Fury in the Pacific - The Road Back to the Philippines

Four Digitally Restored Videos

* Army Air Forces Pacific (18:00 B&W 1945) AAF C-in-C General H.H. “Hap” introduces this sweeping summary of Army Air Force operations in the Pacific Theater from the attack on Pearl Harbor through the dropping of the atomic bomb. From the Aleutians to the jungles of Burma to hard fought Pacific atolls, you'll see a wide variety of aircraft in action, including P-47 Thunderbolts, B-17s, B-24s and majestic B-29s. You'll also see forward bases built from China to the Marianas to “advance the bomber line” toward the Japanese home islands, Finally you'll see the vital roll the AAF played in supplying remote combat operations and evacuating wounded troops.

* Fury in the Pacific – The 1st Marine Division takes Peleliu (1944 B&W 20:00) Nine combat cameramen fell filming dramatic, intense fighting shown here. The islands of Peliliu and Angaur in the Palaus (6 miles apart) were considered stepping stones toward retaking the Philippines. The prize was the Japanese airbase on Peliliu. First Marine Division (1st, 5th & 7th Regiments, 9th Artillery) carried out the initial assault on 15 Sepetember, 1944, and bore the brunt of the fighting, to be joined later by elements of 81st infantry ferried over from Angaur. Some highlights: Far East Air Force bombers and an intense naval bombardment from point blank range soften the Japanese defenses, followed by an amphibious assault in Amtacks, supported by Amtanks; toe-to-toe jungle fighting is shown in detail as the Marines moved off the beach and took the airfield, allowing close air support attacks by ferried in VMF-114 F4U Corsairs. But the most intense action was yet to come; most of the defenders were entrenched inland. The bloodiest action involved securing “The Point” and the Umurbrogol Pocket, aka “Bloody Nose Ridge,” which overlooked the airfield, a fortress of ridges, caves, pill boxes & hidden artillery. By the end of the fighting the 1st Marine Division suffered over 6,500 casualties, over one third of their strength. The 81st Infantry Division suffered nearly 3,300 casualties. Out of 11,000 Japanese 14th Division defenders, 300 were taken prisoner.

* Action at Angaur: The 81st “Wildcat” Division's Baptism of Fire. (1944 B&W 30:00) The film follows the men of the rookie 81st Infantry Division from R&R on Waikiki to a training landing on Guadalcanal to the beaches & jungles of Angaur. The 3 sq. mile island was needed to secure the flank of the Peleliu operation and to deny the Japanese strategically important phosphate mines. Detailed maps show the progress of the battle. As on Peleliu, beach landings on Sept. 17, 1944 were followed by intense fighting inland against heavily fortified, veteran Japanese troops surrounded by mines & booby traps to secure “Shrine Hill,” Saipan Town and the phosphate plant. Carrier based Hellcats & Avengers supported the advance. The climax of the battle is shown in detail, a fierce assault, led by Sherman Tanks, up the rail line through “Bloody Gulch and up “Suicide Hill.” The Battle of Angaur was a rare occasion where American casualties outnumbered the Japanese, 2,560 to 1,397. After securing most of the island, elements of the 81st were ferried to Peleliu to reenforce the Marine assault.

* Appointment in Tokyo: MacArthur Returns to the Philippines (1945 B&W 55:00) This feature length film spans the time from the fall of the Philippine & the island fortress of Corregidor in May 1942 to General MacArthur's return to the islands in October 1944, with a primary focus on the battles to retake the Philippines. Copious combat footage of air, land and sea operations are supplemented by detailed maps that put it all in context. Highlights include: the initial amphibious landing on Leyte followed by fierce jungle fighting against General Yamashita's veteran troops; the air & sea Battle of Leyte Gulf, where small American “Jeep” carriers turned back a massive IJN counterattack; landings on Luzon in Lingayen Gulf followed by the drive to Manila, freeing Bataan POWs in a daring Ranger operation along the way; extremely rare live sound film of an infantry Captain calling in and coordinating A-20 Havoc attack bomber close air support attacks on a Japanese held ridge, all visible as it happened; fierce house-to-house street fighting in Manila, and the retaking of Corregidor, led by a dramatic parachute assault. The film then fittingly fast-forwards to the memorable spectacle of General MacArthur accepting the surrender of the Empire of Japan aboard the Missouri in Tokyo bay. “These proceedings are closed.”