re: Given the choice would you prefer to work in the Pacific or European WW2 theater?

Gulf of Mexico

Coast Guard

U boat patrol

Europe and I’ll take Airborne. Those guys were fantastic in what they accomplished and the circumstances they had.

The Pacific was just brutal. shite terrain, hot, humid, bugs, your enemy was just a fricking zealot ready to die in an instant. And the Japanese were notorious for abusing prisoners. Torture and execution was to be expected.

Sledge's book with the old breed is a must read for anyone curious about what it was really like in the pacific

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Sledge's book with the old breed is a must read for anyone curious about what it was really like in the pacific

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One of, if not the best books I’ve ever read.

For an example of just how shitty the Japanese were to us, at one point they came across a dead Marine or soldier and they had tied him up to a tree, cut his genitals off, and stuffed em in the poor bastard’s mouth. At other places they came across dead Americans who had been tied up and used for bayonet practice.

The ETO is where I’d like to go if I had a choice.

Marine fighter squadron. Pacific.

I had an old patient about s decade ago who was a real life POW from the group that Bridge over the River Kwai was based off of. Maintained that the real life conditions were exponentially worse than what the book/movie portrayed. Let’s just say he doesn’t like the Japanese to this day.

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The Pacific was just brutal. shite terrain, hot, humid, bugs, your enemy was just a fricking zealot ready to die in an instant. And the Japanese were notorious for abusing prisoners. Torture and execution was to be expected.

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This.

At least in Europe, large celebrations and R&R was held after cities were liberated. Women were throwing themselves on the G.I.s. and they came back with pretty sweet war treasures and loot.

Pacific victories were left with desolated islands piled up with mutilated bodies, including women and children, before jumping to the next island to do it all over again .

I read a little self published memoir one time by a guy who piloted a Navy anti submarine blimp based out of Miami. By day he tooled around in his blimp at 35 mph. By night he hit the clubs. Never saw a U boat. He unapologetically said it was the best time of his life.

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But for the average American fighting on the ground, Europe was better than the Hell in the Pacific.

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If you compare the casualty rates of infantry divisions that fought in Europe to those that fought in the Pacific, you’ll see the casualty rates in Europe were far higher in Europe than in the Pacific.

In fact, the division that suffered the highest casualties in the Pacific, the 1st Marine Division, would only rank about 8th on the casualty list had it suffered the same casualties in Europe.

Also, while the fighting in the Pacific was fierce and bloody, it was also usually brief. Most divisions in the Pacific would see what could be considered “intense” combat for a matter of a few weeks at a time followed by long periods of either mop-up or garrison duty. However, In Europe the fighting tended to be more steady in intensity with divisions being in continuous combat for longer periods.

The one area where it was far worse in the Pacific than Europe was the treatment of POWs. Although there are numerous notable exceptions where American POWs were slaughtered by the Germans. Malmedy being a one of these. However, if you look at the fighting in the Pacific, you will see that after the initial shock of the Japanese onslaught in late 1941 and early 1942, there were very few chances for the Japanese to capture American servicemen other than downed aircrews. Thus, post mid-1942, the odds of an American infantryman being captured was quite low.

When you take all these factors into account, it’s quite clear the European theater was far more lethal to average American ground troops than the Pacific.