chinese. . .

2) They did some terrible things, that's for sure.  Reminds me of the scene from Saving Private Ryan when Pvt Mellish (I think it was him) was taunting the captured German solders, letting them know he was "Juden". 

rklapp

Re: World War II - In Color
« Reply #33 on: August 15, 2018, 07:06:58 PM »
1) Try asking the Korean and Chinese. . .
The irony is that the US developed the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe and MacArthur's efforts to rebuild Japan. Subsequently, Japan was supposed to rebuild the Philippines. Unfortunately, Marcos pocketed the reparations and screwed over the population. Imelda claimed the money for her shoe collection came from money they saved. There's further speculation that their wealth came from the gold that General Yamashita horded during the occupation of the Philippines.

Also reminds me of this movie. Churchill is famously misquoted to say, "Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing…after they have exhausted all other possibilities."



Mountjoy: We must declare war on the United States.
Benter: But we can never win such a war!
Mountjoy: Of course not, but we could win the peace. I've given this a lot of thought gentlemen and I'm perfectly positive that I am right. You must remember, the Americans are a very strange people. Whereas other countries rarely forgive anything, the Americans forgive anything. There isn't a more profitable undertaking for any country than to declare war on the United States and to be defeated.

Yahh! Freedom and justice shall always prevail over tyranny, Babysitter Girl!
https://ronsreloading.wordpress.com/