What was the American combat experience like in the Pacific Theatre during World War II?

Question

What kinds of weapons were used? What was combat like? What emotions did soldiers feel? Why did soldiers fight? Why did minority soldiers fight? Was combat and Army life different for minority soldiers? Why or why not?

Answer 1

There are many books on this subject.  Try http://www.turnerpublishing.com/detail.a...

this is a biography of the 1st Marine Div.

Answer 2

1- Standard issue weapons

2- It was bloodier than in the Pacific as the Japanese would routinely fight until the absolute man was killed or incapacitated.  Americans would NOT let themselves be taken prisoner-as execution was standard by the Japanese

3- See #2

4- What kind of touchy-feely question is this?  The same emotions all combat troops of all nationalities feel.

5- For one's friends/buddies.  Been that way since organized warfare began.

6- See above.  Also, it was an avenue to gaining respect in the national consciousness resulting in equality of treatment.  It was also pretty much a meritocracy even with segregation-compared to civilian society

7- No

Answer 3

In a word, combat in the Pacific tended to be grim.

Navy forces and air forces had somewhat more comfortable times of it, but they suffered heavy losses as well, early on, and continued to suffer significant losses right up to the end of the war.  The weapons they used were

Navy:  The various gun-combat ship types, submarines, and a variety of carrier based fighter and bomber aircraft.

Air Force:  Early on the P-40, P-36/39, P-38 and later P-51 Mustangs, B-24, B-25 and eventually A/B-26 and B-29.

The ground combat experience was horrific.  The Japanese had plenty of time to plan their defenses, to dig in, and to prep the battlefield.  Invading American forces had to contend with these well-planned and executed defenses as well as the natural obstacles of such places, like extreme heat and lack of water (see Pelielu), coral reefs offshore (see Tarawa), difficult soil situations (see Iwo Jima).  Finally, it should be noted that the Japanese fought in fanatical defiance of mortality and surrender, and used literally every trick in the book to inflict casualties on the Allied forces.  They routinely fought to nearly the last man.

Weapons:

M-1 Garand rifle, M-1 Carbine, M-1 Thompson submachine gun, BARs, M-1919 air and water cooled machineguns, M-2 .50 caliber machineguns, pineapple frag grenades, flame throwers and bazookas.  Later, some M-3 submachine guns also came in.

Why did soldiers fight?  Well, many were drafted, and the penalties for failure to obey orders is death.  More common, however, was the fact that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor, sgtarting the war, and the American soldiers meant to drive them back and force the surrender of the Japanese Empire.  Minority soldiers also were patriotic, often, and many also hoped that by taking their place and fighting to defend America and defeat Japan, they would prove themselves worthy of all the rights and freedoms promised by America.  Army life was diffeerent for them, as many were segregated (see the Black Marines), and others were the constant butt of harrassment and small-minded racism.  However, combat was little different for many minority soldiers.  War is h**l.  Some minority troops, like the Black Marines on Iwo Jima, were not really supposed to fight.  Their job was to unload cargo and move it up to the fighting units.  Those goals aside, they usually ended up having to fight anyway, and they certainly suffered significant casualties while trying to do their assigned jobs under intense fire.  

Answer 4

The finest single volume source on this struggle is JOHN COSTELLO,   "THE PACIFIC WAR, 1941-1945.  It;s a gret read, very well researched and beautifully written.