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Did anybody else catch this show last night (or the night before) on The History Channel? It was incredibly stirring -- six suriving veterans of the Japanese assault on Wake Island in December 1941, right after Pearl Harbor told the story of their experiences during the assault and as POWs of Imperial Japan. All the Marines and civilian contractors on the island were going to be mass-murdered by the Japanese, but their lives were spared at the last minute.

The most amazing thing was seeing the country, the press and Hollywood rally behind our efforts to defeat the mortal threats from Germany and Japan. We face the same mortal threats today, but now the press, Hollywood and even our own Senators and Congresscritters are aligned with the enemy. How far we have fallen in 60 short years.

It doesn't look like the History Channel has the show in its schedule, but if it comes around again, I highly recommend it.

1 posted on 06/17/2005 10:24:32 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

A very good show. Stirring, as you said. It replays every so often...I've seen it maybe four times on the H channel.


2 posted on 06/17/2005 10:26:30 PM PDT by Petronski (Be alert! The world needs more lerts.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Read a book about Wake Island when I was in JHS (early 60s). Very clever tactics. Using palm trees to look like AA guns so the Japs wasted bombs on them, while the real AA guns were in hiding.
Can you imagine the MSM reporting on them now?


3 posted on 06/17/2005 10:36:59 PM PDT by ProudVet77 (NASCAR - Because it's the way Americans drive.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

WILDCATF4F3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


4 posted on 06/17/2005 10:46:13 PM PDT by wildcatf4f3 (whats wrong with a draft?)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Haven't seen it but I hope to. Actually about 100 POWs were executed on Wake later on in the war.


5 posted on 06/18/2005 12:00:51 AM PDT by Eagles6 (Dig deeper, more ammo.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

I saw it. Very good. I was surprised that they found five survivors who were in good enough health to travel...extrapolating from the ages of the guys and when they enlisted, I surmised that it was filmed in 2002 or thereabouts. There was a minor historical nitpick or two, but nothing worth metioning. Well done overall.

The saga of Bill Taylor, the civilian construction worker who escaped and made his way across China, is worth a movie itself. I googled his name and there's very little about him. Somebody needs to write his story.


7 posted on 06/18/2005 3:29:05 AM PDT by kms61
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

The Civilians were slaughtered, the ones who stayed.

They killed them all after using them to rebuild the Island.


8 posted on 06/18/2005 5:08:24 AM PDT by RaceBannon ((Prov 28:1 KJV) The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
Excellent show. I have seen it before. Talk about bravery.

Have you seen Breaking Vegas on History Channel yet? Quite a good show about human ingenuity.

9 posted on 06/18/2005 5:12:04 AM PDT by dc27
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

PACIFIC ALAMO by John Wukovits is an excellant read.


11 posted on 06/18/2005 5:23:31 AM PDT by donozark (Restraining orders are just another way of saying I love you.)
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