- [Narrator 1] Now ashen and hollow, it's the bombed out backdrop
for the biggest urban battle of the Pacific War. (guns fire) It takes street by
street guerrilla warfare. (soft music) Shanghai, China. Here, cultures intersect. It's a Chinese city with an American and British settlement. Streets reveal a global
mix of carts and cars. It's an international crossroads, but Japan has it in its cross airs. (bomb explodes) In 1937, they invade. Their own film shows parts of
Shanghai crumbling in a heap. Japan seizes the Chinese portion
surrounding the Westerners. Then Japan storms another city. They overwhelmed Chinese
forces within days. Then massacre up to 300,000 citizens. It becomes known as the "Rape of Nanking." (soft music) The Chinese tried to
carry on amid the rubble. The horrors linger light ghosts. (sad music) On this pockmarked building, the invaders flop their flag like a brand. Japanese soldiers signal
a new Imperial presence. America wonders if
Japan's ambition ends here or extends to one of its
own territories nearby. President Roosevelt issued a secret order after the Pearl Harbor attack "Find a way to strike back at Japan." It takes four months to figure out how. The distance is daunting,
the technology is lacking, but they pulled together a plan that's part bravado, part desperation. Ships cut through a stormy
Pacific in radio silence just as the Japanese did
coming the other way. American carriers haven't yet come of age. This one's only big enough
to launch a scout plane with a catapult. To bomb Japan, they'll have
to launch a bigger plane off this deck a B-25,
they've never tried it. - [Herb] We had an actually
flown off a carrier before. I wondered could I get
out of that damn airplane if we go off the end of the flight deck? - [Narrator 1] Bombardier
Herb Macia scrapes the waves, gets airborne by a whisker. There's no turning back. The deck is too short to land on. 16 planes are off to Japan
on a wing and a prayer. It's called the Doolittle raid
for the Colonel who leads it. There's no footage of the raid itself. Some bombs hit Tokyo,
but damage is minimal. Most planes go onto crash land in China. As payback for Pearl
Harbor, it hardly rates. America doesn't care. - [Narrator 2] Doolittle and
his gallant men will shake the complacency of the Japanese warlord. - [Narrator 1] Waves of
Japanese expansion have yet to reach here Hawaii. The famous crossroads sign in Honolulu shows just how far it is from anywhere. In 1941, the U.S. Navy
base at Pearl Harbor is just about the only sign
that it's an American territory. Mostly Hawaii hums to its own tune. This is the pre-war footage
of Francis Raymond Line, a traveling filmmaker. His color film on spools like
a perfect travel brochure. Hawaii has its own way of doing things. Its not used to cultural,
convulsions change usually comes on the slow boat. Francis Lines film paints
Hawaii as nearly perfect. It's paradise framed by crashing waves, a roaring perimeter with wondrous views of the Pacific curving out of sight. Beyond Hawaii's horizon
line, Japanese cameras film Yamato secretly slicing its
way through the Pacific. It's December 6th, 1941. The American military is on
alert, but not up to speed. On this very day, one unit
has a no hand grenades to practice with instead they throw eggs. Also on December 6th, newspaper
ads call on congressmen to keep America out of the
war across the Atlantic. It's the other ocean
that's about to explode. Pearl Harbor goes to sleep
innocent and unscaved for the last time. Philadelphia, 1939, there's a buzz building
inside Municipal Stadium. A marching band warms up the
crowd on a chilly December day. Then military formations fill the field. First, the army then the Navy. Once the field is clear,
the battle begins. This is the first known colored
film of the Army-Navy Game. (crowd cheering) Colonel Wilbert Duckham
seats from his corner seat. (crowd cheering) Duckham captures it all on colored film, recent invention for home movie
buffs and combat cameramen. Duckham also films this army
unit training at West Point. In 1939, America's military
is not very robust. All the services combined
have about 600,000 men. Training is sincere,
but not always serious. - [Thomas] I was a radio man. I only fired my rifle once the whole damn time I was in the army. - [Narrator 1] The army
figures less than half of its troops are properly trained. They're barely literate. 75% haven't finished high school and 40% never started it. Americans greet their military
with a collective shrug. When Duckham's unit parades through town, few people stopped to watch. It's more sideshow than show of force. The Battle of the Coral
Sea starts with a big blow. American spotted Japanese carrier. They dive down through
pushing anti aircraft fire and sink it. The Japanese respond by
swarming American ships. (gunfire exploding) It's dog fight after dog fight, but neither side's Navy can see the other. Planes do all the fighting long distance. - [William] The planes
flew right around us and the guns couldn't keep up. And the boys couldn't
twist that gun faster. (gunfire exploding) - [Narrator 1] Then Americans
hit a second enemy carrier. But Japan responds with two mortal blows, a bomb rips through the
deck of the USS Yorktown killing 40 men. And the USS Lexington is
blasted beyond repair. (sad music) Both sides suffer heavy losses, but the allies have
halted Japan's momentum. Those left behind will never
know the historic impact of the Battle of the Coral Sea. Not once do opposing
ships spot each other, not once do they exchange a salvo. It's a new kind of Naval battle fought entirely with airplanes. (gunshot explodes) For everyone on the mainland,
War remains abstract. For Hawaiians it's real. Pearl Harbor still looks like
it was flipped upside down. The beach is off limits
framed by barbed wire. The entire territory is under martial law. Thousands of school kids are
registered, fingerprinted and made to wear ID badges. Locals lineup for ration
cards and gas masks. Older kids practice how
fast they can get them on. The youngest ones have to
get into a full body bag as if they aren't scared enough. More than a third of Hawaiians
are of Japanese descent. They're nervous and trying to
blend in by removing any signs of their ancestry. But here, there's no
talk of mass internment, such is not the case on the mainland. Japan has hit a wall in the south Pacific so the empire looks east to Midway. It's a critical halfway point
between Asia and the U.S., the American forces
protecting Midway are meager. The approaching Japanese
fleet is four times bigger. (dramatic music) At sunrise, Americans
hear the approaching buzz. They steal themselves for an onslaught. (gunfire explodes) The Japanese bombed the runways and obliterate the command post. Smoke billows high into the sky as they tear into the American base. They set the hangers ablaze. (plane engine roars)
(bomb explodes) American Marines, desperately
scrambled for cover hoping the Navy can
summon a counter-attack and save the island. (plane engine roves)
(orchestral music) American saw the Japanese coming. So before they arrived, they launched whole
squadrons of torpedo planes and dive bombers. 150 airplanes raced a strike back leaving their home ships
under fire behind them. (bomb explodes) Without air cover, American
ships face a onslaught. But when the American planes
reached the Japanese fleet, they catch them off guard. (plane engines roaring) They too have no air cover. (plane engines roaring) American pilots make it count. They destroyed all four Japanese carriers. (bomb explodes) America loses one carrier
and 307 service men, more are injured and
adrift, awaiting rescue, but they prove America
can fight back and win. The Japanese high command is shaking. The tide is turning. The Ishikawas are a fishing
family living in California. These are their home
movies from before the war. They're Japanese
immigrants building a life on the American west coast, but in 1942, that's just
where a suspicious government doesn't want them. Takeo and Roberta Sharma are children when the U.S. government puts
their families on a train. - [Roberta] We had to
get rid of everything. We were given one month. - [Takeo] People who
lived closer to the ocean, they only had 24 hours. - [Narrator 1] They're headed inland to one of the 10 hastily
built in Terman camps ordered by President Roosevelt
at the start of the war. (sad music) - [Takeo] There would be
two families in one room. - [Roberta] When we got there, my mother had to stuff
canvas bags with hay, which were to be our mattresses. (sad music) I can't remember the food. I can remember not wanting to eat it. I would just look at it. - [Narrator 1] They study,
work, even joined the military. (sad music) The government rounds up more than 110,000 Japanese Americans claiming it's for their own safety. They will be calling this
home, but they are not free. Before dawn, the Marines
pour into the landing craft. As daylight breaks, the ships
open fire above their heads to soften defenses. (gunfire exploding) They pound the tiny island
for four solid hours. Then Navy planes takeover. In all Americans rip into Tarawa with over 4 million tons of steel. (bomb explodes) Johnny Singleton recalls the destruction. - [Johnnie] We thought after
all our planes bombarding and attacking, there would be
nothing left on the island. - [Charles] The Navy
promised that they would have all the Japs killed by
the time we got there. So we really weren't all that worried. - [Narrator 1] The plan
is to land the Marines on the island's Northern beaches, and move towards the key target
the airstrip at the center. Suddenly, incoming fire
grazes the invaders. (bomb explodes) Then unexpectedly, the
boats grind to a halt. Naval planners misjudged the tide. They expect five feet
of water over the reef but there's only three. Machine gunfire intensifies
and mortars rain down. The men are sitting docks. They have one choice, abandon ship or be blown out of the water. The Marines are forced to wait 700 yards under Japanese mortar and machine gunfire. They're being mowed down in rows. They fight their way
onto the crowded beach. Men are pinned down in waves, allied ships and planes
unload another massive barrage onto the island. (bomb explodes) It appears to pay off, only a few pockets of resistance remains. - [Norm] There wasn't any
end you just walked away. There wasn't anybody left to fight. - [Narrator 1] Americans finally
declared the island secure. Japan once boasted, "It would
take a million men 100 years to take Tarawa." America proved otherwise,
but at a shocking cost. It takes three days of hard fighting over 1,000 dead and 2,000
wounded to capture an island of less than three square miles. Long and crescent shaped, Kwajalein is the largest
coral atoll in the world. The targets are the
main island of Kwajalein at the Southern tip and the island of Roi-Namur the next day. Since they're 40 miles apart, the assault requires
two separate campaigns. The plan, hit Kwajalein on day one, then attack Roi-Namur the next day. (bomb explodes) As they approach
Kwajalein on February 1st, the enemy is nowhere in sight. The bomb damage is surreal. The Japanese are caught
defending the wrong beach. The landings go off with
the precision of a drill, they cleared the island in four days. Now that the island is secure, America deems it safe for nurses. Women in the Pacific aren't allowed anywhere near combat areas. Little more than a year ago, 77 nurses were taken
prisoner in the Philippines. So on Kwajalein, nurses
are under a tight watch, fenced in quarters, strict
curfews and armed escorts. - [Kathryn] We worked seven to seven and we rotated for night duty. We didn't get a day off. - [Narrator 1] They work
hard and make the most of whatever downtime they have in their temporary tropical home. So far, 60,000 nurses serve far and wide on America's war fronts, but women are doing more than nursing. Every service branch is
making room for new roles. Some jobs are familiar,
but others are brand new. When a shortage pilots hits
the army air force in 1943, the WASPs are born, Women
Airforce Service Pilots. Led by top aviator Jackie
Cochran, WASPs are trained at Avenger field in Sweetwater, Texas making it the first coed
military flying field in U.S. history. (plane engine roaring) But wartimed films reveal
they can't quite escape the old stereotypes. - [Narrator 2] For each girl
as a pilot when she comes, she must adjust herself to a new technique and the hairdo is a sacrifice. Time up for the daily
sunbath starting up energy against the girling
training of minds and bodies while the tremendous
responsibilities that lie ahead. Six American buildings
well, while there's a pilot and copilot in each. - [Narrator 1] The news spreads fast, and the rumors start flying. During the first week at Sweetwater, more than 100 male pilots make
unnecessary forced landings just to have a look at the young women. Soon, the place is
barred from all outsiders and becomes known as Cochran's Convent. Nearly 1,100 women earned their wings. The first women to fly
American military aircraft. They take test flights,
fairy planes from factories to air bases and fly
simulated strafing missions. Women log more than 60 million miles flying every type of airplane. World War II is everybody's war. playing hide and seek
with aircraft carriers is a new kind of warfare. With longer range planes, the
Japanese may strike first. The Battle of the Philippine Sea will be the biggest carrier
battle in Naval history. American radar picks up incoming planes. The Japanese have found them. Carriers scrambled their
F6F Hellcat to meet them. (plane engine roaring) The two massive navies are
still hundreds of miles apart. So it comes down to one
pilot against another and wide knuckles split second dog fights. (bomb explodes) American ships blast away from below. (bomb explodes) Japan made its planes lighter
by shedding heavy armor. The gained range, but lost muscle. In aerial fistfights they
simply can't take a punch. American Hellcat shoot down over 20 planes from the first attack wave. (gunfire exploding) Naval anti aircraft fire hit a dozen more. (bomb explodes) One Japanese bomber scores a hit on a battleship South Dakota, 24 sailors are killed
under a halo of smoke. Then the second attack
wave comes in 128 planes. Navy pilot, George Kirk joins
the fray in his Hellcat. - [George] Maziro came and
zoomed right in front of me. He was chasing the Hellcat. We crossed and I was
able to light them up. I saved the other guy. - [Narrator 1] This attack wave fairs even worse than the first. They hit no ships at all. Many ended up in the sea. (bomb explodes) By the time the fourth
Japanese wave comes in, they're scattered and disorganized. Some don't even find the American fleet. It's a complete route. Americans nickname it, the
Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. (bombs exploding) The Navy rains destruction on Saipan. (bombs exploding) Firing from afar, they sacrificed
accuracy for sheer volume. (bombs exploding) Then 150 carrier planes
take the battle up close. (plane engine roars) Braving returned fire,
they pound the beaches to soften them up for the landing. (plane engine roars) The plan calls for the
first wave of troops to land at 08:30 with
many waves to follow. They hope the tanks can
blast their way inland so troops don't have to get
out on the exposed beach. Nobody wants Marines waiting the shore in blood-stained waters
like they had at Tarawa, but the enemy learned
lessons from the same battle. Japanese film reveals
more elaborate toolboxes with clear sight lines to the invaders. They've even planted
distance flags in the water. Americans are right in their cross airs. (bombs exploding) Colonel James Donovan is
commanding one of the landing craft trailing a tank that was
supposed to provide cover. - [James] I could see the bullets striking the water right in front of us. I told the men to get
down as low as they could. Next thing, my Lieutenant
was hit in his left shoulder. He looked down to his shoulder and his left eye was shot out. The man standing next to
me, had his head knocked off by an anti-tank round. (bombs explodes) - [Narrator 1] Leading tanks can't stop the volley of incoming shells. Behind them, men are
getting cut into pieces. Donovan decides it's
better to let the survivors out to fend for themselves on the beach. - [James] We landed at the water's edge and we all climbed out of that truck. It was a bloody mess background. (bombs exploding) - [Narrator 1] Chaos unfolds
as the men scrambled for cover. Instead of leapfrogging
the beach as planned, they're stuck on it. (bombs exploding) One battalion fights for an hour and advances only 12 yards past the beach. Many just have to crouch in the
sand, keep their heads down. It's a very long day. And for some their last. There were 2,000 dead and injured. The Marines have made their
first sacrifices on Saipan. The Navy is next. For most Americans, Saipan
is their first taste of the tropics. The heat and humidity can be oppressive. When allowed to pull back from the front, troops tried to reset both mind and body. - [Jack] We hadn't had a bath in a month. You pulled off your socks and
most of your skin came off. - [Narrator 1] Any chance to
get halfway clean is a godsend. There's also do it yourself laundry. - [Thomas] Clothes were so dirty. They'd stand up by themselves. - [Narrator 1] With only
one uniform they make do. Any food that is not canned
field rations is another treat. It's not home cooking, but
it's still worth the wait. - [Roy] They would make a
five pound can of coffee and a barrel. It was the prettiest foam you ever saw. Some of the best cup of coffee
I've ever had in my life was on that island - [Narrator 1] Downtime
gives the man a chance to swap stories and
compare battle souvenirs. Jack Lent learned even
commandeers a Japanese bike to visit some buddies in another unit. - [Jack] They said, "How in
the world did you get up here?" I said, "I rode right up that main road." They said, "We haven't captured it yet." I went right through the
Japanese lines on a bicycle. I think I went back at 90 miles an hour. - [Narrator 1] The campaign
for Tinian takes nine days, 389 Americans are killed
and more than 1,800 wounded. Tinian is not as deadly as Saipan, not as shocking as Tarawa,
not as infamous as Iwo Jima, but for the men left
here under white crosses it's the end of their war. Raising the flag is a symbol of victory, but not the end of violence. Americans will continue
to find Japanese troops hiding all over Tinian. A Marine regiment pools the
unglamorous duty called mop up. After a battle that officially
lasted less than two weeks, they will spend five
more months crisscrossing the island several
times, killing an average of almost four Japanese
holdouts every day. - [Charles] We had to blow
them out, explode them out. None of them would surrender. (gunfire exploding) - [Narrator 1] Charles Pase was on the jig day invasion force and stays from mop-up on Tinian. - [Charles] We had big
loudspeakers up on the cliffs overlooking these caves and
interpreters telling them to come out their hands up. - [Narrator 1] Here, soldiers
and civilians finally emerged from a cramped coastal hideout. Almost three weeks after
Americans declare victory. Hidden from the war, they have no idea which side is winning. Many are in rags, a few
come out in business attire, but they all now hare an unknown future under a new occupier. Tanks offer a higher vantage
point, an extra fire power. Tucked inside, drivers and
gunmen roam through Tinian systematically engaging
target after target. (gunfire exploding) The American advance is
a steady grinding push. Across an exposed landscape, Japanese options for
counter attacks are limited. They tend to fall back to
more defensible positions. On Tinian, there are a
few except the cliffs on the Southern coast. This is where the Japanese make
their ferocious last stand. Mortars rain down with a menacing whistle. (bomb explodes) American casualties begin to spike. On previous islands cliff
fighting proved costly. So on Tinian, they sharpen their strategy. Leaders order ground troops to hunker down in their foxholes. Then they call then the Navy. (bombs exploding) For two and a half hours, five ships coordinate
an all out firestorm. 615 tons of shells crash into the cliffs. (bombs exploding) Planes launched from Saipan
drop another 69 tons. The concentration of fire is more intense than anything seen on Tarawa or Saipan. As the smoke clears, Marines get the signal
to advance on the cliffs. Somehow, the Japanese guns
have survived the Navy assault. One keeps firing with impunity, and Americans can't find it. With Marines on the cliff, the Navy can no longer use blanket fire, sailors can only watch
helplessly from afar. Pinned down with so close
to victory on Tinian, a handful of Marines take
matters into their own hands. One jumps up, runs 10 yards
and drops on his belly. Another does the same,
leapfrogging past the first. And without a plan without orders, they zigzag toward the Japanese gun. (bombs exploding) Finally, they get close
enough to point it out, but tank blasts away. Then the Navy launches big shells at it. 20 bodies surround the bunker, a concrete dugout hiding a
47 millimeter anti-tank gun that fired out of a narrow hole. With the last ridge finally
under American control, the bulk of the battle is over. Away from the front lines, Americans tried to escape the destruction with a little construction. Like turning a foxhole into a home, American can-do culture
is crossing the Pacific along with all the battles hardware. Troops take pride in making
the best out of the worst. One even builds his living quarters under a racked landing craft. Other found objects like
this Japanese diving suit bring laughs to those who need them most. A stray puppy brings
a welcome distraction. They call her Sake, a name
inspired by the deep stash of liquor troops find in
a captured supply depot. It's probably their first
taste of Japanese culture, but the escape from reality is brief. (sad music) As the battle moves North, both
sides keep trading volleys. The nasty business of flushing
the enemy out of caves brings out packs of raw dynamite. Americans leave the bodies but take the crates of Japanese whiskey. Every island in the
path of the Pacific War is becoming a killing field, and Americans will soon
decide which island is next. Conventional bombs
demand pinpoint accuracy, but targeting by site is tricky. Americans often dropped several bombs and hope one hits the mark. (bomb explodes) During the Battle of Tinian,
officers gather on Saipan to watch this film. It shows the field testing
of a new type of weapon. (bomb explodes) It's called napalm, a combustible mixture
of sticky gel and fuel designed to spread and burn. Americans have no problem using fire. It's already pouring out a
flame throwers and tanks, but this is a whole new
level of destruction. Now an airplane can become a dragon with one breath can set a
bridge ablaze, set water on fire or turn a field of green earth into a lifeless charred dead
zone where no one can hide. After watching this film, the brass on Saipan don't hesitate. They ordered 8,500 pounds of it. Inside of a year, America's use of napalm in the Pacific is spread like wildfire. (bomb explodes) For centuries, Mount Suribachi
crown to barren island of little value Iwo Jima, but in 1945, two armies wanted badly. Japan is using it to attack
B-29s passing overhead. America sees it as an
emergency landing strip. They will both now use
it as a slaughter house. At 9:02 AM, the first wave hits the sand. - [Army Officer] Everybody
out, move, move, move. - [Narrator 1] The beach
is steep and loose. They struggle in the fine volcanic ash. But as more waves come ashore, more men and machines
get stuck in the sand. Soon the crowd on the
beach reaches critical mass that's when the Japanese open up. (bomb explodes) - [Billy] I could look up on my foxhole and it was just 20, 30 mortars
in the air at the time. - [Narrator 1] By 9:20
AM, it's an unceasing, ear splitting barrage. No Japanese are on the beach itself. Most are entrenched on Mount Suribachi. Inside the mountain is amaze of tunnels and monster pill boxes with
walls up to four feet thick. The Japanese can pummel
the entire beach with lead. Marines are trapped within
yards of where they landed. The assault on Mount Suribachi begins by punching it from the air and sea. (plane engine roaring) Americans make the dormant
volcano seem alive again. (gunshots exploding) Then Marine start to climb up. Soon blood starts to flow down. As usual, Americans
rarely see the Japanese. So they pour fire into every hole. After four days of relentless fighting, a handful of Marines get to the top. They plant a small flag tied
to some old Japanese pipe. A few hours later, a larger flag goes up. Gilberto Mendez can see
it from his troop ship and his emotions go into overdrive. He's about to come
ashore to join the fight. - [Gilberto] My heart was beating
a thousand times a minute. My skin was like chicken skin. I lost my fear. If those guys made it, I could, but it was false that feeling
because the good stuff hadn't started yet. - [Narrator 1] From the air,
Peleliu looks like the moon. Underneath there's an old
network of mining tunnels that the Japanese transform
into a front unto itself. - [Eugene] There never was
a front line on Peleliu. The whole island was a front line. - [Narrator 1] Japanese are everywhere, but nowhere to be seen. Americans end up shooting
blindly into the ground. They think they win a hill
only to smell Japanese cooking wafting up from below ground. (bomb explodes) The subterranean maze is so confounding that the Americans resort to blasting shut any hole they see, whether they think anyone's inside or not. It takes two bloody weeks
to secure the airfield. The first Marines have to
finish what they started. They fired grenades with rifles. They throw Molotov cocktails,
and they deploy a new weapon called the Navy Mark 1 flamethrower. It shoots a blazing laser
of napalm up to 150 yards. - [Fred] We were limited by not being able to use poison gas. Other than that, just
about anything would. - [Narrator 1] Americans also
drop napalm from the air. It's a new tactic, getting its first big tryout on Peleliu. They hope to scorch
Japanese they can't see. (bomb explodes) They provide powerful fireworks, but they have little effect
on deep Japanese positions. Killing the enemy from a
distance isn't working. It's going to take close combat. And their third year of war
and sixth week on Peleliu the first Marines are in no
mood to play by the rules. - [Eugene] We never took prisoners even when some tried to give up. We routinely shot both dead
and wounded in the head to make sure they were dead. - [Narrator 1] MacArthur's
Marines load up and leave Peleliu for the army to finish. Almost a third of their
men are dead or wounded. The Japanese are lobbing
their repelling fire from this craggy jumble of peaks. The first Marines nickname
it "Bloody Nose Ridge." One of the officer's approaching the ridge is New Yorker, George Haggerty. - [George] When my company went in, we were 250 strong with six officers. A few days later, I found
my commander and he said, "You and I are the only officers left. And we only have about 20 men." - [Narrator 1] Down to a skeleton unit, the commander sends
Haggerty and six others to find a hidden Japanese in placement that already bloodied much of the company. - [George] He said, "When
you get there signal me and will come up." We crawled our way up the field. (grenade explodes) Some of the grenades we threw up, they threw back down at us. - [Narrator 1] Haggerty gets close enough to signal his commander
for reinforcements. - [George] We signaled and
signaled and nothing happened. Instead our own armored LVTs came up and started firing at us. They thought we were Japanese. - [Narrator 1] Haggerty stumbles back with shrapnel wounds from
enemy and friendly fire. - [George] I went back
to look for my commander and ask him why he hadn't
brought the reinforcements. I found him with a little
hole between his eyes, and the whole back of his head blown off. That was the end of the
war for my battalion. We didn't have any more troops left. - [Narrator 1] This is home
movie footage of pre-war Manila as the capital of a U.S. territory, it's infused with American style from Western clothes to neon glitz. But when the allies
returned to wrestle it back from the Japanese, it's a different city. Now ashen and hollow, it's
the bombed out backdrop for the biggest urban
battle of the Pacific War. MacArthur prohibits airstrikes trying to spare civilians. It takes street by
street guerrilla warfare. American tanks roll into the
University of the Philippines. The campus is under siege. Here, university hall becomes a gun nest. (gunfire explode) Japanese rifles crack from the top floor. Allies fire back, taking chunks
out of the colonial facade. (gunfire explodes) The Pacific War is turning Manila to dust. (bomb explodes) Finally, the city goes quiet. (sad music) Civilians are in survival mode. (sad music) American POW's enjoy their
first taste of freedom in more than two years. Kneeling over this body
is servicemen Dan Rocklin. He films the horrors
that now litter Manila, but he also captures Filipino's
striving for normalcy. Rocklin's film has never
been broadcast before. His footage reveals a blossoming hope that the storm of war
may finally be passing. On Okinawa, exhaustion
is crippling both sides. Less than a third of the
Japanese army is left and they form a last line
of defense by the sea. This is where General
Ushijima makes his last stand. - [Mitsuru] The present
position will be defended to the death even to the last man. Needless to say, retreat is forbidden. - [Narrator 1] The Japanese
are running out of soldiers, ammunition and land. They have their backs to the sea. Americans try to persuade
civilians to surrender rather than die. In one case, they lure 600
Okinawans out of a single cave. They are less forgiving to the enemy. Some refuse to take
Japanese prisoners at all, killing them on site, white flag or not. Americans can see the coast
and they are burning their way to the sea. Japanese leaders are
huddled in seaside caves. It is so cramped that General Ushijima cannot stretch out his legs. He receives a message
from General Buckner, an offer to enter
negotiations for surrender. - [Simon] You understand as clearly as I that the destruction of
all Japanese resistance on the island is merely a matter of days. - [Narrator 1] Ushijima laughs
it off and does not reply. Soon after, a camera man
captures General Buckner visiting a forward observation post to see the final days for himself. Minutes after this footage is taken, a shell explodes on a
rock right next to him. a piece of it tears through his chest. And just 10 minutes,
General Buckner is dead. He drifts off to sleep as a
Marine private holds his hand saying, "You are going home general. You are homeward bound." As Americans approached the coast, General Ushijima sends his
final message to Tokyo. - [Mitsuru] We are about to
deploy all surviving soldiers for a final battle in which I
will apologize to the emperor with my own death. - [Narrator 1] On a ledge,
overlooking the sea, Ushijima performs the
samurai ritual of Harakiri plunging a saber into his own stomach. The Battle for Okinawa is the only contest of the Pacific to cost the lives of both commanding officers. (gun explodes) What started as a cake walk
has become a meat grinder. Okinawa is becoming the
Pacific theater's black hole. Then from the European
theater, news breaks. - [Narrator 2] Through out
the world throngs of people hail the end of the war in Europe. - [Narrator 1] The world
celebrates, Hitler is dead. Germany surrenders and Europe is at peace. But on the other side of the
world, Japan still won't budge. The Battle for Okinawa has
already dragged on longer than Iwo Jima or Saipan. The war seems endless. Combat fatigue spreads like a disease. Some units are on the front lines for almost four straight weeks
under constant bombardment. Through May, nearly 14,000
troops are pulled back with what the military
calls non battle injuries. - [Charles] We had a lot of
people who had what we call a thousand yard stare. Just looking off, not thinking anything. We lost a few that were
just completely gone. - [Narrator 1] First,
Lieutenant Charles Kilpatrick sees one officer hit the wall. - [Charles] And he just broke down. He said, "I can't do it anymore. I can't send any more boys
out there to get killed." (sad music) - [Narrator 1] Until they
crack the Shuri Line, they're trapped in a slaughter house. (bomb explodes) The Shuri Line is an eight mile wide coast to coast killing zone. This is where America
realizes the brutal truth. The Japanese are no
longer fighting to win. They only want to turn
the conquest of Okinawa into a drawn-out bloodbath and
give America second thoughts about invading mainland Japan. As April turns to May, it's working. At sea, it's kill first
take prisoners later. Far from Okinawa, in the South China Sea, the submarine USS
Pampanito patrols the area after torpedoing two
distant Japanese ships. Four days later, they spot
desperate survivors clinging to floating wreckage. The submarine commander gets a shock. - [Landon] They were speaking English. - [Narrator 1] These men are Australian and British prisoners of war. 2,000 of them were crammed
onto two Japanese cargo ships when they were torpedoed by the Americans. Most of the POW's are dead,
sunk by their own side. The lucky ones survive barely after four days on the
open sea, 150 are rescued. - [Reulou] Can you
imagine the shock we got? Water, tomato soup and crackers, something we had never had
in two and a half years. - [Narrator 1] As the
survivors gain strange, they unspool a story that defies belief. They come from a secret
prison camp deep in Thailand with enough POW's to fill a city, a quarter of a million men including 60,000 British
Australians and Dutch and at least 1,000 missing Americans. They were brought here to build a railroad from Thailand to Burma
across the River Kwai. The men are beaten and tortured, forced to live as slaves. (sad music) - [Reuben] The appalling conditions have made us dangerously thin. We have no beds, inadequate
shelter, atrocious diet and no sanitation. We have lost all our
clothes, shoes and have taken to wearing our shirts as loincloths. In almost no time, we
have become skeleton men. - [Narrator 1] Nearly one-third
of POW's die in captivity, survivors have no end in sight. All they see are their
own comrades wasting away. Between bombed out
buildings is a sure sign that war has moved on. The USO has moved in. Hollywood stars and service
men and women meet face to face 7,000 miles from home. Comedian Joe E. Brown has
come to boost their morale. His comic rubber faced
expressions translate all the way to the back row. (crowd applauding) Throughout the Pacific,
the USO brings laughter to places that only recently knew horror. Touching down on this dusty airstrip on Tarawa another celebrity. By now Bob Hope has
logged over 30,000 miles across the Pacific. At every stop, he and his
troop are escorted to thousands of fans eagerly awaiting
the show of a lifetime. - [Narrator 3] Here is Bob Hope. (crowd cheering) - [Narrator 1] By now,
Hope knows the reality of life in the Pacific
almost as well as the man. - [Narrator 3] How do you do it? Ladies and gentlemen, this
is Bob Mosquito Network Hope. (crowd laughs) I really hope you enjoy our show today. We have a nice show here with Francis Ryan with Joy Colona. I know you'll enjoy the girls. (crowds laughs) You remember girls? - [Narrator 1] Hope is not
the only one putting smiles on American faces. There are plenty of big stars, and thousands of lesser known names. They perform show after
show for homesick troops all over the Pacific. Wherever there's a USO show, war has past. (soft music)
I love these type of documentaries.