This was a good episode focusing on Sledge. It looks like Leckie is out for good now since his ship is headed back to the US and he is injured.
The Marine who was making noise at night was killed and nobody seemed to get in trouble for that. Did that kind of thing happen in real life?
Best episode yet. Sledge is a much more compelling character than Leckie or the rest, particularly since Basilone is out of the picture until Iwo Jima.
Agreed. My only complaint was that it was too damn short. In a show where characterization is somewhat light at times, an extra 5-10 minutes of down-time could have helped differentiate some of the minor characters quite a bit. Instead, the credits were rolling by 10 til the hour.
But the airfield battle was spectacular. A lot of flying limbs on that one.
The airfield battle was a classic example of “keep moving forward at any cost”. This is true whether on an airfield, a beachhead or just in a simple ambush. You may die, but chances are lower if you keep moving.
I remember that distinctly from With the Old Breed. They tried injecting the Marine with morphine to dope him up (you could hear them calling for it in the show), but when the Corpsman held him down he almost got his hand bit off for the effort. The Marine was apparently convinced that Japanese were holding him down. The Marine with the shovel apparently didn’t mean to kill him, just to knock him unconscious. IIRC the Marine was reported as KIA during the night.
Loved both last week’s episode and this one; I eagerly await the last chapter of this island invasion next week.
My only complaint is that his nickname should just be “hammer.” Maybe this is a more modern sensibility, but including his actual name in the pun was far too literal for me. A nickname should imply the real name, not outright say it.
You DO know that this is based on actual events, right? That “Sledgehammer” WAS his actual knickname, right?
Because your complaint is sort of like saying “I think Patton should have been taller.”
I’m a bit late for the party here, will someone tell me did the man who hit the screaming Marine the guy who got the battlefield commision on Guadalcanal?
I don’t think it’s the same guy, I think he was the one calling the shots - “get him some morphine” and “hit him” but he wasn’t the one who actually hit him. I emphasize think because I’m honestly not sure at the moment. I’ll probably end up watching it again On Demand so I can watch out for it.
Who was the guy who was hanging around a lot with Sledge? Is he a new character? Don’t recall him from other episodes.
I checked and he is “Snafu” , still not sure if he is new or not
He first appeared, or at least I first noticed him, in the Tuvau episodes. He was hazing the boots that were joining the company. I definitely remember him hanging around the uh… shiatters while Sledge was burning them. He might have been in the earlier episodes in New Britain and Guadalcanal, but we mostly saw Leckie and Sid there who were in different units.
Battlefield commission guy was the Company Commander, Captain… uh something. I think we has still trying to find battalion at that point to get their orders changed. The LT was still there. Not sure what his name is.
Am I the only one constantly annoyed by the Shelton character? I realize he’s supposed to be an antagonist, but something about the actor’s delivery makes me want to dole out a little friendly fire.
FYI , Shelton is "Snafu "
For some reason, I love the Snafu character (his first appearance was in Episode 5). I first really liked him in the scene right before the invasion when he offered Sledge a cigarette. Sledge said “I don’t smoke” and Snafu just gave him this weird, sarcastic, knowing kind of look and said “Yeah?” I don’t know what it was, but I loved it.
I’m pretty sure that guy is called Hillbilly.
I can’t help seeing the actor who plays Snafu as the gay friend of the ambiguously gay son on the old Fox sitcom The War At Home. (Which dared to be a real actual sitcom smack dab in the middle of Fox’s Sunday night cartoon wasteland.)
Yes, I do know that. It doesn’t make it offend my modern sensibility any less. Sorry for not making that clear; silly me not explicitly stating that I’m aware this WWII biopic is based on real events.
Am I not allowed to criticize them, or was the greatest generation infallible?
FYI, I first spotted the Rami Malek, the actor who plays Snafu on “24” earlier this season. He has distinctive sleepy eyes.
Looks like a cross between Benicio del Toro and Johnny Depp with all the weird parts left in.
The Gunney is the man! “Woof!” had me laughing pretty hard. What a great episode and that scene of storming the airfield was pretty traumatic, it was a turkey shoot.
Are you serious? You’re criticizing them because in the 1940s they used a nickname that your modern ear finds odd? Please tell me I’m being whooshed here…