The Cactus Air Force on Guadalcanal with John Bruning - Episode 403

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

🗓️ 2 July 2024

⏱️ 133 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week Seth and Bill welcome back pal John Bruning to the show to talk about his new book, and always a fascinating subject, the Cactus Air Force. John's new book, 53 Days on Starvation Island is an absorbing look into the first two United States Marine Corps squadrons to land on Henderson Field in August 1942, VMF-223 and VMSB-232. The guys get deep into the personalities of the main figures of the two squadrons including legends such as Medal of Honor recipient John L. Smith, Marion Carl and Richard Mangrum among others. The guys talk about the complete lack of preparedness that the two squadrons faced from daily life, training, the ground echelon, disease, and of course, aerial combat. Tune in to hear a fascinating discussion on one of our favorite topics, the Guadalcanal campaign. #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 #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 #guadalcanal #cactus

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to episode 403, the unauthorized history of the Pacific War podcast.
0:21.1	My name is Seth Peridon, historian and deputy director of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum here at Camp Shelby.
0:25.9	And with me, as always, is my esteemed co-host, retired Navy captain, Bill Toaddy,
0:29.2	former skipper of the Fast Attack Submarine, USS, Indianapolis,
0:31.8	common order submarine squadron three in Pearl Harbor and many other postings.
0:35.0	How are you this fine June 4th, very significant day? Bill,
0:40.1	how are you? It is a significant day, Seth, and I feel like we're going to enter a wormhole
0:46.8	and go back in time from 1945 to 1942. How's that happening, Seth? Indeed. Well, it's happening because of the guest on our show,
0:57.3	as you can plainly see if you're watching. We're happy to welcome him back to the show. He's been with us
1:02.8	once before to talk about one of his earlier books, and it's been so long, I'm going to reintroduce him.
1:08.5	This gentleman is the writer or collaborator on over 20
1:11.2	non-fiction books. He's in New York Times bestseller. He was awarded the DOD's Thomas Jefferson
1:16.0	Award for Best Article in 2010. More pertinent to this show, however, he is the author of the
1:21.6	fantastic book, Race of Aces, World War II's elite airmen, and the epic battle to become the
1:25.8	master of the sky, which is about the air war over New Guinea.
1:28.7	But even more important to this show today, he is the author of the new book, 53 days on Starvation Island, the World War II battle that saved Marine Corps aviation.
1:39.0	Welcome back to the show, John Bruning. How are you?
1:42.0	Hey, thanks, Seth. I'm great. I'm just so happy to be back here. You guys are awesome.
1:47.3	Love talking to you about race of aces. What was that? Two years ago, maybe?
1:51.8	It's been a while.
1:52.6	Almost. Yeah, it's been a while.
1:55.3	And could you have picked a more gripping title, John, than 53 days on Starvation Island. I don't think there's, I don't
	...

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