User:wayne7150 on Sun, 12 Apr 2009 04:25:55 +0000
These are two US War Department films combined into one film clip. The first film is Marines at Tarawa which is in color. The second is Return to Guam which is in black and white. Both films were made during World War Two for the American viewers. Marines at Tarawa is in color, but this was still the early days of color photography and some of the color looks at bit washed out. There is some good footage of actual combat against the Japanese. There is a good overview of the Tarawa battle. Return to Guam features the story of a navy radio operator who hid in the jungle for 31 months and with the help of friendly natives avoided capture by the Japanese. There is some footage of the fighting on Guam. Although the American losses on Guam were actual higher than at Tarawa, the Guam battle is almost unknown today while Tarawa has been highly publicized. Perhaps this was was because Guam was a United States possession and was taken by the army rather than the marines. There are a few scenes of Guam natives with their heads cut off for such trivial things a looking up at the sky when American planes were flying overhead. There are some interesting scenes of life on this little bit of US territory that was apparently run by the US Navy. The film quality varies quite a bit but it is best in those scenes where there is no one shooting in the general direction of the camera man. This is well worth the download for any who are interested in the Pacific part of World War II.
User:wayne7150 on Sun, 12 Apr 2009 04:25:55 +0000
These are two US War Department films combined into one film clip. The first film is Marines at Tarawa which is in color. The second is Return to Guam which is in black and white. Both films were made during World War Two for the American viewers. Marines at Tarawa is in color, but this was still the early days of color photography and some of the color looks at bit washed out. There is some good footage of actual combat against the Japanese. There is a good overview of the Tarawa battle. Return to Guam features the story of a navy radio operator who hid in the jungle for 31 months and with the help of friendly natives avoided capture by the Japanese. There is some footage of the fighting on Guam. Although the American losses on Guam were actual higher than at Tarawa, the Guam battle is almost unknown today while Tarawa has been highly publicized. Perhaps this was was because Guam was a United States possession and was taken by the army rather than the marines. There are a few scenes of Guam natives with their heads cut off for such trivial things a looking up at the sky when American planes were flying overhead. There are some interesting scenes of life on this little bit of US territory that was apparently run by the US Navy. The film quality varies quite a bit but it is best in those scenes where there is no one shooting in the general direction of the camera man. This is well worth the download for any who are interested in the Pacific part of World War II.