The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a look at some fairly rare and very important archival footage from 1942. While scenes of the Fil-American disaster on Luzon are few and far between, there are some shots of the campaign, and as one would suspect, they are from the Japanese point of view. This week we look at footage from the final Japanese assault on Bataan in April 1942, as well as so...

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a deep dive into the withdrawal actions fought by General Jonathan Wainwright’s troops of the Northern Luzon Force from December 24, 1941 through January 1, 1942. The guys get into the actions of some of the men who, quite literally, held the door open so that General Parker’s Southern Luzon Force could escape into Bataan during the latter portion of 19...

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome back their buddy John McManus to discuss the situation facing Douglas MacArthur’s troops from Christmas Eve, 1941 through the New Year as Wainwright and his beleaguered men begin the phased withdrawal from their fighting positions to the Bataan Peninsula. Among the many topics the guys get into is the leadership of General Jonathan Wainwright and how...

This week Seth Paridon, Jon Parshall and their buddy, John McManus, talk about the initial Japanese landings on Luzon in December 1941. The guys get into the very real panic that was in Manila following the debacle at Clark Field and how the citizenry reacted to the news that the Japanese were indeed going to invade. The landings at Aparri, Legaspi and Vigan are discussed as are the main Japanese...

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a deep dive into the debacle that occurs at Clark Field in December 1941 as war comes to the Philippines and General Douglas MacArthur. The series of missteps from General Lewis Brereton, to Dick Sutherland all the way to MacArthur himself all lead down the road to disaster as the Japanese catch Mac's major defensive/offensive assets with their pants do...

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a deep dive into the realm of the pre-war Philippines. The guys dig into the ever-revolving question that flew through defense circles in the 1920’s and 30’s as to whether or not the US should defend the Philippines in any way. Then, with defense a definite, the guys get into War Plan Orange, WPO-3, and Douglas MacArthur’s own plan for defense and the p...

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall open up Season 6 with friend, author and historian Pete Owen. Pete, a retired United States Marine, and Naval Academy graduate, brings us the story of VMF-221's Pacific War odyssey. 221 first saw combat at Midway in June 1942, then went on to Guadalcanal after a lengthy rebuild. After the Canal, and flying the F4U Corsair, the Falcons flew in the Solomons be...

This week, Seth is introducing another documentary from his massive film archive. This time its the USN and USCG produced, The Fleet That Came to Stay. The title is obvious and this film is filled with awesome archival footage. Check it out and get ready for Season Six that debuts next week! #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #w...

This week Seth introduces a really good documentary film produced right after the war by General MacArthur's command entitled Appointment in Tokyo. The film focuses on Mac's theater of the Pacific war from the Fall of the Philippines to the surrender aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay in 1945. Another couple weeks before the start of Season Six. Stand by! #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #meda...

This week we are combining both Wake Island episodes as Seth and Jon prep for Season 6. Enjoy. #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #essex #halse...

Special Announcement here gang: Both Jon and myself, along with John McManus , will be at The National Museum of the Pacific War's annual conference in October. The museum's annual conference will conference will feature several speakers, including both of us. Jon and my session will be Friday October 16, 2026 at 5 pm. Jon will be speaking separately the following day. The entire conference is Fri...

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a look at the attack on Pearl Harbor, the first wave in this super-long episode. We've combined the two parts of the first wave into this massive episode while we prepare for Season 6. Enjoy.

This week Seth Paridon, and his son, take you through the National Naval Aviation Museum located on NAS Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida. Yours truly and my son take an annual "History with Dad" trip, and my boy selected P'Cola as this year's destination. This is one of, if not the, finest museum in the entire country. The aircraft collection is amazing and the artifacts, including some from CV6, a...

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall wrap up Season 5 with a Q&A episode with their good buddy and Q&A emcee-Shawn Bergstrom. The team wraps up the massive amount of questions sent in with some really thought provoking answers to some excellent questions. See if you made the cut. #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwii...

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome back buddy Sal Mercogliano  @wgowshipping  to talk about US Navy shipbuilding and fleet repair in the Pacific theater of Operations. The guys get into several Admirals you’ve probably never heard of and dive into the Navy’s shipbuilding programs that began during the mid-1930’s and rolled through to the Two Ocean Navy Act. The sheer amount of vessels...

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a look at some utterly awesome archival footage. Remember when we said that the airspace over Task Force 58 was the most deadly anti-aircraft envelope on the planet in 44-45? Well, after watching this, you will understand why we are right. The sheer amount of lead flying through the air from the likes of USS Washington, USS Lexington, USS Hornet, USS Be...

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome author and historian Sara Vladic to the show to discuss her new book, The Dangerous Shore: How a Motley Crew of Scientists, Mobsters, Double Agents, Retirees, Volunteer Pilots (and a Boy Scout) Stopped the Invasion of America. I bet you never thought you would ever hear the name Lucky Luciano or Meyer Lansky on this show. Well, just sit back and watc...

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome their good friend John McManus to the show to talk research. Jon and I get stacks of emails every week asking where to look, how to look, what to look for, etc when it comes to researching a subject, person, photo, what have you. As we begin the wrap-up of Season 5, we thought it would be a good idea to have our buddy on to discuss that very topic. H...

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall are delighted to welcome Sal Mercogliano from What’s Going on With Shipping to the show to discuss US Navy fast oilers and the logistic issues in the Pacific during 1942.  Seth and Jon give Sal the wheel and he drives us through an absolutely fascinating presentation on the US Navy’s oiler situation in late 1941 and through 1942.You guys will be absolutely a...

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall wrap up the campaign in Burma with the fall of Rangoon, and the subsequent Japanese advance north into central Burma. British General Harold Alexander takes over for the fired Thomas Hutton and we also see the introduction of two of the more famous allied characters of the war, British General William Slim and American General Joseph “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell....

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall bring the Burma campaign, or the beginning of it anyway, to the table. The guys get into the strategic setup for the campaign, and talk about the British defensive forces, or lack thereof. Jon dishes on Iida Shojiro, Japanese CO of the 15th Army, and the guys get into the series of defenisive battles fought by the Commonwealth forces that occur in the beginn...

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a fascinating look at some Japanese archival footage from 1942 (and a bit from 43). The guys look at footage, that for the most part, they have never seen before. There are some really amazing shots of Japanese aircraft including, Jakes and Mavis', as well as some glorious shots of Japanese heavy cruisers like Tone, Haguro, and the Mogami class, as well...

This week Seth Paridon, Jon Parshall and Shawn Bergstrom get into more of your listener questions as we take one more dive into the email inbox.  Topics range all over the map and are frankly too numerous to list, the conversation is lively, fun and engaging.  Hope you made the cut as we round out the q&a’s for this season. Thanks to all of the Nerderati who sent in the amazing questions.  We hope...

This week Seth Paridon, Jon Parshall and Shawn Bergstrom tackle more of your listener questions as we wade through round four of the Q&A episodes. Questions dealing with POWs, brutality in the PTO, who was replaceable, hidden conversations, and even the dreaded counter-factuals are tackled in this deep dive. Check it out, maybe your question made the cut.

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a step to the east and look at the Battle of Hong Kong and the subsequent third Battle of Changsha.  In the late 1930’s, Great Britain felt that defending the city of Hong Kong and it’s environs was not worth the waste of manpower and materiel. Yet, by 1941, they had changed their tune, albeit half-heartedly.  Hong Kong’s survival, not to the British, b...