A History of World War 2 Told in Movies (Part B: Pacific Theater)

*** Please note that this list is still under construction ***

*** SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME but may or may not be used ***

FLYING TIGERS - September 1941 to January 1942, southern China. True story of a group of mercenary U.S. fighter-pilots who attacked Japanese forces in China months before Pearl Harbour brought the U.S. officially into the war. [Movie released 1942] [Alternative or supplementary movies: God is My Co-Pilot, 1945; Baa Baa Black Sheep, 1976; Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, 1999]

TORA! TORA! TORA! - 7 December 1941, 'a date which will live in infamy', Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. The Empire of Japan attacks the U.S.A., largely destroying the U.S. Pacific fleet. [Movie released 1970] [Alternatives: Pearl Harbour, 2001; Pearl, 1978; From Here to Eternity, 1953]

THEY WERE EXPENDABLE December 1941 through April 1942, the waters around Luzon Isand, The Philippines. As the Japanese invasion drives American forces out of the Philippines, U.S. Navy PT (Patrol Torpedo) boats form a desperate and expendable line of defence. [Movie released 1945] [Thanks to Impostor]

CORREGIDOR 11 March to 6 May 1941, Corregidor Island, at the entrance to Manila Bay, The Philippines. This strategically located and thus fortified island held out for two months against attacks by Japanese invasion forces that eventually overwhelmed it. [Movie released 1943]

BATAAN 3 - 9 April 1942, Bataan Peninsula, Luzon Island, The Philippines. The Japanese attack and defeat U.S. and Philippine forces guarding a large gasoline depot. About 70 000 prisoners are forced to march 80 miles from Bataan to Tarlac. Because of the extremely harsh conditions of this march it became known as The Bataan Death March - about 54 000 of the captives survived it. [Movie released 1943] [Alternative or supplementary movies: Cry 'Havoc', 1943; So Proudly We Hail, 1943]

BACK TO BATAAN April 1942 and after, Luzon Island, The Philippines. The murderous behaviour of the Japanese forces in The Philippines and the story of the Resistance guerrillas who opposed them. [Movie released 1945]

THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO - 18 April 1942, Tokyo, Japan. So as to be seen to be striking back at Japan as soon as possible after the attack on Pearl Harbor, a desperate air raid was arranged in which drastically lightened bombers were taken within range of Tokyo by an aircraft carrier and dropped bombs on that city. Two of the crews were captured and put on trial by the Japanese (see The Purple Heart). [Movie released 1945] [Note: the story told in Destination Tokyo, 1943, seems to be entirely fictional]

WAKE ISLAND - 8 - 24 December 1941, Wake Island, North Pacific Ocean. Valiant though ultimately unsuccessful self-defense of an isolated U.S. Marines base against two Japanese attacks, the first of which began the day after Pearl Harbour. [Movie released 1942] [Alternativr or supplementary movie: Air Force, 1943]

EMPIRE OF THE SUN - 8 December 1941, Shanghai, China. As the Japanese invade Shanghai, a young British boy is separated from his parents. Based on the true life experiences of author J.G. Ballard. [Movie released 1987]

PARADISE ROAD - 31 January to 15 February 1942, The British Crown Colony of Singapore. After overrunning the Malay Peninsula and sinking two British battleships that were guarding the region, the Japanese crossed the Straits of Johore and invaded the island of Singapore. Although outnumbered, the Japanese invasion force was successful and captured a large number of British and Australian prisoners. [Movie released 1997] [Alternative or supplementary movies: King Rat, 1965; Silent Cries, 1993]

THE BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA - 4-8 May 1942, in the Coral Sea (South Pacific Ocean) over a large area southwest of the Solomon Islands. A naval/air battle between Japanese and U.S. aircraft carriers and cruisers. Not as conclusive as the Battle of Midway a month later, but probably prevented a planned Japanese invasion of Australia. [Movie released 1959]

MIDWAY - 4-6 June 1942, vicinity of Midway Island. The naval/air Battle of Midway, after which the U.S. and its allies had the advantage over the Japanese in respect of naval power. A Japanese task force on its way to invade the island was surprised and engaged by a U.S. force. The Americans lost an aircraft carrier, but the Japanese suffered the disastrous loss of four carriers. The battle took the form of aircraft attacking ships instead of ships attacking ships. [Movie released 1976] [Alternative or supplementary movie: The Battle of Midway, 1942]

THE GALLANT HOURS - 7 August 1942 to 9 February 1943, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, South Pacific Ocean. The most important battle in the campaign to take the Solomon Islands back from the Japanese. United States, Australian, New Zealand, Fijian, Tongan, and Solomon Islands forces were all involved on the Allied side. The battle included naval, air, and land engagements. Some historians hold that this battle was the real turning point in the war in the Pacific. [Movie released 1960] [Alternative or supplementary movies: Flying Leathernecks, 1951; Guadalcanal Diary, 1943]

THE PURPLE HEART - October 1942, Shanghai, China. The harsh fate of the Doolittle Raid fliers captured by the Japanese in China (see Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo).
[Movie released 1944]

FAT MAN AND LITTLE BOY - 17 September 1942 to 9 August, 1945, Los Alamos and Alamogordo, New Mexico. Story of The Manhattan Engineering District (a.k.a. The Manhattan Project), which developed and constructed the two atomic bombs used to end the war against Japan. [Movie released 1989] [Alternative: Day One, 1989]

THE SANDS OF IWO JIMA - 16 February to 26 March 1945, the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, about 670 miles south of Tokyo. The island had to be taken from the Japanese to prevent it being used as an airbase to attack Allied forces closing in on the home islands of Japan. The Japanese defenses were well established and the fighting was some of the fiercest of the war, with heavy casualties on both sides. A very famous photograph, 'Raising the flag on Iwo Jima', was taken as the U.S. forces achieved victory. [Movie released 1949] [Alternative or supplementary movies: The Outsider, 1961]

MERRILL'S MARAUDERS - February to August 1945, Burma. Story of a specially formed U.S. commando unit which fought a string of battles with Japanese forces occupying Burma. They succeeded in causing very serious disruption of Japanese activities in that country. They fought so well that each member of the unit was awarded a Bronze Star, and the unit as a whole received a Distinguished Unit Citation. [Movie released 1962]

MISSION OF THE SHARK: THE SAGA OF THE USS INDIANAPOLIS 30 July to 4 August 1945, the Pacific Ocean, approximately 12 degrees north latitude by 134 degrees east longitude. After having served before and during the war, including service at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the heavy cruiser Indianapolis was assigned a special mission: she was to deliver the two atomic bombs (see Fat Man and Little Boy) to the western Pacific island of Tinian, from where they were flown to their targets. After completing this mission the Indianapolis called in at Guam and from there headed towards The Philippines with 1196 men aboard. In darkness on 30 July she was struck by two torpedos fired from a Japanese submarine and sank in less than 15 minutes. Although a distress signal was sent, the nearly 900 surviving crew were in the water until rescuers arrived on 4 August by which time there were only 316 survivors, the others having drowned or been taken by sharks. [TV movie released 1991] [The story of the Indianapolis is also told in a scene in the movie Jaws, 1975]

ENOLA GAY: THE MEN, THE MISSION, THE ATOMIC BOMB - 6 August 1945, Hiroshima, Japan. The mission of a B-29 bomber, the 'Enola Gay', piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, to attack the Japanese homeland with the newly developed atomic bomb. [TV movie released 1980]