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. Hello and welcome to a brand new series of key battles of American history.

I'm James Early, your host, as always.

In this series, I will be discussing the Pacific Theater of the Second World War,

through the lens of the most important battles fought in the theater.

And I'm delighted to be joined by my longtime podcast partner, author, historian, professor,

and host of the great podcast History Unplugged.

Scott Rank. Dr. Scott Rank.

Dr. Scott Rank.

It's so good to have you again.

How you doing, Scott?

Doing all right.

Ready to sink my teeth into the Pacific Theater.

Yeah.

Analogy makes or similarly metaphor makes any sense.

You sound like a shark, Scott.

...