War has played a key role in the history of the United States, from the nation's founding

right down to the present. War made the U.S. independent, kept it together, increased its size,

and established it as a global superpower. Understanding America's wars is essential for understanding American history.

Welcome to Key Battles of American History,

a podcast in which we discuss American history

through the lens of the most important battles of America's wars.

Here is your host, James Early.

Thank you. James Early. Hello, and welcome to a special bonus episode of Key Battles of the Pacific

Theater of World War II.

This is your host, James, as always. And I'm recording this in very

late May 2021. Scott and I have finished recording the regular episodes in the key battles of

the Pacific War series, all 35 episodes. And yet I still feel like there's more that needs to be done. I feel like

there are more stories that need to be told. And to be honest, I could do the rest of my life

just on the Pacific Theater alone of World War II. There's just so many great stories,

so many books, so many movies.

When we did the regular series, even though it was 35 episodes, I still felt like we were just

skimming the surface. We were giving my classic patented 10,000-foot view. And if we'd wanted to,

we could have spent many, many, many more episodes.

Could have been 50 or 100. For example, on the Battle of Okinawa alone, we could have probably

had 10 episodes. But as you know, that's not my style. I like to do the overview, the 10,000

foot view. And I also didn't want to go over 35 because I felt like 35 was just enough.

I didn't want to wear you, the listeners, out.

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