Victory At Sea - The Turkey Shoot - Episode 17
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- čas přidán 15. 06. 2010
- Guam, a U.S. territory, is invaded by Japanese a few days after Pearl Harbor and remains occupied for two and a half years before the Americans arrive to reclaim Saipan and Guam, and destroy as well the Japanese fleet with a classic "turkey shoot". The Guamanians are thankful as expressed on their smiling faces, making it one of the most inspiring segments of Victory at Sea. Meanwhile, the Americans are preparing the bases in the islands as well as in other areas of the Marianas for the ultimate bomber offensive against Japan.
I was stationed on Guam in the early 90’s. Seeing all the history of WW2 still in Guam, Tinian, and Saipan was incredible. From the bomb pits in Tinian, suicide cliffs in Saipan, tank farm in Guam. It was an honor to stand foot where those brave individuals helped liberate the world 🇺🇸
So proud I was 15 when ww2 ended
My father Robert B. Gaines, US Army was stationed on Tinian and witnessed departure of Enola Gay en route to Hiroshima.
As a child, he and I watched Victory at Sea/planting seeds for my career/History teacher and Instructor. They truly were The Greatest Generation.
what a great series, all of the WW2 vets I know love it
Ahhhh…Victory At Sea, such a GREAT series! ✨👏🏼😎✨
My father was there on board the battleship USS Maryland. I never tired of his telling us his experiences there. God Rest His Soul.
I thank him for his service and all these with gif rest his soul I’m know he’s watching you up in Heaven.
I always put these old episodes on when I don’r feel well. The narrator’s voice and Richard Rodgers music is soothing.
Let it never be said that the American GI, the Marine, The Sailor etc,etc has been a ruthless conqueror.....they are liberators and have always been kind and caring and humanitarian every where they go . Even in the enemy island they has a merciful heart....God Bless them all....
My father served as a WW2 Morse code signal man on the island of Ulithe. This amazing story of Guam is yet another chapter in American history that bears repeating again and again to every generation. Never forget!
How can you watch the last five minutes of this episode and not have your heart swell with pride in what America accomplished in World War II. This great TV series was one of the big reasons I joined the Navy in 1970.Back then Hollywood was on our side.
Me too I watched VAS and it plus my Dad and brother had both been the Navy so I joined in '63 and after the Tonkin Gulf incident I was very happy I was in the Navy
What do you mean our side?
@@mgman6000 the gulf of Tonkin was all a lie
You can be born just about anytime in the last 30 years ago and therefore not have a clue about history.
@@mgman6000 What Is VAS for people who use words?
Samuel E. Morison's volume "New Guinea and the Marianas" describes the whole Saipan, Tinian,
and Guam naval, military, and aerial campaigns, mostly from a command level. Morison's whole
series on WW2 naval operations is well worth having.
The bravery shown by the men and many women is humbling. Without realizing it they reset the lives of human beings worldwide on a path of freedom. Even among non-participating nations the message was clear. Freedom is the future. Im so proud of America and her allies.
This series was very well written and the narration of Leonard Graves is excellent!
Leonard Graves was incredible!
The musical score is one for the ages.
Best ever. My grandmother gave me the record and it started my passion for WWII
Rodgers' music is phenomenal, especially when you realize what he did all his life was compose Broadway tunes. Richard Bennett (the orchestrator) however, wrote symphonies and much other orchestral music. Serentipitous collaboration.
But it was mostly Robert Russel Bennet who did most of the music. Unfortunately, Rogers got all of the credit. Very unjust.
My father was in New Guinea and actually recognized one of the buildings and said he had been that building, shown in one of the shows. I also have a picture of him with Joe E. Brown who was a well known comedian, in the day, and was on a USO tour. Seeing this again brings back memories of my father who is gone now.
Joe E Brown biggggg mouth
@@davidroby7290 ^
Good memories...
Our country is NOT perfect. Never was and never will be! HOWEVER, IT IS THE MOST GENEROUS, KIND, ETC. To those who kneel for our flag, divide our nation, complain, Americans died so others could be free. Others died trying to reach our shores and taste freedom. The GREATEST NATION THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN!🇺🇸👌🇺🇸
I spent 3 months on Henderson air base in 1967 in support of B-52 bombing of Vietnam. I saw very little of Guam since I worked so many hours and never left the base!
You mean Anderson Air Force Base. And most B52 bombing from that base occurred way after 1967. I was there 1969/72.
Thanks for uploading this! I really used to enjoy watching these when I was young.
Used to be the complete set on DVDs awhile ago.
Stationed at the Naval Hospital Guam twice. First as an Ensign and then as Lieutenant. My retailer told me I would never make Lieutenant Commander going back my second time. I am a Mustang and for me Guam and her people were enough for me. BTW left Guam as a Lieutenant Commander selected. Put on the rank at my last duty station (the small town where I grew up). Great great people on Guam.
I used to watch this on Sunday afternoons with my dad...I was about 4 or maybe 5...ca 1954 or '55...
Me too with my Dad at Yokuska Japan in 1959
I remember watching the show in the early 50's as a young lad. Had 2 Uncle's in the Navy during WW2. Uncle Leon and Uncle Walter RIP
I have memorized much of the music. March to it. Memories of my Dad’s service in the Pacific. An American classic!
My dad stationed on guam during korea. Hell hole of snakes and lousy air strip. Glad he made it home
This is the greatest TV show of all times.
Watch the silent service
Greatest documentary for sure!
We watched this in 1952 on FREE TV YES FREE!!!!!
1:50 learning cursive .... 47% of today's college freshman can't write in cursive
I remember watching this documentary as a kid...also Air Power. Father was a disabled WW II vet. An uncle was a cadet at the US merchant Marine Academy, mobilized to serve in a convoy, died when SS Meriwether Lewis was sunk. The war was still fresh in the minds of the older folks.
I watched them too in the 50s. I remembr that Walter Cronkite narrated Air Power. He was the last news anchor that the whole nation trusted.
Great episode-Great series.
i was stationed on a ship in port in Guam when the N. Koreans took the USS Pueblo. The whole island fairly shook as I am told that every B52 on Guam was loaded with Nukes and circling the island waiting on orders to go Erase N. Korea-Too bad they didn't do so.
Watching Victory at sea in my youth is one of the reasons I wanted to join the Navy, I am proud of my service. FTG2
In 1981 I reported to NAS Agana as an Airmen Apprentice, E-2. Wow! Had just turned 18 years old and having the time of my life. Young men never think about tomorrow. Old men think about yesterday.
They used to show these films on the big screen in the movie theater back in the early 60s. They were great then and still are now.
This was a great TV series, I remember watching on my old Dumont on Saturday at 3PM on NBC. This documentry will go on forever as a tribute to the greatest generation.
"AND A NOW"...my ears would guide me to the old b&w tv like a moth to a flame.
Me too
Zenith baby.
scott left : Me too, and it drove the rest of the family crazy.
Que estas peliculas setraduzcsn al español.son muy interesante que las vean todos
I also remember watching and listening to these every chance we got to. Thank each and every servicemen and women for their service to these United States and the men and women , allies and all for their full support.👍👍👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
The musical score of Richard Rogers & orchestrated by Richard Russell Bennett remains epic
What an amazing score. Was this part of the "war effort" I wonder? Or later? There was a lot of effort to match the music to the subject on the screen ... or vice versa. But I'm still impressed by Roger's music. The copyright at the beginning says MCMVII suggesting 1952. But the story in this episode suggests that the war was still not over. So when indeed was this film actually made?
Correction: Orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett
@@robvanwyck3063 I remember watching this with my father, an army veteran of Leyte and Okinawa. I think it was a weekly series that I think roughly followed the actual timeline of events. That was in the early to mid 50's. I was born in '47.
I served in the Army from 1988 to1992 with a native of Guam Sgtn T I could not pronounce his last name he was a giant of a man at 6'3 260 lbs. he was the company armour. He was terrifying Sgt. at first, but as I got to know him he was a cool guy.
This TV series is why I joined the U.S. Navy in 1966!
As always I am impressed by the musical score
I remember watching VAS with my Dad, a WW2 Army Engineer who was in the ETO (European Theater of Opns). Born in Aug. 1947, the first of Dad and Mom's 5 children, I hung on every word he told us, whether while watching a movie, or a documentary like Victory At Sea. Since he was the Army equivalent of the Navy SeaBees, he would often explain to everyone in the room what was going on when they showed things like building Marston-Mat airfields on islands in the Pacific (the mats were corrugated steel with holes in them to reduce their weight, while still having the lateral rigidity to withstand the weight of everything from a Piper Cub to an 8-ton P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber to a God-knows-how-heavily loaded C-47 cargo plane. This saved them from trying to prepare a typical concrete runway, which was really only needed for big bombers like the B-17, B-24, and the humungus B-29, which only flew out of the Marianas Islands (Tinian, Saipan, and Guam) to beat the Japanese home islands into dust, and eventually to drop the two A-Bombs which ended it all. The only thing about VAS was that there was very little about the war in Europe.
JosephK109 because most of the war in Europe was fought on land. In the Pacific it was island to island & they had a lot more battles on the oceans. Its called Victory at Sea emphasizes on the Sea part of it
@@jackboyer1280 There are episodes about the war in the Atlantic. I just watched one, "Killers and Killed".
I too was born in 47. Used to watch this series with my Dad. He was a radio repairman in well USAAC.
Philosophy of War requires readiness. Peaceful readiness and the Arts. This is well done, Thanks Brian Koller
Did I just see tanks cruising along in the ocean and making a rush for the beach? Amazing how those tanks floated back then!
American Industrial Pipeline given time to organize was OVERWHELMING ? Pilot training of Americans was Superior and really took hold the longer the conflict dragged on - Our luck at Midway totally tipped the scales ! 🤗
All though in black an white still great footage!
Wow this is a powerful episode: The liberation of Guam. GOD BLESS THE AMERICAN MILITARY!!
Don't try to watch this in bed while your wife is sleeping as the increasing volume of the music will more than likely attribute to your divorce.
Great soundtrack...much of it from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific"....
😂
Thanks for the tip! I'll try it and see if it works.
Just loved Richard Rodgers music...
Makes me miss orchestra and jazz band back in hs
The Eagle holds both arrows and olive branches .... Always ready to offer the latter and unafraid to use the former...
We need to be ready for more of these
"turkey shoots" today. Go Military!
One of the most Beautiful series of history I have ever seen....the heroes of the nation's involved in conflict live on these videos....rip to all who paid the ultimate price....they covered themselves in glory....
Bless these brave Islanders. Truly innocent bystanders. They deserve EVERYTHING America can do for them.
These Chammoros had a bad reputation before ww2, because the japanese just murdered them wholesale after taking over.
Why the Japanese were going to occupy those islands even if ee weren't there & it could have been worse for them
Most of these Islanders in the states live of the welfare state, a lazier group you may never meet!
After Japan lost Saipan, Tojo asked his diplomat to make peace with America. The diplomat replied that it is easier to start a war than stop it.
Source? I didn't think that happened.
US Subs played a crucial role in this battle. Even sinking a Japanese carrier.
The battle is known as the "Marianas Turkey Shoot" because an American pilot returned to his carrier and remarked on the ease of shooting down Japanese planes by exclaiming, "Hell, it was like an old-fashioned turkey shoot!".
The casualty reports confirmed that pilot's boast...while the US lost 129 lives, the Japanese lost more than 600 plus nearly every warplane they had was shot down into the Pacific Ocean. The Marianas Trench, btw, is the deepest part of any ocean or sea in the world. Hundreds of Japanese warplanes can still be found there.
By this point the balance of skill and experience was on the American side. Our pilots were flying better planes and getting more training. The Japanese couldn't keep up from here on we were shooting down student pilots.
@@TheMikewalking Correct... with Midway, the Japanese began to hemorrhage pilots and planes badly and the US Navy's assets were updated, especially the Hellcat and Bearcat.
@@andrewrei6106 We had the Hellcat then, but the Bearcat was still on the drawing boards and didn't enter service until just after the war ended. Still made an effective ground-attack plane in Korea flying off of CVEs.
I'm 73 and I remember watching all of the Victory at Sea series on black and white TV in the 1950's. The series was produced by NBC who back then produced these kinds of history and patriotic programs.
Today, NBC is nothing more than the propaganda arm of the Democrats who seem to hate America, our culture, out history, and our way of life in favor of diversity, political correctness, open borders, abolish ICE, illegals deserve all the benefits American have paid for, and NBC seems to despise everything conservative.
Every program they have now has some aspect of anti-Trump, anti-conservative, leftist propaganda BS.
What a difference about 70 years makes. From a predominately patriotic network to a hard core anti-American network.
BMf I couldn't agree more about NBC. Not only victory at sea but earlier when i was ten was the silent service who lost more men and sunk more Japanese shipping than any other arm including our glory hog carriers. Can you even imagine the fear when being depth charged and still doing your duty barely able to breath? When they finally got radar and could find the ships before they could be sighted they really stopped Japan cold.
Thanks for posting these. My Grandfather (A WWII Vet) & I used to watch re-runs of this on Channel 9 in NYC in the late 70's. I'm in my 40's now & it seems even though we only had 7 channels back then, there was more on TV. It's pure propaganda, not as detailed and polished as "World at War," but I loved this as a kid. Still do. Good job putting this on. Many Thanks
I watched Victory at Sea when I was a kid. Great series.
Channel 2 CBS Channel 4 NBC Channel 7 ABC.. 11 was WPIX and cant remember channel 5 or 9's station letters but they were local NYC stations...The 1970's back when the city was outstanding..Not the toilet it is today..
Nimitz then shifted his HQ from Pearl Harbor to Guam. Most important of all the Marianas became home to the B-29’s of XX Air Force
One of the best warrant officers I knew in 20 years in the U.S. Army was a Guamanian AH-1 Cobra pilot at Fort Bragg, NC.
Might be @Andersen AB,Guam.Henderson airfield ,Guadalcanal was fought gallantly by the US Marines and recovered it from the Japanese in 1943🇺🇸
One young Sailor at the "Great Mariana's Turkey Shoot" on board the carrier USS Monterey was Lt. Junior Grade, Gerald Ford who later went on to be the President of the USA! Ford was an Anti-Aircraft Battery Officer and athletic director on the carrier. Many great men served in Task Force 58 in the great Sea Battle. Several well written accounts of the battle are available and make for very interesting reading. What a piece of history...
There is a book about this typhoon called Halsey's Typhoon.
Kennedy was dumped into the sea, swam back to shore with another sailor in his arm. f'd up his back etc. - silver spoon guy but still did great in the war, not a seat warmer.
randy109 I love this series!
They had the Hell Cats ! 2000 HP !
When I was a kid all the older generation, older than my parents, had been involved in WWII in some way. I didn't know some people had been in the camps.
Because I am an old man, I have met or worked with a couple dozen-or-so people from Guam, Saipan, and the Philippines whose grandparents and great-grandparents lived through WWII on the islands. Without exception, my friends and co-workers have told essentially the same stories about their families--how they were within days of starvation when the Americans returned. A few told of how members of their families died of starvation even the Americans had arrived, so great was their degree of starvation. Many in their families gathered weeds, leaves, even mud, to make meals of a kind of mud stew. Sometimes, virtually every leaf and blade of grass was gathered around the smaller villages. One woman told me how her family village lost residents when they tried to go out further from their villages to try to gather something to eat and were accused of being spies and were killed by the enemy forces. Difficult stories to listen to.
The scene in this episode is of Chamorros jumping to their deaths. They did so in order to avoid capture but also because they were starving and to sacrifice themselves so others could eat. U.S. troops told of finding the bodies of the elderly and mothers. They jumped so their babies could be better fed.
When it comes to casualties, the near-starving locals are ignored. They also contributed; they were what it was about.
Imagine doing this fighting during 100 degree heat, with humidity to match...??!
The Japanese use Guam as a vacation spot now.
I think it's called golden week. The Guam merchants look forward to it like American merchants look to black friday. Japanese tourists spend a lot of money
All-time classic series, made in 1952, just 7 years after the War. ------------My Dad loved this show, & in Denver, growing up, it was always on, somewhere. -------------I now own the series, & it is still a benchmark for history documentaries. --------------THIS, & the BBC's " The World At War", narrated by Laurence Olivier. --------------------------------------------WolfSky9, 73 y/o
In NYC everyone watched it with their veteran dad!.. Maurice HBank
Lucky this footage will be a tribute to a generation
Philbyd 123 They were called the greatest generation for all the sacrifices they all made to keep us free along with most of the rest of the world especially z Europe & Asia where most were a concured people & can't forget Africa too. they gave the Axis he'll that's for sure
A millennial said the me that “the world will be a much better place when all the boomers are gone” and the other millennials he was with agreed. God help the USA when they are in charge.
Amen to that...and what a generation it was. America’s GREATEST generation if you asked me.
@@djquinn11 Dale, they won't be charge.
12:04 thats a case of friendly fire right there. that hellcat got lit up as he slid onto the Zero's tail.
paul m: It's bound to happen in a turkey shoot. Good thing his Hellcat has self-sealing fuel tanks!
Could have been the wingman of the Zero, firing on the Hellcat
@@davidrowley8251 it was a hellcat you can tell by the profile as he slides in
@@JohnRodriguesPhotographer Careless pilot!
My dad was a machinist’s mate in the engine room of an attack transport in WW2, and the salty language he heard daily (and used himself, no doubt) must have been extraordinary. Yet growing up in the 1950’s, I never heard him say anything worse than the occasional “hell” or “damn.” Same goes for all the other men I grew up around. It’s almost as if they simply all knew that you just didn’t use that kind of language around women and children - and so they didn’t. Such casual unremarked self-control is another thing that bolsters their generation’s reputation as the greatest.
My neighbor's cousin's sister's boyfriend's brother was stationed on Guam in the 80's.... They sure wore out some flutes and violin strings making accompanying music for these VAS episodes...
excelllent
footage
Still the best WW2 documentary.
The Greatness and the Glory of the United States Navy, Defined!
Greatest documentary ever.!
Thank God everyday for America. Thank him twice if you're American.We can never begin to thank the Greatest generation who sacrificed everything so we. would have something. America as a nation has great Karma because of God, Guts and guns used to preserve and defend Liberty and Justice for all. I'm honored to be an American I pray you are realizing you're only free because of those who gave their all so you wouldn't have too. stainless steel balls I pray thanks for those who use them today as we learned it from American history so pay attention and be honored for they honored us
karma has nothing to do with God not Him with it.
the proximity fuse and radar. along with high performance radar of the americans to locate our carriers.
Can yu imagine t he shock these troops must have felt to first see our flag being burned by Americans.
This Series Had a Great Soundtrack. 1944 D-Day in the Pacific.
The people of Guam are American citizens who serve in the military more often than Americans from other areas, yet the VA facilities and care they have gotten for awhile are substandard. Someone needs to spend more money on VA care for the veterans from Guam.
Same thing for the Samoans. They serve in large numbers. A huge percentage of Guam's area is ceded to US government use.
They are AWESOME people. Strong as fuck. And great to have on your side in a bar fight lol!!
I agree. So even the great DECEIVER (Obama) did nothing for the former service men and woman.
kim weaver, agree that they were and are fine, brave Americans but the VA is shitball all over and the native Chamorros are sure a hell of a lot better off than when occupied by the Imperial Japanese in WWII.
Patrick Reynolds
He did what he could, without congressional action what could he do?
One of the great theme songs of all time.
Good job guys! ,
In less than ten years from the liberation of Guam, the United States initiated the very first thermonuclear event in 1952 near Eniweitok, Marshall Islands, under the code name of Operation Ivy-Mike.
My Uncle served at Andersen AFB in Guam in the 50's. There were rumors of several Japanese holdouts hiding in the jungles. The last one, a soldier named Shoici Yochoi, was finally captured in 1972, almost 28 years after our forces recaptured control of Guam. Yochoi returned to Japan, married, lived another 27 years, and died at the age of 82.
Not a rumor at all. You could ask any Navy CT that had to go to the antenna field about them. Dad carried either an M1911 or an M1903A3 when having to go out there in 1953 because the Japanese soldiers fired on the Navy guys. The locals population in 1972 turned the Japanese soldier in to the US military and when he was found, his rifle no longer had a wood stock as it had rotted from all the years on the island. Born there in 1955.
@@gravelydon7072 Agreed. My uncle was out there about the same time, or maybe a bit before. Talked about how entertainment once consisted of a movie projector and hanging up a sheet because they didn't have a screen. My aunt got a bad dose of insulin there and affected her health for the last 20 years of her life. Uncle then went to Wright-Pat and took part in heat and cold tolerance tests for the space program. Proud of my military family.
@@MrPerfesser B-36s were the planes of the day at Anderson. When I was born there the Navy housing was in Quonset huts. Which were left over from WW II. They built the concrete bunker homes while we were there and got one of them. Those homes were still standing last I knew. Funny thing is, 5 years later, we also got new base housing while in Turkey. And what was the school in at first, another batch of WW II Quonset huts. We were the first classes into the new school also in 1961-62. When we got to Japan in 1966, our housing was WW II wood construction quad homes. Which had been barracks for the Japanese military.
Yes, the Mighty Americans' have returned!!!
Thank you all for your service.
Oriental women are the best!
1:02 beutiful view...paradise found.
Time to kick ass again!
The music for this is by Richard Rodgers. He wrote the music for South Pacific too.
They had to ask *CONGRESS* for approval to fortify Guam before it was too late? Oh great scott!!!
Just like today defense appropriations bills. You get down to brass tacks based on the original plan to defend us interests in the Pacific, plan orange, Guam was indefensible.
@@JohnRodriguesPhotographer Japan didnt think it was...We have the best politicians money can buy.. Twenty first century and they think the same
@@rackets7991 Keep in mind how their defense of Guam worked out. Also look at Plan Orange. Geographically Guam was then surrounded by Islands controlled by Japan. Which included airbases.
you can thank the right wig isolationists for that
Good thing Guam didn't capsize
It does that every day just no one has noticed. It is so quick you blink and you missed it.
Yeah. hahaha Dumb politicians.
Dated but still speaks to that time
Victory at Sea you should listen to Bert Kaempfert orchestra victory at Sea very good
Yes, I do. I was reflecting on the fact that November 1, 2012 marked the 60th anniversaty of humanity's entry into the Thermonuclear Era. Besides, the danger of blast and fallout would have precluded the detonation of such a device anywhere near Marianas.
Saipan was also the place where Lee Marvin got wounded.
Props for mentioning Lee Marvin.
And where Admiral Nagumo of Midway fame committed Hari Kari . When you look at Nagumo’s picture you can see the overwhelming “Weight of Command “ in his eyes and demeanor !
@@oceanhome2023 Chuichi Nagumo was a truly tragic figure in this battle. Yes he was "Commander, Pacific Fleet" but that "fleet" was just a collection of shipping barges and a few transports. He had never recovered from his disgrace at Midway and was shunted into this insignificant command from which he had no chance to redeem his honour, trapped on an island of fanatics determined to fight to the death for a war which was out of their control. His earlier successes in 1941 and pre-Midway 1942 had led him to a meaningless death. But he still did his duty, and he remained his Emperor's soldier right to the very end.
THIS IS WHY WE HAVE ,MARINES JUST TOO DO THIS SORT OF WORK FOR ALL .
I remember watching this in the early 70’s . Probably made much earlier
Any higher definition than 240p? I know it's old but sometimes old films can still be quite high-definition and sharp.
Yes look what they have done with the WW1 films ! Amazing
I believe this series was made in the early 60’s . Go figure
I think it must be an early scan. This was probably recorded in 16 mm and should be capable of higher grade scanning. Films that were scanned to digital early, need a rescan, now that scanner tech is more evolved.
4:23 that's the enemy but still insanely badass footage
Guam it's recapture and important. !!
A few years ago I was listening to radio guam..question for you. Were in the usa have a day to recall. Liberation day. Answer guam yours Evans w robinson
The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot actually happened in the Philippine Sea.
Some nice shots of Thunderbolts and Messerschmitt’s included ….. odd, I thought they were used in the European theatre?!?!?
@@davesnothere. ???
There were certainly some P-47's in the pacific theater
Guam...a paradise island turned into a supply depot.
ANZACs lest we forget.
“Hell is upon is”