The Real McHale's Navy. The story of the real PT-73 and MTB Squadron 13.
We're looking at the real PT-73 and the other boats from Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Thirteen. Far from being merely fictional, PT-73 was a real boat and it's history is a long slog that covers three years, and vastly different theaters and types of action.
In this episode we follow the boat and crew from training in Panama, all the way to the Western-most end of Aleutian island chain in Alaska. There they patrol for Japanese subs and support the Allied invasions of Attu and Kiska islands. One of those is a great success, and one is one of the most farcical friendly fire incidents of the war in the Pacific.
Errata:
Dutch Harbor is on Amaknak Island, not Kodiak. Adak Island is pronounced Eh-dak. No need to flog it any further, that horse is dead already. I'm also aware the bad blood between IJA and IJN goes way back, before the war. I was wondering out loud if that was the first physical manifestation of that animosity, but now I realize it wasn't.
Please note that these small unit actions are not usually very well-documented and even less often filmed. There’s a very limited amount of archive footage out there on PT boats, especially since they operated mostly at night, and especially before the tide of the war turned in America’s favor. This video mostly features Army and Navy footage from the Aleutian island invasions, and there's a final chapter showing how the islands look now vs then.
Chapters:
0:00 Start
5:13 A Star is Born
10:18 Assault on Attu Island
14:20 Operation Cottage
20:41 Then and Now
References:
catalog.archives.gov/id/13604...
www.navsource.org/archives/12/...
www.nps.gov/articles/the-inva...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleutia...
canadianheroes.org/private-he...
Credit where credit's due:
Adak Image credit: By Paxson Woelber - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Puget Sound image credit: By Jelson25 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
#ptboat #pt73 #mchalesnavy
these shows were a way for Vets to laugh at the years of misery they endured. My father usually talked about their "exploits" and how they didn't get caught, a very seldom talked about guys walking through a prop because the plane were kept running to be ready to take off as fast as possible, or cleaning up the mess made by the bodies being shot up. He wouldn't have watched a show about the hell he went through on tv that he saw every night in his nightmares or when his malaria would pop back up to remind him. He and many other men and women joined at a young age and saw things that no human being should ever see or experience
Point taken. TBH I was shocked when going through the personnel records, just how many men were lost or injured 'in the line of duty', vs. 'in action'. War is a dangerous business, even off the front line.
My Dad, Harrison, was the Skipper of PT 82 mentioned a few times in this video. It's nice to see his story told.
My grandfather was on PT 350, Squadron 2 , Bora Bora to Okinawa, I loved watching McHale's Navy with him. I have all of his pictures.
Man, I would love to see his photos! Have you thought about posting them? PLEASE!!....{:-D
@@theoshowacre7147 I would not know where to post these, I am not on FB.
"...at periscope depth." Survivor humor at its best. As for humor, I love McHales Navy. Incedently more than a few of the actors were veterans of war. Salute from an old Vet.
Yeah its amazing at these actors were willing to portray WWII with humor. I wish it had been done for my generation. However the wounds were not to be healed by comedy. The wounds were only to be healed by time if even then. Myself I cut my VA card up, with my buck knife, in front of the the psych, who didn't have the security clearance required.
To be honest, I'm kinda torn about the war sitcom concept. On the one hand, we shouldn't trivialize a war by turning armed conflict into a backdrop for some slapstick. OTOH, it might be cathartic for some. I hope you're getting the help you need to deal with your experiences, and thank you for your service.
Ernie wasn't going to allow the writers to get the nomenclature wrong. McHale's Navy was the best recruiting tool the Navy ever had, although the topside brass initially condemned it.
Semper Fi
In the mid 90's I was docent at our local railroad museum in Rhinelander Wi. when a group of older gentlemen came in. They were on a chartered casino trip visiting the local Reservations and decided to stop in. I overheard a couple of them talking about travelling around in WWII by rail and asked if any were veterans. Turns out they all were and they were on a bit of a reunion tour for PT boat veterans. I couldn't believe my luck as I had just picked up a hardcover edition of "Devil Boats" at the local used book store. None of them could even believe I knew what a PT boat was or how they operated. I listened raptly as they told of some of their actions, some of which were featured in the book. None of these men were injured in combat but related how some of their mates were injured or killed. To a man they had all sufered from tropical diseases and nasty infections. They stayed for 2 hrs. and I showed them our railroad displays when their bus driver said it was time to move on to the next casino. I thanked them for their service and asked if they would care to sign my book and they all agreed. I was absolutely ecstatic. In the short time they visited I came away with the impression of absolute professionals but with a penchant for pranks, especially against the enemy. They had several stories of sneaking onto Japanese bases at night and poisoning their wells,stealling food supplies and sabotaging fuel systems on motor barges. I treasure that book and have it safely stored in my library. Funny thing was even though I was in my mid 30s they kept calling me "young man, lad and sonny".
My step father, jack steel, a native born Alaskain. Volunteered to for the tank core. Being a heavy equipment operator he was returned to the IAleutian Islands to build runways. He did this until volunteering to land in France on the day. I asked him what he did he told me he drove a bulldozer to Germany. He gave me his service rifle. It's one of my most prized possessions.
Those engineer battalions are seriously under-represented in the annals of history! I don't know about your step-dad's experience, but here in the Philippines the bulldozers were bullet magnets and would often come under fire from the Japanese holding the hills. Dangerous job! Check this out if you have the time: kzhead.info/sun/gspto76SpIiEnq8/bejne.html
Armor Corps.
The story of these men's bravery in service is inspiring
In 1967 Borgnine went to the Pentagon to do some research on Nuclear subs at the ice pack. My Dad was stationed at the Navy Media Relations office waiting to retire. He was working on Ica Station Zebra. He came home with Dad and they both were falling down drunk. He slept on the couch and had breakfast with us. Then called a cab. I suppose he had enough of my Dads driving in his Volkswagen Bug.
When I hear PT Boats I immediately think of PT-109 and Mr. Kennedy. I may be biased because I was in the Navy also. Yes, Hollywood does take poetic license quite far but there are some flicks that would give the average person a good idea of what our Sailors, Marines, Soldiers and Airmen had to endure. I'm not old enough to remember JFK; I was born two months before Jack was murdered. Even with some of his faults, he was the last, true President we've ever had. The guys who'd Served on PT Boats seemed to love it even though the duty was very dangerous. Those guys were tough.
I mentioned this in other comments, but the number of men who were badly injured or killed 'in the line of duty' was a shock. Men fell off the boats in rough seas and were never found, or other terrible things happened to them, without any help from the enemy. Dangerous line of work!
'They Were Expendable' is not only a 'PT Boat movie' but the best one ever made with Robert Montgomery -who actually drove one in WW II- as a commander.
Yes, it's been commented on that video that he probably did most of the actual boat driving in the movie. No need to fake that. kzhead.info/sun/jc2JZZZ7a32nm6s/bejne.html
My dad was a machinist mate on the USS Grant. It was an attack transport that was involved in the invasions in Attu and Kiska. He was summoned to work on a PT boat to machine replacement parts. He said the PT boat was freezing cold, miserable, and he felt sorry for the sailors. I wish I knew more about what he was assigned to do.
Yes, the PT is not set up for comfort! The spares problems are also a constant theme in these deployments!
I had read about the nightmare of living in the Aleutians, the constant cold, constant fog, constant ice, constant wind, the marshy ground, and the terrible experience of losing so many troops invading an island where there was no enemy. It was a part of the war too easily forgotten.
I hope you can spend the time to read through the other comments because I had a few people with personal experience of being stationed there chime in. Good reading.
@@LesSharp I did read through a lot of them. Much as I'd read about World War 2, it was amazing how little that experience was mentioned.
Military service is difficult, even under ideal conditions. My Dad was a fireman aboard an LST for three years in the South Pacific. Working in the engine room of a naval vessel in Asia may be one the hottest jobs on the planet. For those who served in the Arctic, the Antarctic, and the deserts of the world, you have my respect and admiration.
Although I am sure it’s been mentioned, the lead actor EB spent a total; of about 10 years in the Navy both before and during the war.
The PT boats always amazed me accomplish my uncle Tom Felts served on a pT boat after pearl harbour
Lulled by the almost comedic title of this video. I was completely blown away by this uploads seriousness, historical value, as well as how powerful this video was. It must have taken you archives and years of experience to create such a film. Simply brilliant. major respect from your new subscriber in Pittsburgh. Thank You
Thanks Kevin, but it's not that hard. We're very lucky to have the National Archives available to us. Or rather, lucky that the tax dollar works for us and provides it. The staff there are super helpful too, and will scan just about any materials not available in digital form. It's a real treasure. It usually takes me a matter of weeks to put a 20 minute video together.
My dad was 7th infantry. He never spoke about the war just hated the Japanese. Your video answers a few questions for me... thank you..
Clinton, my dad was in Europe during the war, but I had uncles in the Pacific. Anyway, check out some of Mark Felton's documentary videos about how the Japanese treated prisoners, their bonsai charges, etc and you'll get a better understanding of what your dad knew of the Japanese.
I used a Dean's Marine 1/24 scale kit of a 78' Higgins PT to build a radio control squadron sister boat of PT-73: PT-77 known as the Galloping Ghost. I built her as she came out of overhaul at Seattle following her tour in the Aleutians and before shipping to the SW Pacific. I have been looking for pics of her in the Phillipines since I don't know where her Squadron emblem and name would have been painted once she got to theater.She is in Measure 31/5P scheme. I am really glad to find a squadron History of MTBRon 13!
Nice work Les, thank you. My father was aboard a minesweeper the USS Motive AM 102 during that time and told me many stories of the Aleutians. It was dreadful cold, rough seas and war. Dad said the Motive looked like a destroyer from the air so they got a lot of attention from Japanese planes. And that they sunk a submarine that would not return the hail. It was reported later the US had lost a sub in these waters. I think it haunted dad because he always spoke of it with sadness. From there they sailed to the South Pacific. Thanks again for your work on this, very well done 👍
That’s a burden I’m glad not to carry. Some reports say up to 20% of casualties are caused by friendly fire.
My father in law was on a submarine in the Aleutians and said that the old ww1 subs assigned there with no air conditioning would be just dripping with condensation shorting out electrical panels and equipment. It would not surprise me if any radio sets were non functional. In the old book “Pig Boats “ an account of his sub tells how fires would start and not be able to be put out. They had to keep abandoning spaces and ended up in just the the tower with no more means to put out fires except letting them burn till out of oxygen. Being ex navy (tin can sailor) I was the first person he related this story to.
I've seen film of WW2 U-boat crews carrying their mattresses out of the sub, black with mold, and tossing them straight on a fire. Speaks volumes.
I will have to add this offering to my archive. I built a 1/32 scale model of a Higgins PT 70 class boat from the Dumas kit and am adding detail to her that I hope represents the real life 73 boat. There are any number of PT109s out there, but in my local area mine is the only PT 73. People have accused me of making it up, but I backed my claim with a printout of the entries from Danafs and NavSource of the boat. She looks good and runs well. I have not added a crew because I don't want some WAG asking "Is that McHale?" I take my war history seriously. Thank you for giving these brave and valiant men and their ships the recognition they deserve.
Thank you very much. Next video will follow PT-73 and the other boats of MTBRon 13 to Borneo. This includes a month-long ordeal where they drive the boats from Adak to Puget Sound, and bend about 20 propellers along the way! As an aside, the armament of the boats changes quite a bit over time. Tubes for MkIIX swapped for the racks for the MkXIII, the addition first of a twin 20mm cannon, then 37s, then 40s. Also, the addition of the radar. So, no matter how you arm your model, some anorak is always going to tell you it's wrong! I have the war diaries from Dec '43 up to decommissioning in '45 if you want those to nail down a load out for a given date.
@@LesSharp I appreciate the offer. According to DANAFS the '73 was lost after stranding, burned to keep her from being captured by the Japanese so I think I'll keep mine close to how the real boat was equipped early in the war.
The Squadron CO's records say otherwise, but I will keep that info for the final episode, if you don't mind. Or you can mail me and I will tell you what happened. Myself, I am somewhat torn between the two ends of the lifespan. On the one end, you have the clean profile of an 80' speedboat with some tubes and a few skinny-barrel machine guns. On the other end, the boat has the huge radar dome and it bristles with all those gun barrels of different calibers, plus depth-charges. Much more menacing, but IMO not half as sleek. I do hope you showcase your work for us when it's finished!
Thank you for remembering these soldiers and sailors, both Canadian and American, and the dangerous tasks they had to accomplish in brutal weather conditions. It is amazing to think that nobody has recently done a movie about these small boat (PT boats and the UK's MTBs). They did a lot for their size and their courage and tenacity has never really been shown to the wider public. I picked out the comment about having the tide information wrong for the landings and that jarred a memory loose more close to today but with a similar sort of outcome. My godsons' dad (as a Lieutenant Commander serving in a variety of our dangerous missions even well away from any vessel as he is skilled in operations and logistics planning) is serving in the RCN. Back in the late 1990s or early 2000s, he was tasked to command a 70' launch involved in moving infantry arms and infanteers (RCR or PPCLI, I forget now) to a location in Washington state where the Army unit debarked to act as a enemy force for American forces in a joint exercise. The launches were also used for moving forces around during the exercise. What resonates is this: While he was down there, he was approach by a USN PO (not sure how far up that track) who asked if my friend if he could help him 'read a map'. (The navy uses the term 'chart' when it is a chart of waterways as do civilian mariners.) That was a bit of a surprise. What was even more of a surprise was when the USN grounded a fairly large launch and had to abandon the boat, all but one or two sailors. They had crossed into Canadian waters and in theory, Canada could have seized the boat as derelict if they'd have left it totally unmanned. The problem that landed them stuck? The officers and crew apparently couldn't read a tide table much like the landing craft in this video. To give due perspective on the USN, I had the honour to meet Phil Pournelle, son of the writer Jerry Pournelle (R.I.P.), when he had just dealt with a the Katrina disaster, during which he was the XO of the Jervis Bay (an Aussie trimaran the USN was testing out). Phil is as squared away as one would expect and sharp as a tack. The Jervis Bay did provisioning runs - back and forth to Galveston to New Orleans, out to the CVN in the gulf (forget which one, sorry!), ran stuff to the USS Iwo Jima and the pier in the New Orleans harbour, did loading and unloading of every sort - pier, CVN, vertical provisioning to helos, etc. And fast... those catamarans can really move. And their very low draught had his crew going up the Mississippi to do damage assessments. An excellent man and a great representative of the USN.
The comments on the video showed how poor the tide tables of the time were at helping predict the flow of water from the Bering Sea to the North Pacific and vice-versa. Of course the troops getting dropped way off shore would blame the Navy pukes for getting it wrong, but it's likely they just had very bad info on a topic noone outside some Russian fur trappers and native Aleutians had any insight into. The Japanese had a lot more knowledge at the time. I wasn't aware of this when researching the script. The modern charts show a huge number of tidal rips in those passages between islands, but I doubt there was much data available at the time.
44 degrees Fahrenheit is a balmy day in Canada
Terrific video. Thanks. Fills in a lot of gaps. Add this to your to do list: At Planes of Fame in Perris, California about 20 years ago, my son and I met a B-17 gunner (sitting next to the B-17 on display.) During the war he'd been shot down, captured, sent to the same Stalag where the Great Escape had happened - but before he arrived. He asked if I'd ever seen the TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes. I said, "Well, we enjoyed it as kids...but we understood it wasn't real." The veteran said, "Oh no, it was all real. We even had a Frenchman in the camp, there was a real Sargent Schultz..." Then he told me how they traded stuff from Red Cross packages with Schultz, things he couldn't get, for minor German stuff he could get. Eventually they began asking for serious contraband items - including tubes for the 2-3 radios they had in the camp. And just like on the TV show, "I cannot do this!" The POWs then said one of them could get 'caught' with the stuff you brought us, say how we got it.... our guy would get 30 days in the cooler -- you'd get sent to Russia.... Said they owned Sgt Schultz. I grew up in the 1960s watching WWII movies on TV - we just assumed that it was all fiction. Our fathers, uncles and neighbors who'd been in the war mostly talked about being bored most of the time, shenanigans they'd participated in, almost no combat. (Everybody I'd seen or met with a tattoo on their arm was a "DP" not an Auschwitz survivor. The last guy I personally knew with a tattoo, when an old friend was in his shop they told me stories of DP camp shenanigans - not Auschwitz. Next to the Displaced Persons' Camp - so after the war ended - was an apple orchid. They waited until the farmers in their midst said the apples were ripe, then they knocked down the fence to get to them. The American GIs raised their weapons and ordered them to stop. The DPs who spoke some English said, "What are you going to do? Shoot us?" Everybody laughed. "Even the guards." They picked the German apple orchid clean. Something I've learned (mostly too late). Interview old people. Ask for specifics: towns, dates (and what happened next? If WWI started then you know it was pre August 1914). Write it down or record them. Here's the important part: Speak to them again the next day, or the next week. They will remember a lot more on subsequent 'interviews.' People with any degree of dementia - mornings are always best. Even if you ask someone my age about say Watergate or Vietnam you'll get insights that are in no history book. Watergate? During the 1972 election Nixon was huge, anyone (like me) working for McGovern were branded commies and traitors. After Nixon resigned? I couldn't find a single person who'd admit to having voted for him. He was either roundly condemned or people would refuse to say anything. Vietnam? Lots of guys went over there, no one talked much about it. But we all heard of returning vets who wouldn't leave the house, were very dark, depressed. Some guys talked the anti-communist stuff, others talked about ignoring orders. Sent on long patrols, they instead found a spot near the base, settled in smoke weed and called in bogus reports. (That guy told me about the one firefight he was in. Everybody ran away from the shooting. He ran smack into an NVA soldier - they both dropped their rifles. "We looked at each other, blinked, then picked our rifles and kept running." ) Ask people to write down their stories. Tell them to not worry about grammar, spelling, etc... (a teacher colleague who is legally blind wrote the first chapter of a book about being a Boat People (Vietnam to Malaysia) as a child. Absolutely amazing - and I've read thousands of personal history books. As far as I know he never wrote Chapter 2. I think I'll send him a card suggesting it.) Sorry to go on so much.
Great advice on interview techniques. I'm also better in the mornings ;)
I was stationed on DD784 back when McHale's navy was on tv. we thought it was a HOOT! the officers were angry about it but that made it all the more fun. we need a sense of humor.
Sounds like the officers needed to loosen up a bit.
@@LesSharp the navy high command HATED McHale's navy so much they talked hollywood into making a series they approved of. they got Jacky Cooper to play HENNESY. never heard of it? it was a complete bomb and only showed a couple episodes.
Thanks for the history! I was on a destroyer sized ship and would NOT want to be on a PT Boat on an oceanic trip! Poor sailors.
Thanks for your research. My Uncle was on a DE and did the Murmansk Run and the Aleutian Islands during WWII. He had some interesting stories about the ship. He told of times when the ice buildup on the sides of the ship were so heavy that the DE was in danger of capsized. So he, along with other crewman had to wear a harness to swing out on the superstructure to chip hunks of ice off the side to lower the weight so the ship would stay upright. I can only imagine how cold it was to do that and the fierce winds that tried to blow the crewmen off the ship and into the ocean!. He later found himself in the S. Pacific towards the end of the war. A Big,"THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!" to all the Veterans!
Agree, it just looks like a terrible hardship posting.
That was awesome! I have worked out of NAF/NAS Adak three times. As a young rookie IFT in the fall of Adak the Alaskan seas as well as the winds made a marked impression on me. As was before the orange poppy suits and we were all wearing steel flight boots. No money for P-3 flyers back then they weren’t sexy. Just open Ocean Patrols Any where, Any time... we had some good roots in our forefathers and you have shown their work well many thanks. This is the best I have seen regarding the Aleutian Islands Battle(s).
Fall of 1980... sorry
Sounds like one of the most God-awful and depressing assignments I can think of? You must have made someone very angry at the detailing office to get sent there.
Fun fact; The PT Boat used in McHale's Navy was actually in the harbor following Howard Hughes "Hercules" when it made it's first and only flight. (It was mentioned in the special features in the DVD box set)
Really? Do you happen to know her hull number?
@@LesSharp From what I gather, it was to be sent to Russia but that never happened, later it was sold to Universal for the show, then after the show was cancelled, a man named Harold Crozier bought it and turned it into a fishing boat. He got sick and donated it to a research school in SF but it was blown ashore and wrecked at Santa Barbara.
Adak, AK the birthplace of the wind. 55 knots is just a gentle breeze there. I have seen gravel blowing across the road, 3/4 to one inch size.
I was told by my mom that the day after December 7,1941 my uncle try to enlist in every branch of the military at that time and was turned down because of his color blindness but two weeks later he was drafted into the Army am was trained as a medic he was in North Africa and Sicily were he received the purple heart .
And Ernest Borgnine had been a sailor aboard an east coast patrol yacht throughout WWII, with a stateroom and the occasional shadow to fire at.
Thank you for posting such an interesting and historical video. This is the best posting I have seen of the PT boats. PT-109 and Cliff Roberson was great Hollywood but this is the brutal reality. What a tribute to the men serving in the Aleutian Theater.
As an avid PT boat historian and… well, fan I am thrilled to find this channel. Thanks for your incredible work and especially for your finding information on the Aleutian campaign and ‘Ron 13. The Higgins boats may have been warmer but they were certainly wet boats!
Welcome aboard!
My father, Stuart Traynor, crewed on PT 73 while in Alaska and the South Pacific.
Your pop's service number is 6681675. The records I have say he enlisted 26th December 1941, joining MTB RON13 on September 18th 1942. Since the enlisted men were rotated as needed, I have no record of which boat(s) he was assigned to.
Wow! I was expecting clickbait but this was a well edited and such a great story that hasn’t been told before! Thank you!
It's pretty hard coming up with titles that sit between 'boring and uninteresting' and 'probably clickbait'!
I think this particular front has been under recognized in the history of WWII. My relatives fought in Europe and the South Pacific so those have been my areas of interest about the conflict. Thank you for bringing this forward.
I'm sure if the Japanese had actually been there for the fight, there'd have been a Hollywood movie on the campaign.
Just a note to your excellent video. The bad blood between the Japanese Army (IJA) and the Japanese Navy (IJN) started a long time before this. The Japanese had an unique and somewhat weird form of Government with the military basically in charge. It went far beyond the Army and Navy fighting over budget monies. Senior government and military leaders were being assassinated by fanatical junior officers. They were bumping each other off. The Navy gave Yamamoto a posting to a Pacific Navel Base because they feared he would be assassinated on the mainland. The Japanese leadership was basically terrorized into going to war. You see all the senior leadership saying war was a bad idea but when it came time to vote they all voted for war so they wouldn't be bumped off. In that crazy system the Army and Navy had opposite goals. Which could lead to anything.
Yes, I’d read that before. Just wasn’t sure when it devolved into leaving people on islands or just tossing supplies off of boats as they passed by, that sort of manifestation. Fascinating subject.
@@LesSharp It is. Took me a long time to even begin to understand why the Japanese did what they did. They had their own thing going on. They disliked the West so defining Japanese Government and society in Western terms is a problem. They don't make things easy.
Solid research!!! Much appreciate the time you spent and your innate drive to understand events. Much Love to you and yours
Thank you Les. You provide a very useful insight into historitical events that should be remembered.
I have to take exception to one thing mentioned, the length of the day during the Kiska invasion mentioned, implying it was "short", in mid August, at that latitude the day was over 15 hrs long. Yes in winter it is amazingly short, and mid June lone (18 hrs) but mid August.... it's still not short
I spent some years patrolling through the Aleutians and along the US/Soviet border. The weather when good is still cold, but when bad, is spectacularly bad. I can hardly imagine those boats having to work up there.
Oh boy, I'd love to hear some of those stories! I'd also love to get some lessons on pronouncing Aleut names!
@@LesSharp Can't help much with the pronunciation of the Aleut names, but I've got quite a few stories of life up there. How can I get in touch with you?
Click on the channel icon, and on that page, go to the About tab. You can see an email address there. Thanks! Would love to see if I can weave any of your experiences into a video!
I spent a year at Ft. Greely, Alaska. The unofficial low was -79F. The official low was -69F.
Very informative video! Special thanks for the "Then and Now" section. I was aboard USCGC Boutwell in the later 70's, when she docked for a couple days in Adak. Amazing to see the once thriving mini-city now abandoned!
Thank you! I think a lot of Alska has seen boom and bust cycles, but the Aleutians especially is a damn tough environment eh? Still, hauntingly beautiful.
Fantastic video. I have 3 books on the war in the north and only now know 5000 Canadians joined in the fight.
Not only that, but they ‘won’ the Battle of Kiska!
Les -- My Father was a PT Boat Commander in that Period and served in Panama and the Aleutians, but never talked much about it. ( other than a few very funny stories of his time in Melville RI and depth charges off Edgartown. He watched McHale's - but didn't find it that funny -- maybe brought back too many bad Memories. ) I sent a bunch of his photos to the PT Boat Museum in NO . I would be glad to share Digital copies with you If you can tell me where to send them.
That would be great. If you go to my profile page, there’s an About tab. My contact email is there. Thanks very much!
My dad was on submarine S32 at Dutch Harbor and his cousin was on a PT boat, same location. I went to Dutch Harbor with my Dad for the 50th anniversary of the attack there. Gun emplacement minus guns still exist along with pill boxes on the streets, etc.
My older brother was in the Sea Scouts in the 1960's. His group would go out on the Tiger Shark in the San Francisco Bay Area and met in Richmond, CA. He liked it and remember him talking about sleeping in the Head. Don't know what happened to the Tiger Shark, but I think I'll look it up. Nice video, btw.
For what it's worth, your sardonic sense of humor added a lot to my enjoyment of this superb account.
I have no idea what you’re talking about.
@@LesSharp Case proven . . .
Interesting video! Thank you for chronicling a neglected, but important part of our history.
Excellent Les. Another diamond the the rough story.
My dad spent the war with the 11th AAF on Attu.
Thank you for this presentation and interest in a mostly overlooked part of a big war.
Thank you. I try to specialize in the often-overlooked. We tend only to pay attention to what Hollywood picks up on, and many areas of the conflict didn't lend themselves to that sort of exploitation.
Companion to this excellent documentary, and a good read, is "The Mosquito Fleet" by Bern Keating.
Also The. Champagne Navy, Canadian MTBs mostly in France and the Med.
Glad to see someone do this subject. Seems an almost forgotten campaign of WWII. You mentioned the only American soil taken since the war of 1812, please remember that Guam is an American possession and it was occupied by the Japanese as well.
Good point. Should have mentioned that. I've been to the CNMI many times and always forget Guam's status is different, though I’m sure it’s not an island in a State. And yes, this campaign is a glaring omission in most narratives, and once I stumbled across it I couldn't skim over it.
The Philippines were also a US territory in 1941. Hence it was also US soil invaded.
Okay, fair point. Philippines was purchased from the Spanish as Alaska from the Russians.
@@LesSharp Uh, no. The Philippines were taken from the Spanish by US troops in the Spanish-American War as were Cuba and Puerto Rico. We paid in lead and Spanish blood, not gold. Look it up. Dewey's Great White fleet in Manila Bay and Teddy Roosevelt going up San Juan Hill. How do you not know this?
Read William Taft's biography for the other side of this.
"wooden boats crewed by iron men!"🇺🇲 Thanks... Who's able to understand what those guys endured in the Alaskan campaign... 🥺🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
I wish there was a video like this explaining the history of WWI US Navy Wooden Subchaser’s . My grandfather served on two of them SC284 and SC355 - Manville O’Connor. Not much information available online about these boats.
Is that WW1 or 2?
@@LesSharp World War One
Ah. Very difficult finding primary sources going that far back!
MM1 RET, mostly DDs, but shore duty in Panama 1986-92(security force), gave me a chance to check out the 4 patrol boats there, 2 mk3s & 2 mk4s, very fast & heavily armed(no missiles, river not coastal patrol), 3s had 3 20mm, twin 50 & 30cal, 4s had 2 25mm, 1 twin 50 & 30cal, there were other arms but varied boat to boat. SBU 26, all we heros durring the invasion
Interesting indeed, and thank you for your service.
Hey Les, we didn’t get to see pt boat 658 this weekend. They took Memorial Day weekend off. We did get to see the new home of Dewey’s battery on the way home. Admiral Dewey is my great, great uncle. My grandma spent every summer at their farm. We’ll go next trip, which will hopefully be soon. Cheers!
There was a floating dock named the Dewey. Any connection?
I just clicked out of idle curiosity. I'm so glad I did! Les this is quality content well done sir. SUBSCRIBED.
Thank you very much! As a small channel, it's very hard to get eyeballs on your content. Welcome aboard, and please check out my back-catalog.
Great story and good to see it documented as the years fly by. I spent many years on the Bering Sea, am now holed up in a small town on Prince William Sound, retired. One of the guys from my hometown of Petersburg, Alaska was on the PTBs in the Aleutians during the war and he said they took a thrashing (as I well know from much larger vessels.) Those passes between the islands generate huge unpredictable waves as the tide is running in either direction as the water from the Bering Sea comes out of the deep to churn on over to the Pacific side. Same is true when it comes from the Pacific to the Bering Sea side. I fished king crab and halibut all the way out to Attu, it's a lonely spot being out there in the winter, New Zealand 7000 miles to the south. Too many tales to tell about the weather and lost boats and crews. "The Thousand Mile War" by Brian Garfield is the classic story of the war out there, there's also a series of photo-illustrated softcover magazine dimension size books by Stan Cohen which sold well over the years. I think they were printed by Alaska Northwest Publishing company. Gore Vidal (he was stationed at Unalaska) wrote his first published book "Williwaw" about his experiences in the Aleutians. Dashiell Hammett was another veteran of the campaign. I've got zillions of stories about that country, I was out there 30 years on and off. I will advise you that Adak is pronounced "A" as in ABC, and that Dutch Harbor is on Unalaska Island, a good 250 nm west of Kodiak Island. I think it would translate better to state "they were bombing as far 'east' as Dutch Harbor----which is the accurate direction from Kiska and Attu, but for the fact the bombing which did take place in early June of 1942 came from the carrier task force to the south that was a feint to draw defenses away from the actual Battle of Midway. I knew and fished with a number of people who were present for the bombing of Dutch Harbor, they were kids at the time. Another was a native of Attu, 7 years old, and he along with the 30 or so other residents of the island was interned in Japan for the duration of the war, had to work and was subject to medical experiments, and I could go on and on, but.... anyway, thank you. Looking forward to the rest of the series here.
Thanks for very much for the polite corrections! Yes, one look at the nautical charts for the island chain makes you wonder how many times the warning 'tide rips' can be repeated in so few square miles! And I guess this is an explanation of how the USN got the tide prediction so badly wrong for the invasion of Kiska?
David, would you mind helping out with some Aleut names I can't find a pronunciation guide on before I go and make an ass of myself (again)?
@@LesSharp -- Very much so with what happens in the passes re: tide predictions. Even the annual Tide and Current predictions from NOAA cannot be counted on for timing those passes. More often than not, a boat or a ship is going on a bumpy sleigh ride getting through them. One has to imagine or experience these rides to understand them as saltwater Class IV rapids, "jackass" as we call them, sometimes 40 or more feet high and forming unpredictably when you're in them. Lots of wheelhouse windows blown out when the bottom of a wave drops out sickeningly and the next one lands on top of you. The Japanese actually had a lot more info/knowledge about the Aleutians than the U.S. as they had been fishing king crab and salmon bound for Bristol Bay out west since the early 30s and they kept careful records which were of course passed on to Naval Intelligence. A lot of history out there as well as archaeology going back 11,000 years.
Looking at some of the NOAA charts and the comments on them makes my hair stand on end.
@@LesSharp Aye. That's all I've got for words. A horizontal/vertical axis washing machine. To think the Russian promyshlenniki freebooting fur traders sailed those places with no charts in 40 foot sailboats, let alone the Aleut/Alutiq people in their kayaks. The latter had to keep moving island to island as the 100s of thousand sea otter herds would come through and eat the beach critters in an area in one or two tides. Too many to manage with spears and arrows.
Excellent video. Thanks 👍
Interesting stuff. Thanks for posting.
Bulkleys heroic dash through japanese lines to take MacArthur his family and his staff to safety is worthy if a hollywood movie lol They were Expendable...starring John Wayne and a real PT boat skipper...Robert Montgomery who was also the father of Elizabeth of Bewitched fame. Also perhaps the most famous PT boat and its skipper and crew...the PT 109 captained by Lt John F Kennedy the future President of the United States.
Yes, that was epic. I made a video on the topic of Bulkely's run with MacArthur here: kzhead.info/sun/jc2JZZZ7a32nm6s/bejne.html I also did one on the fates of the boats of MTBRon 3 here: kzhead.info/sun/lNmld5mtZKpsinA/bejne.html
Should have taken MacArhur family and staff and left the man who's incompitance deserved to be left there. It hard to believe he somehow escaped his many blunders involved in the defense and remained in a position of power. Then blunders in Korea again. The invaison in Korea was DUH of course you flank the North no briliant but to take the UN forces that fast that far north with no good plans to prevent what the Chinise likely would do was criminal.
Great job Mr. Sharp! Good research, narration, & film clips. I believe that the 7th ID, initially, was training in the California desert as it had designated for Operation Torch landings in North Africa.
Ouch, not ideal training conditions eh?
These documentaries show how tough this ww2 generation was. When I enlisted in 1981, some of the original frogmen were still on active duty. I took it for granted that their legacy would live on. Boy was I wrong!!!!! There was a literal war on everything this generation had done and accomplished. By 1986 that entire generation was gone as well as their legacy as the DOD had implemented “high year tenure”. Which meant that every pay grade had to be accomplished or maintained in a specific time or home you went.
Cold is a magnitude worse than heat. Tremendous hardships.
great series
Amazing video! The final scenes were very worthwhile💪🥶🚤.
Glad you stuck around for that!
The feud between the Japanese Army and Navy was apparently very old before WW2 started and started decades before as the army was run by one clan and the navy by a second clan that did not get along with the army clan.
Yes, and this is a decent documentary on that: kzhead.info/sun/gZWFaa5ue1-dmn0/bejne.html One only hopes the JSDF learned from that mess!
@@LesSharp Have you ever read the mandate on the JSFD? They can only act to actually defend Japan and anything else has to have parliamentary approval. It took years for a revision to allow participation in joint defense exercises with US.
I have actually, since I own an ex-JSDF military vehicle I'm quite interested in what they do. You are right on the mandate. Still, one would hope the various branches, there are three, are working harmoniously vs. the self-defeating mess they had in WW2. And btw, there are changes in the Japanese constitution that will allow deployment of forces overseas if Japan's security is threatened, such as an invasion of Taiwan. I was a resident of Taiwan for nearly 30 years, so I am quite interested in the defense situation there.
@@LesSharp Three branches now, as organized the JSDF only had a Defense force and a Maritime Defense force; the Air Defense force was added several years later. I forgot about that change to the mandate, it came I think in the 1970s or 1980s, but I may be wrong about the date. There may have been one or two other changes to the mandate but I think they are pretty much an expansion to the joint exercise rules. One thing the mandate originally forbade was possession of or placement by an outside power of nuclear weapons in Japan, I can't remember if that's been changed at the moment.
Pretty sure they have not and will not budge on the nukes issue.
Excellent documentary!
Pleasantly surprised by your video, wasn't expecting as well of researched documentary. Well done. CDR, USN (ret)
Glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for your service.
our Cap.t volunteered us to pick up a wrecked PT boat in Korea. it was bound for a museum in Dubuque, Ia.
Wow. Do you know if it made it there?
An interesting and informative video. Well done!
Glad you enjoyed it!
My dad and one uncle were there! My mother's brother was in the army and dad was on the destroyer-escort USS Black hawk. Dad said it was sure cold there!
I’m sure very few volunteered to go out there!
I couldn't edit this but my dad also said that if you were driving on those islands during the winters and broke down a mechanic wouldn't be sent out to repatr the truck because if you were exposed to the weather more than 15 minutes you would dye of exposure . So what they did to the truck was to simply shove it into a hole they had gauged out in the center of the island and buried it!
I knew someone who was stationed on Greenland. Sounds pretty similar.
An excellent programme filling in some of the many gaps in my own knowledge of WW2 MTB's. Most of the film here seems quite rare, or at least seldom comes into my view.
Most of the footage is declassified material shot by combat cameramen. Quality varies.
My father was in that conflict in the Aleutians, his boat was lost at sea for three months and all hands pronounced lost, families notified of their death. They were eventually found and my dad's mom/sister were never the same again after he showed up alive. The families often suffered as much as the servicemen, though its usually not thought about.
War strikes families as much as soldiers, airmen and sailors. And often in strange ways; I'd be thinking I saw a ghost if I had went through all the grieving and the missing relative showed up suddenly.... that's another shock.
Appreciation for the post war images. Puta great seal into perspective.
Universal Studios claims on their tour most of it was filmed on their back lot ! In fact it was the same pool used when Moses (Charleton Heston) parted the Red Sea. In fact they show you how the sea was "parted".
My mother was very good friends with Ernest Borgnine. I remember watching McHale's Navy with her, time permitted, as she was busy with house work.
I had a great uncle, that was commander over two PT boats in the Pacific theater. I don’t know where he served, but it was brutal. He had a brother his oldest brother that was in intelligence and they met two different times during the war is all they saw each other the whole war.
One minor correction. The Japanese army and navy cordially hated each others guts long before WWII. Constant fighting over budgets and authority led to things as nutty as the army building its own combat ships.
The same was quite true of all the allied forces, including the US. 'friendly fire" killed many US servicemen.
I spent a little time on Adak I the 70s. My mom treated some of the men fighting the Japanese.
A stark bleak picture is what I think of in this part of the world. Can’t imagine conducting war in such weather
I can't imagine living there for a week in peacetime to be honest! Beautiful, but so harsh.
SEMPRE PERATUS! USCGC CHASE (378) We had many Patrols up there! (90's) Thanks for THE HISTORY LESSON! Definitely MORE Happened! Then i thought! AMEN!
I was stationed on the Morgenthou also a 378 in the late 70's.We spent a lot of time doing Alpats ( Alaska partrols) We went to Adak a few times for resuply and it was still an active military base then. It was miserable duty, but very interesting.
Very interesting, especially the sections dealing with Attu and Kiska. My late father-in-law was involved in that campaign ....... as a Japanese artillery officer (probably a 1st Lieutenant then, he was a captain when the war ended). He was initially on Attu but was relocated to Kiska, then back to Japan. All he ever said to me about the Aleutian campaign was, "Attsu wa taihen deshita" -- Attu was terrible! If he were alive today I'd like to show him your video.
Sadly, I haven’t been able to find any Japanese accounts of the occupation. For sure, the weather wasn’t any kinder to them than it was to the Americans or Canadians.
@@LesSharp: I couldn't find Japanese footage -- everything was in Japanese using mostly US film, or showing naval charges. HOWEVER .... this might be interesting to you, a Japanese patriotic song about the fight at Attu. kzhead.info/sun/mJywYLCInpmLjHA/bejne.html アッツ島血戦勇士 Attsu-jima Kessen Yūshi [Warrior of the Bloody Battle of Attu Island] 顕彰国民歌 National Song of Honor 作詞 裏巽久信 作曲 山田耕筰 Lyrics: Uratatsumi Hisanobu Composition: Yamada Kosaku 陸軍省報道部推薦歌曲／朝日新聞社撰定 [green text] Song recommended by the Ministry of Army Press / Asahi Shimbun １ 刃も凍る北海の 御楯と立ちて二千余士 精鋭こぞるアッツ島 ■山崎大佐指揮を執る The blade also freezes in the North Sea more than 2,000 warriors standing with their shields The elite gather on Attu Island ■Colonel Yamazaki in command ２ 時これ五月十二日 暁こむる霧深く 突如と襲ふ敵二万 ■南に邀へ北に撃つ On this May 12th Dawn is gathering and the fog is deep 20,000 enemies suddenly attack ■Counter-attack to the south, shooting to the north ３ 陸海敵の猛攻に わが反撃は火を吐けど 巨弾は落ちて地を抉り ■山容ために改まる On the Onslaught of Enemies on Land and Sea Our counterattack breathes fire Giant bullets fell and gouged the earth ■Resulting in the mountain shape changing ４ 血戦死闘十八夜 烈々の士気天を衝き 敵六千は屠れども ■吾また多く喪へり Blood Battle 18 Nights of Death The fierce morale of the people rushes to the heavens Though six thousand of the enemy are slaughtered ■But I too have mourned many more ５ 火砲はすべて摧け飛び 僅かに銃剣、手（て）榴弾 寄せ来る敵と相搏ちて ■血汐は花と雪に染む All the guns were destroyed. A few bayonets and hand grenades They clashed with the oncoming foe ■The blood spilt from bodies staining flowers and snow ６ 一兵の援、一弾の 補給を乞はず敵情を 電波に託す二千キロ ■波頭に映る星寒し A thousand kilometers to beg for a single soldier's support, a single bullet's supply, and to broadcast the enemy's position over the airwaves ■The stars reflected in the waves are cold ７ 折柄拝す大御言 生死問はぬ益良雄が ただ感激の涙呑む ■降りしく敵の弾丸の中 I pray to the Lord at the opportune moment The question of life and death for the brave man is to only cry tears of joy. ■in the midst of the enemy's bullet ８ 他に策なきにあらねども 武名はやはか穢すべき 傷病兵は自決して ■魂魄ともに戦へり Though I have no other plan must military fame be defiled? Sick and wounded soldiers commit suicide ■and fight in spirit and in soul ９ 残れる勇士百有余 遥かに皇居伏し拝み 敢然鬨と諸共に ■敵主力へと玉砕す There are more than a hundred remaining heroes far away from the Imperial Palace With their battle cries and their courage ■We will be crushed by the enemy's main force 10 ああ皇軍の神髄に 久遠の大義生かしたる 忠魂のあとうけ継ぎて ■撃ちてし止まむ醜の仇 Ahhh, the essence of the Imperial Army The cause that has lived on for a long time The successors to the loyal dead ■Fight without ceasing to avenge the enemy's shame
The great tragedy doing work like this is, you publish first, and then all the esoteric details arrive in the comments. Ask in advance, you get nothing. I'd have loved to have included this in the first video. Add to that bitterness, the underlying knowledge that the Navy probably isn't coming to your aid, because. You might enjoy this video I made about a Japanese flight school near my home of five years: kzhead.info/sun/rbGieMd-qX6uY40/bejne.html Or this one, about the one Japanese Class C war criminal in 82 who was shot by firing squad vs. being hanged: kzhead.info/sun/YKqYea9xamedfnA/bejne.html
@@LesSharp Thanks, I'll look at those links after work tomorrow. Interesting about 神風 kamikaze. The navy used the "Chinese sound" [shinpū] and the army used the "Japanese sound" [kamikaze] -- both sounds for the same kanji: 神風 Anyway -- when I was stationed in Korea (1988-90) on Cheju Island the area had many Japanese aircraft hangars oriented out to sea; towards the end of war these hangars housed some of the aircraft used to launch kamikaze attacks. After the war the hangars were taken over by farmers who still use them. I knew two former kamikaze pilot trainees -- they were members of my wife's Japanese Christian church here in San Jose, CA. Both were Nisei: born in the US and were visiting Japan when the war broke out. They spoke fondly of the training -- but one gentleman, Jimmy Matsuda, really enjoyed flight training. He told me that the girls loved seeing them in their dress whites and they usually didn't have to pay for drinks. This man avoided being sent out on a mission because he was used to translate English. Both men have since passed on. www.mansell.com/eo9066/NIHIMS/Nisei_IHIMS.html#Jimmy_Matsuda
That's interesting. I can read Kanji but have no idea how to pronounce the characters in Japanese. Thanks for the link to Jimmy's story.
I understand that the Canadians were issued US M1 helmets to reduce the possibility of friendly fire mistakes. I also have seen these Canadians wearing US web cartridges belts although they have the No. 4 MKI rifles.
Hollywood did "make a movie about" PT Boats. It starred John Wayne and Robert Montgomery (Elizabeth's dad, he got top billing), called They Were Expendable, released in 1945, 3 1/2 months after the end of the war. The film was based on the 1942 book by William Lindsay White, based on the exploits of John D Bulkeley, a MoH winner and PT Boat Squadron Three commander, and his exec, Robert Kelly. Montgomery would go on to be one of only two major Hollywood stars who would "name names" in the "Blacklist" hearings. The other was Ronnie Reagan.
Those comments about the Canadian Army pressuring the government to change the definition of home defense likely had to do with conscription. Most of Canada's forces during the war were volunteers, my father included. However, the conscripts were told they would be for home defense only and not to be sent overseas for combat. It would appear the definition of "home" was slightly expanded.
My father Lloyd Simpson served on PT-73. He was a machinist.
Thank you sir
i always think of PT-109 and then PT-73.
Please keep your videos coming about history
Thanks, but KZhead are just horrible to work for and that's not much encouragement.
Ernest borgnine was a retired U.S.Navy chief
My father fought the Japanese in Alaska and fetuses to talk about it for years except to say that it was so colder than he imagined any place could be. They had to put ropes up as the visibility when it snowed due to high winds was less than a foot at times. The Americans and Japanese lost large numbers of soldiers to the elements as neither side had adequate protective gear for that environment. Ifound out first hand how inaqequit it still was after being station at Fort Wainwright in the late 80s and early 90s.
Stencilled comments on the doors of commodes at Moffett Field declared ADAK a four letter word. My father spent a couple of days there in WWII. A woman behind every tree was promised, there were No Trees on Adak.
Moffett Field being fairly close to Treasure Island, which is where the PT boats coming down from Puget Sound where transferred onto ships headed for New Guinea. I'm sure the Air Force guys didn't enjoy the posting any more than the Navy though. The tree gag is hilarious!
@@LesSharp At Ft. Greely in the early '70s the phrase was, "There's a beautiful woman behind every tree, but you can't find the trees for the forest." Large parts of the base were contaminated with chemical and biological weapon residue that made it unsafe to fight forest fires. It was also referred to as 'The land of the square tire." and "The land of the one sided trees." I have a certificate for surviving a year at that base, It is titled, "The Benevolent Brotherhood of Buffalo Busters". I also have the remaining blank 'Kerflavits Awards" which were a gag by the AFRTS radio and TV station where I was the engineer. they stated, 'Given for a job well done, or not done at all'. We were made to stop awarding them, when one was given to a low ranking officer who stored a large batch of experimental weapons on a frozen lake, but didn't remove them before spring thaw. That incident was also the butt of a joke on 'Laugh In' where their 'Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award'. was given to 'An unnamed Army Base'.
Sounds like you could write a book on those tales!
Very interesting history
Been to Attu many times it can be brutal weather!
The more I read about it, the more I appreciate it as one of the most remote and exposed places in the world.
@@LesSharp I was a Coast Guard C-130 Crew. We used to support a Loran station out there. There was a flight every 2 weeks I think. One of our 130s even crashed there.
I think the LORAN station was decommissioned quite recently. Thanks for your hard work! Risky business!
Being retired Navy Honest SK2/ E-5
As a retired Supply Officer, thanks for your service.
As my Father used to say " If you got out of the Army with any amount of money, you were doing something wrong !" . . .
Good video.
The TV PT 73 served in Italy towards the end of the series not just tropics.
I didn't say it didn't. Three seasons and both movies were set in the tropics, and so were the other two popular movies featuring PT boats. If I mentioned every little factoid or exception, the videos would go to an hour and be less informative in the end.
Series 4 -the final series - had the PT-73 and crew, plus Captain Binghamton, Lt Carpenter and Fuji, being transferred to an Italian island in the Mediterranean (similar to Lampedusa), to hunt German U-boats.
Im 20, English and I love McHale's Navy!