The Pacific

[kalbs]

Some good photos of the up coming series:

www.hbo.com/events/pacific/slideshow.html

Trailer download here; WARNING: Very Graphic
www.pacificfans.com/trailer-videos

[darktide]

Destroyed armor, Peleliu, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, shot on one of my trips there. Don't know what it is though... Peleliu is very interesting... The volume of destroyed/ knocked out military hardware bears testament to the ferocity of the fighting. Lots of big Japanese guns in caves, armor and loads and loads of aircraft, especially near the airfield. Practically everywhere you go in Palau you will see destroyed aircraft, underwater and on land. What I liked most were two (2) Japanese seaplanes that were beside each other.

[j21]

looks like an LVT(A)-1

[darktide]

May 7, 2010 13:59:47 GMT 8 j21 said:

looks like an LVT(A)-1

Yes j21, I do believe you are correct that it is a (A)(1) variant. Behind the LVT was a big Japanese gun in a cave, which can't be seen in the pic.

[kalbs]

Louis, I really need to find some to travel with you.

[darktide]

May 7, 2010 19:12:39 GMT 8 kalbs said:

Louis, I really need to find some to travel with you.

Sure! I believe it would be great to travel with you! Vietnam/ Laos/ Cambodia next month! I have a niece that lives/ works in Vietnam, so she'll be taking me all over the place. Thing is, you've already been there. Last time I was there the Thai/ Cambodian border was loaded with all sorts of military surplus.

I used to work for a dive operation in Palau, so Peleliu was one of our dive sites. For one day each week, we would take guests ashore for a land tour, so I got quite familiar with the place. Now, there are weed plantations there. I have videos of Peleliu and of Palau... Mostly of Japanese aircraft and destroyed US and Japanese guns & armor. Thing is, it's on Hi-8 format and I haven't seen a Hi-8 videocam in years.

I'm still looking for my Truk Lagoon pics... Now those are far out! Japanese tanks/ big guns/ small arms & ammunition of all kinds scattered on the seabed. Japanese zeros in the holds of cargo ships... Well, the US sank more than 60 Japanese vessels there in one go.

[kalbs]

Been to both Vietnam and Cambodia and love the countries and peoples but never been to the small Islands that the USMC made infamous. I'd love to go back though with you then if I can get away, we need to do some travelling or sure.
I've been invited to a WW2 reenactment this September in the US so I plan to be there then to watch. Surplus shopping is on the agenda then as well.

[labrador]

Did a book project in Palau a couple of years ago. What an incredibly peaceful place. such a contrast from the violence it saw in the past.

[indiosbravos]

@ Kalbs what event are you attending? where?

@ labrador- the book was about what ( I mean actual topic, I know it's Palau)

There's load of things I would like to buy there but certain State restrictions and post 8/11 guidelines not to mentioned our own here, UK hinder me.

Hope you enjoy it there.

[labrador]

Strangely enough, it was a cookbook. Half of the Recipes were native Palauan, the rest were international concoctions (mostly mediterranean) using local ingredients. My client was an israeli dive operator. Sadly, I spent 7 days there working and didm't get to do a single dive. I pigged out a lot though. The title of the book was "A taste of Rainbow's end"

[bravotwozero]

May 7, 2010 7:01:44 GMT 8 darktide said:

Destroyed armor, Peleliu, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, shot on one of my trips there. Don't know what it is though... Peleliu is very interesting... The volume of destroyed/ knocked out military hardware bears testament to the ferocity of the fighting. Lots of big Japanese guns in caves, armor and loads and loads of aircraft, especially near the airfield. Practically everywhere you go in Palau you will see destroyed aircraft, underwater and on land. What I liked most were two (2) Japanese seaplanes that were beside each other.

Very cool Darktide, I would like to be able to visit those sites someday. Do they have tours there? Or are the wrecks just left alone to decay? Lately, I've been watching a lot of documentaries about war in the Pacific. And no it wasn't becaue of the current miniseries shown on HBO, but it's more because I recently unearthed my collection of recordings. Anyway, I'm learning more and more about the conflicts there. You should post more pictures if you don't mind.

[bravotwozero]

Oh, speaking of The Pacific, last Saturday I went to a Militaria show. There were two booths there from the suppliers of the costume for The Pacific. One booth was selling the gears used in the series, while the other was selling the uniforms. The one that sold gears were selling the US equipment. Some assembled and some individual pieces. They have them piled up in boxes. If you bought the gears, they will provide a certificate of authenticity. They have the gears of the major characters on display and available for sell too. I asked the price for one of the gas mask pouches and they said it was $50. So, I didn't bother to ask the price of the full sets. Looked cool though. Aparently, they also supplied the gears for The Green Zone, Terminator Salvation and Blackhawk Down. The gears were also there for sale.

The other booth sold US Marine uniforms used in The Pacific. They had two racks of clothing. For $175, you can get uniforms that are battle damaged. All dirtied up, some with rips or blood spots. For $200, you get cleaner looking uniforms. Both sets included leggings and boots and of course the all important certificate of authenticity. Didn't buy any though. Just thought it was interesting to see the movie props there.

[darktide]

May 13, 2010 1:21:06 GMT 8 @bravotwozero said:

May 7, 2010 7:01:44 GMT 8 darktide said:

Destroyed armor, Peleliu, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, shot on one of my trips there. Don't know what it is though... Peleliu is very interesting... The volume of destroyed/ knocked out military hardware bears testament to the ferocity of the fighting. Lots of big Japanese guns in caves, armor and loads and loads of aircraft, especially near the airfield. Practically everywhere you go in Palau you will see destroyed aircraft, underwater and on land. What I liked most were two (2) Japanese seaplanes that were beside each other.

Very cool Darktide, I would like to be able to visit those sites someday. Do they have tours there? Or are the wrecks just left alone to decay? Lately, I've been watching a lot of documentaries about war in the Pacific. And no it wasn't becaue of the current miniseries shown on HBO, but it's more because I recently unearthed my collection of recordings. Anyway, I'm learning more and more about the conflicts there. You should post more pictures if you don't mind.

Yes, they do have tours to Peleliu. It's kinda far from Koror (capital) or Malakal harbor though. Good thing Palau has a lot of fast boats. A lot of stuff in Palau (like the shipwrecks) have been cut up for sale as scrap. They stopped doing that already though. If you are a certified diver you will want to dive the helmet wreck off Malakal Harbor... Stacks and stacks of helmets, rifles, machine guns and lots of other stuff. The thing about Peleliu is that you get to see destroyed armor, which you don't see everywhere.

Truk (Chuuk) Lagoon is better though... More than 60 Japanese ships. I saw a cargo hold on a ship that had 6 Zeros in it. You also get to see tanks jumbled all over.

[darktide]

May 12, 2010 7:27:00 GMT 8 labrador said:

Strangely enough, it was a cookbook. Half of the Recipes were native Palauan, the rest were international concoctions (mostly mediterranean) using local ingredients. My client was an israeli dive operator. Sadly, I spent 7 days there working and didm't get to do a single dive. I pigged out a lot though. The title of the book was "A taste of Rainbow's end"

Israeli dive operator... Would this be Navot and his wife?

[labrador]

yup. I was with Tova and Navot for 7 days and didn't do a single dive. sigh.