Hello and welcome to episode 412 of the unauthorized history of the Pacific War podcast.

My name is Seth Periden, historian and deputy director of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum here at Camp Shelby. And with me, as always, is my co-host, retired Navy Captain Bill Toaddy,

former skipper of the Fast Attack Submarine, USS, Indianapolis, Commodore of Submarine Squadron 3 in Pearl Harbor and many other postings. How are you August 6th, Bill, very

significant date, not only because it's my wife's birthday, happy birthday, Malav, but it's also

obviously Hiroshima bombing day. It is, yeah. So about a year or a few months ago,

I was there in Hiroshima, of course, filmed that bit of an episode that we posted last year

about that.

But I do want to say something about for our Marines in the audience, our listeners and viewers,

because recently last few weeks or so, as we were recording this, General Al Gray passed away,

and I watched this funeral on YouTube.

It was very moving.

And I got a little tiny bit of history with Al Gray during the desert storm, that war, when I was working for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and General Powell.

I was a watch officer in the National Military Command Center

under Captain Vern Clark, who later became C&O, Vern Clark, who later worked with me in civilian life.

But anyway, in the NCC, my door, my desk, my cubby was right by the door where all the joint chiefs would walk in and out.

And here I am a little skinny lieutenant commander, Navy lieutenant commander.

Yes, in my whites, because in those days we weren't allowed to wear khakis inside the beltway.

I'm not making that up, folks.

And I sat there and watching my whites and Al Gray would come by.

And I read all the fleet Marine Force manuals. I was a joint guy. I was into marine doctrine. I was

in a maneuver warfare warfare. I could do, I was a graduate of armed forces staff college.

I could do maneuver warfare planning with the best of them.

...