Annapolis Goes to War: The Naval; Academy Class of 1940 with Craig Symonds - Episode 510

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War

Captain William Toti, USN

Halsey, Station Hypo, World War Ii, Macarthur, Seth Paridon, Pacific War, History, Stavridis, Cactus Air Force, Fargo, William Toti, Aircraft Carriers, Nimitz, Mush Morton, Wahoo, Imperial Japan, Cruisers, Wake Island, Battleships, Spruance, Courses, Submarines, Midway, Cincpac, Guadalcanal, Documentary, Naval History And Heritage Command, Society & Culture, Admiral King, Imperial Japanese Navy, New Guinea, Cincpoa, Cryptology, Navy, Sam Cox, Pearl Harbor, Education, Bill Toti, December 7, Us Navy, Bombers, Fighters

4.8 • 654 Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2025

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome noted author and historian Craig Symonds to the show to discuss Craig's new book. Annapolis Goes to War: The Naval Academy Class of 1940 is an excellent read and this episode gives you a brief look at some of the grads who made an imprint on the Pacific side of the war. Craig is an amazing historian and it was an honor to have him with us as he goes through many of the stories of some of the USNA Class of 1940 grads who were at Pearl Harbor among others. #wwiihistory #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #essex #halsey #taskforce38 #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #hollywood #movie #movies #books #mastersoftheair #8thairforce #mightyeighth #100thbombgroup #bloodyhundredth #b17 #boeing #airforce wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #hollywood #movie #movies #books #oldbreed #1stMarineDivision #thepacific #Peleliu #army #marines #marinecorps #worldwar2 #worldwar #worldwarii #leytegulf #battleofleytegulf #rodserling #twilightzone #liberation #blacksheep #power #prisoner #prisonerofwar #typhoon #hurricane #weather #iwojima#bullhalsey #ace #p47 #p38 #fighter #fighterpilot #b29 #strategicstudying #tokyo #boeing #incendiary #usa #franklin #okinawa #yamato #kamikaze #Q&A #questions #questionsandanswers #history #jaws #atomicbomb #nuclear #nationalarchives #nara #johnford #hollywood #fdr #president #roosevelt #usnavy

Transcript

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0:00.0	The
0:07.0	The The
0:23.6	The Hello and welcome to episode 510 of the unauthorized history of the Pacific War podcast.
0:47.4	My name is Seth Peridon, historian and deputy director of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum.
0:51.8	And with me, as always, in his sartorial splendor.
0:54.9	As my good friend, fantastic historian and author, John Parshall, how are you this fine afternoon, John?
1:03.6	I am just peachy.
1:05.5	I'm in the depths of the editing process with Oxford for my42 book, and it's just going great.
1:13.2	So, yeah. Anyway, there you go. There you go.
1:16.1	Well, if you're watching, you can see that we have a third member of the crew with us today,
1:19.7	and it's a new guest, and he is considered one of the foremost naval historians in this country of ours.
1:26.9	And for the formal introduction, I'm going to toss it over to my co-host, my pal John.
1:31.1	John, take it away.
1:32.7	Yeah, because I was trying to think, Craig, how long have we known each other at this point?
1:37.4	It's 15 years or something like that?
1:40.3	Well, I could be a smart ale I can say too long, but I'll be honest and say not long enough.
1:46.8	There you go. Okay. So Craig is the author of I think 17 books now, 18? 18, yeah.
1:55.6	18. Look at you. Tought at the Naval Academy for 30 years and then retired briefly and then went back as the Ernest J. King,
2:06.2	distinguished professor of naval history at the War College.
2:10.5	He has won the Gilder Lerman Prize, the Lincoln Prize, the Rosebelt Prize, the Dudley Knox Medal for Lifetime Achievement, and the
2:19.0	2023 Pritzker Prize for Lifetime Achievement, which is a real biggie too. So, yeah, let's just say
2:27.2	that when I go to Craig's house and I see the wall of books and awards, I'm like, we are not worthy.
	...

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