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The Pacific
Act One: House of Cards
December 1941- June 1942
Historical Background: As the 1930s gave way to the 1940’s, the people of the United
States thought little of the Empire of Japan. Americans worried about their economy,
which had wallowed on the brink of collapse for a decade, and wished to stay out of the
world’s problems. The speed at which Nazi Germany had come to dominate Europe,
had, however, provided President Franklin Roosevelt with enough political capital to
take a few steps toward preparing the country to defend itself. Roosevelt and his
military leadership also opposed the Japanese drive to dominate vast stretches of
China. The Japanese government, ruled by a military cabal, that included Emperor
Hirohito, had created an ideology to justify its colonial conquests and built a military to
enact it. Japan obviously intended to seize other valuable areas along the Pacific Rim.
The United States controlled some of these valuable areas, and expected to keep the
region open to trade. Roosevelt hoped to curb Japanese expansion by a series of
economic and diplomatic measures backed up by the United States military- the
smallest and least equipped force of any industrialized nation in the world.
Source: (Ambrose, H. Page 1)
Evidence of Racism: Japanese are often referred to as “Dirty Japs” or “Yellow
Monkeys”.
The story opens with the United States troops in various American strongholds along
the Pacific upon declaring war on Japan. Grossly outnumbered, and facing almost
certain defeat, Americans were forced to pull out of much of this land without incident.
Key Characters:
Vernon “Mike” Micheel: Enlisted because he saw he would be drafted anyway and
could therefore choose his unit. Wanted to be a dive bomber, but instead was forced to
originally fly old World War I planes when his unit planes were taken. He ran into some
trouble early for crashing a plane during a drill. By page 22 of the book, he is an official
dive bomber, with the goal of sinking Japanese ships.
Sidney Phillips: Is first mentioned in the story entering a recruitment building and is
asked, “Do you boys want to kill Japs”? He was told, the only way to guarantee doing
that was to join the Marines. Along with friends Tatum, and Brown, joins Marines.
Being 17, however, he would need parental permission first.
Phillips (Cont.) He is sworn in as a Marine after Christmas. In terms of context,
Wake Island had been conquered on Christmas Eve. While befriending John Tatum at
boot camp, he realizes being a Marine, was not a glorified experience. He learned, the
goal of boot camp was to break a man down.
Eugene Sledge: Sidney’s best friend from home, not permitted to join the armed forces
by his father, who is a doctor, because of a heart murmur.
John Basilone: Has a previous military background, from fighting in the Philippines.
Known as “Manila John” (Manila is the capital of the Philippines). Had a girl in the
Philippines, loved the people. He was known as a “True Marine”. Though quickly
promoted for battlefield heroics, he still thought of all men as his equals and was well
liked. J.P. Morgan is his best friend, and Basilone is known as the only man who could
keep J.P. Morgan under control. Basilone was an expert at machine gunning and
focused on using only short bursts to keep the gun cool.
Lieutenant “Shifty” Shofner: One of the leaders of the fighting on the Pacific front, he
focused on organizing the war effort. He faced heavy attacks in Olongapo, enemy
landings on Luzor, large casualties, and was forced to leave behind many valuables
while avoiding Japanese attacks. His primary goal was to keep moving supplies. He
was promoted to Captain on January 5th 1942.
Major Puller: Known as chesty for his strength and reputation.
Key Dates and Events:
December 29th 1941: Corregidor attacked and for the next ten days, 36 killed and 140
wounded.
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Throughout the war, General MacArthur issued various statements declaring
United States victories, despite the struggles of the United States in the Pacific.
The United States eventually flees many areas. MacArthur claimed Bataan was
best for defending against Japan, but had never visited it, and left those
defending it short on weapons and food.
April 9th 1942: Bataan surrenders. Soldiers’ retreated to Corregidor, Japanese
destroyed many boats, forcing soldiers to swim to safety, many not surviving.
Eventually, soldiers’ found out the truth, they were being sacrificed for the good of the
war effort.
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As the last men in the Pacific struggled to survive, more reinforcements in
Basilone’s group were headed to the Pacific. They wondered where they would
be sent, since Wake, Guam, Manila, and other places had already fallen.
April 16th 1942: Reports come out of Japan, many civilians were killed in schools and
hospitals, to which American soldiers responded with cheers.
April 1942: “Mike” upgraded to carrier pilot, by late April, Japanese radio was stating
that the war would be over soon.
Early May, 1942: Shofner, and the Fourth Marine Regiment, low on supplies,
surrounded, and lacking men, became the first Marines to ever surrender. By May 26 th,
Shofner was in jail in the Philippines. Conditions in jail were immediately cited as being
highly superior to their previous elements.
Late 1942: Battle of Coral Sea, led to the sinking of massive numbers of United States
ships.
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Chapter ends with soldiers getting a brief Memorial Day leave to visit family. At
this moment, the Germans are dominating Europe, Japanese own the Pacific,
and hope for America is low.