Incomplete Aspects Omitted from The Pacific's True Story

Article Overview

The Pacific strives to depict the brutal reality of warfare in the Pacific Theater, but certain details from the true story are left out.

The tone and level of violence portrayed in The Pacific set it apart from Band of Brothers. Additionally, Band of Brothers displays a higher level of historical accuracy, relying on interviews with more than twelve soldiers from Easy Company.

The Pacific, a companion piece to the highly acclaimed HBO World War II miniseries Band of Brothers, is a dramatization based on true events. Although it aims to depict the harsh reality of warfare in the Pacific Theater, not every aspect portrayed is completely accurate. The series follows the 1st Marine Division as they engage in campaigns against the Japanese forces occupying the Pacific islands. Drawing primarily from Robert Leckie's memoir Helmet For My Pillow and Eugene B. Sledge's book With the Old Breed, The Pacific seeks to provide an authentic representation of the conflict. However, due to the extensive source material condensed into a 10-episode series, certain elements of the true story had to be omitted. The Pacific also differentiates itself from Band of Brothers in terms of tone and the level of violence and gore depicted. According to the accounts of Leckie and Sledge, the atmosphere of the Pacific campaigns differed significantly from those in Europe. Fighting in the Pacific was characterized by a lack of glory, lowered morale among the troops, and a heightened intensity of animosity between the U.S. forces and the Japanese military. The series effectively captures the brutality and terrifying nature of combat in the Pacific Theater, but it does omit certain stories and details.

Bob Leckie Had To Be Circumcised To Join The Marines

Desecration of the Dead

Robert Leckie, a key figure in The Pacific cast, faced a considerable hurdle in joining the Marines. According to his memoir Helmet For My Pillow, he made his initial attempt to enlist the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, but was informed that circumcision was a requirement before he could join. After undergoing the procedure, he wasted no time and proceeded to training just days after his stitches had been removed. Leckie vividly describes the sensation of the fresh and tender wound in his lower regions as his memoir begins. This insistence on circumcision within the Marines aimed to prevent infections like balanoposthitis, which were rampant due to the challenging conditions for maintaining personal hygiene in the war-torn landscapes of North Africa and the Pacific Islands. Consequently, a significant number of men had to be relieved from active duty as a result.

The depiction of violence in The Pacific is even more intense than in Band of Brothers. It bravely portrays the mistreatment of Japanese soldiers' bodies, including a deeply disturbing scene where Merriell "Snafu" Shelton casually throws pebbles into the exposed skull of a deceased Japanese gunner. Both Sledge and Leckie, in their memoirs, recount the practice of "souvenir-hunting" as a common occurrence after battles, with Marines extracting gold teeth from corpses and pillaging their possessions for weapons and flags.

The series wisely avoids depicting the more extreme mutilations of American bodies by Japanese military forces that Leckie and Sledge witnessed. In their memoirs, both Leckie and Sledge describe encountering dead Marines whose genitals had been severed and placed in their mouths, as a posthumous act of humiliation. Additionally, Sledge recalls an incident involving an American soldier who attempted to keep a severed hand of a Japanese soldier as a souvenir but was compelled to discard it due to the odor.

The show also omits some of the sadistic practices of Lieutenant Robert "Mac" MacKenzie (portrayed by Ashley Zukerman in The Pacific). According to Sledge, Mac would urinate in the mouths of deceased Japanese soldiers and would engage in a game aimed at shooting various body parts off of corpses. This cruel sadism failed to impress the seasoned Marines who had been actively serving in the war for months or even years. Exhausted from their experiences, they couldn't find any entertainment or novelty in the desecration of the deceased. In Sledge's account of the incident involving the unidentified Marine throwing pebbles, he wrote that the Marine's actions were not driven by specific malice but rather by the desensitization he had developed towards the sight of dead bodies.

The Crocodiles of Guadalcanal

The first major clash shown in The Pacific is the Battle of the Tenaru on Guadalcanal, where the Japanese suffered a total of 24,000 casualties. In a haunting scene, Japanese soldiers rush headlong into a rain of machine gun fire, only to be mercilessly gunned down. Their bodies are left piled up on the beach and floating in the water.

Gunny Haney's Hygiene Routine

Easy Company in Band of Brothers consists mostly of inexperienced soldiers, but The Pacific focuses on veteran soldiers. Sergeant Elmo "Gunny" Haney, an older Marine who served in World War I, exemplifies the "old breed" mentioned in Sledge's book. In The Pacific, Gunny Haney's peculiarities contribute to his memorable character. For instance, he unabashedly takes advantage of a brief rain shower by stripping off and using a bar of soap, and he boasts about his superior ability to detect enemy soldiers, punctuating his claim with a playful "woof!" However, The Pacific omits a remarkable anecdote from Sledge's book that involves Haney cleaning his genitals with a stiff-bristled GI brush while K Company was showering, leaving a dozen astonished replacements, including Sledge himself, wide-eyed and shuddering at the sight.

Jay De L'Eau's Near-Miss

In the chaos and uncertainty of active battlefields, friendly fire was almost unavoidable. The Pacific portrays the efforts made by the Marines to minimize friendly fire incidents, such as using challenging passwords like "Lilliputian" that the Japanese soldiers found difficult to pronounce. However, these measures only proved effective when followed. The series includes a heartbreaking incident, inspired by Eugene Sledge's book, where two Marines were attacked by enemy soldiers who unexpectedly entered their foxhole. Regrettably, when one Marine suddenly stood up, he was mistakenly shot and killed by his comrades.

In a separate incident not depicted in The Pacific, Sledge came perilously close to shooting his friend Jay De L'Eau. De L'Eau had failed to provide a password or any means of identification while approaching in the darkness. Sledge recalls seeing a figure nearing his position and unable to discern whether the individual wore a U.S. or Japanese helmet. He aimed his pistol at the person's head, his finger on the trigger preparing to release the safety. Luckily, he called out before firing, and De L'Eau identified himself. "He noticed the pistol and exclaimed, 'Oh, Jesus,' as he realized the near-tragedy that had just occurred. 'I thought you recognized me,' he admitted weakly."

The Corpsman's Face

In the Pacific's battle scenes, a common cry heard was "Corpsman!" This was called out whenever someone was wounded and a U.S. Navy corpsman was needed to provide medical assistance on the battlefield. Band of Brothers dedicated an episode to Eugene "Doc" Roe, a field medic who served in the European Theater. In the Pacific Theater, corpsmen were also nicknamed "Doc". One anecdote from Sledge's book highlights the selfless dedication of navy hospital corpsmen who served alongside Marine infantry units.

During one incident, a corpsman was tending to a Marine with a wounded arm on the battlefield. While cutting the wounded man free from his pack, the assisting Marine slipped and accidentally cut Doc's face to the bone with his knife. However, undeterred by his own injury, the corpsman calmly requested Sledge to hold a battle dressing against his face while he continued to care for the wounded Marine. Sledge concluded the story by expressing their high regard for the corpsmen, stating, "It was little wonder that we held them in such high esteem."

Burying The Dead

Hanks and Spielberg have announced their plans for another World War II miniseries, titled Masters of the Air. This miniseries will focus on the Eighth Air Force's actions during the war, following their previous dramatizations of key battles. While these portrayals of various branches of the U.S. armed forces provide valuable insight, one important wartime role is unlikely to ever receive a glamorous adaptation. This role belongs to the graves registration outfits, responsible for the proper burial of the over 400,000 U.S. armed forces members who lost their lives in combat during World War II. Given the urgency for sanitation and morale, bodies needed to be buried promptly on site after battles.

Considering the magnitude of this duty, entire companies of soldiers were dedicated to collecting and attempting to identify the bodies. These soldiers received specialized training, which included observing autopsies and constructing model cemeteries, in preparation for their vital assignment. Once trained, they were deployed to carry out this solemn task with utmost dignity under the challenging circumstances.

After the war, the bodies laid to rest in the wartime cemeteries of the Pacific Islands went through a remarkable process. They were exhumed, transported all the way to the United States, and finally reinterred in Arlington National Cemetery. This incredible feat was made possible by the unwavering dedication of the graves registrations outfits and their profoundly challenging task. However, even with these immense efforts, there are still tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel from World War II who remain missing and unaccounted for, making the ongoing search for their remains an ongoing mission.

Band Of Brothers Is More Accurate Than The Pacific

Although both The Pacific and Band of Brothers are rooted in true stories and accounts of real soldiers during the war, Band of Brothers stands out as the more historically accurate miniseries. This can largely be attributed to the extensive range of accounts provided for the two miniseries. The Pacific primarily focuses on the wartime experiences of Robert Leckie and Eugene Sledge, as depicted in their respective books, while also incorporating anecdotes about soldiers such as John Basilone. In contrast, Band of Brothers draws from a book by Stephen A. Ambrose, who extensively interviewed more than a dozen soldiers from Easy Company, ensuring a comprehensive portrayal of their collective stories.

Commentary from real soldiers is included in each episode of Band of Brothers, demonstrating the series' accuracy. Although both miniseries have 10 episodes to cover the timelines of their stories, The Pacific's portrayal of the longer war in the Pacific Theater requires more condensing and combining. Despite some omissions in Band of Brothers, both shows warrant recognition for their realistic and extensively researched depictions of World War II, with The Pacific in particular deserving praise.

Editor's P/S

The Pacific is a highly acclaimed HBO miniseries that depicts the brutal reality of warfare in the Pacific Theater during World War II. However, despite its efforts to provide an authentic representation of the conflict, certain aspects of the true story were omitted. One significant omission is the graphic details surrounding circumcision, which was a requirement for enlisting in the Marines. Robert Leckie, a key figure in the series, describes in his memoir Helmet For My Pillow how he underwent the procedure just days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. This detail not only highlights the lengths individuals went to in order to serve their country but also sheds light on the challenging hygiene conditions faced by soldiers in the Pacific.

Another aspect that The Pacific leaves out is the extent of mutilation inflicted upon American bodies by Japanese forces. Leckie and Sledge, in their memoirs, recount encountering dead Marines whose genitals had been severed and placed in their mouths as a posthumous act of humiliation. The series shies away from depicting these extreme acts of brutality, likely to maintain a level of sensitivity for viewers while still conveying the horrors of war. Nonetheless, the omission of such details diminishes the full scope of atrocities that occurred during the Pacific Theater.