‘The Pacific’ Recap: ‘Part Six’ & ‘Part Seven’

1/22/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

The Battle of Peleliu Island Rages in ‘Part Six’ of ‘The Pacific’. (Photo Courtesy of HBO.)

For the most part, our journey through the Second World War via the shows, Band of Brothers, and The Pacific, have yielded two vastly different tales. For while Band of Brothers explored the triumphs and the follies and pain of the European Theater of the war in a broad and powerful manner, The Pacific has offered up a very dark and intimate look at the battle in the Pacific Theater. One that has focused heavily on the mental impact of war upon the men that fought it, giving rise to incredible contrast between those two tales. One so powerful that there should be no parallels between the two in the slightest, outside of the fact they take place during World War II.

But as it turned out, there was a way to sync these two stories up and offer a parallel storyline if you will. For ‘Part Six’ and ‘Part Seven’ informed us that the Marines that fought in the Battle of Peleliu Island, experienced something similar to what Easy Company and the other boys did on their side of the war. For that battle was akin to the Battle of the Bulge, that last gasp from the enemy in their attempts to maintain relevancy against a superior fighting force and well, much like what happened in Europe in that fateful winter, the Marines on Peleliu faced dangers untold, and darkness, and serious loss and strife. The kind that would change so many before their actions helped change the course of the war.

Courtesy of two key battles and two key storylines. One of which involved, the wholesale bloodbath that was the taking of Peleliu Airfield. For the corps was low on water and every essential supply, but there was no time to wait, no time to ponder. They had to take the airfield and advance to keep the enemy on their feet and reeling in fear. Which led to a horrific charging of the field, where Marines were torn asunder and fought in utter terror. Where faces we’ve come to know disappeared and where even the heartiest of heroes fell in combat. For in the midst of this madness, while Leckie was trying to do his job and get his commanding officer what he needed, he was caught up in a nasty explosion. One that wounded him badly and took him out of action to heal.

The Battle of Peleliu Island Finally Ends in ‘Part Seven’ of ‘The Pacific’. (Photo Courtesy of HBO.)

From there… the story took the time… to explore how this battle broke Eugene Sledge’s spirit through and through and turned him into a grizzled Marine instead of the hopeful one we met at the start of this series. Courtesy of a mission that took his unit into the hills/mountains of the island. Where the enemy was entrenched and relentless. To the point where they attacked at night and forced mistakes and sorrow and the unrelenting nature of this type of combat, wore on Sledge, wore on everyone. To the point where the toughest marine in his unit snapped emotionally. But of course, Sledge tried, tried hard in fact… to hang onto that purity he held in his heart. But alas, one singular moment changed all that, one that showcased the true darkness of the war.

Because one fine day, his commanding officer, a good man that did his best to keep the light in Sledge and others lit… was taken out by a sniper. Just like that. No rhyme. No reason. Just chaos and the wrong moment, and that helped Sledge to understand the chaos of this war, and its cruelty and that broke him, and pulled the light from him and left him as bitter as anyone else in the regiment. To the point where he displayed a sense of cruelty and a need for justice, we’ve never seen him display. And to properly bookend his fall from grace, his return to base saw him be as salty and as indifferent as his friend. Closing out this journey in a tragic manner thanks to one pyrrhic victory.

All of which showcased how both theaters of the war, saw some hideous and costly combat. And that is precisely why we have taken the time to look at both of these episodes as one giant one, as we did with the Battle of the Bulge stories for Band of Brothers. For this was indeed a two-hour movie, one wrought with suffering and darkness and the horrors of war, and it reminded us of how hard this fight was thanks to an unrelenting enemy, and well… now that we’ve reached the end of this ugly journey. One that broke so many, it will be interesting to see if any other parallels await us, or if the Pacific Theater will continue to offer its own unique stories about the men that chose to dig in and fight the long fight, despite the pain it imprinted upon their very souls. Until next time.

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