My take...

So, I finished the series (as promised). Pacific is, officially, the second best war movie/series/show I have ever seen, just behind BoB.

I think I see Ryan's point... and I've always understood Jambo's. I'm inclined to think that Ryan is right, and while that doesn't negate Jambo's point... the two are not exclusive.

I'm walking away with the impression that the series was trying to say that the effort made by Snafu and Sledge (especially those two) was less-than-noble in spite of the nature of the men fighting and the horrors they experienced. That such efforts cannot but scar a man to the point of personal struggle typified in the scene where Sledge is dove hunting with his father and breaks down crying. PTSD, as it is understood today, is a very real and scarring condition that cannot but impact the lives of those that undergo the kind of stress these men lived with for months on end... but the effects of that kind of stress and anxiety shouldn't be the impression that viewers like me walk away with after watching the series. We should see, remember and celebrate the courage and self sacrifice of those that undertook such struggles for the purely selfless reasons that men like Snafu and Sledge did, in spite of the dangers that such actions and efforts might entail.

No one can deny (nor would anyone do so here) that the war in the Pacific was a different fight entirely than that of the ETO. The series even acknowledges this when the cab driver drops off Leckie and refuses the fare... because while he dropped into Normandy (part of the 101st, perhaps?) he, at least, took his liberty passes in London and Paris... all the grunts had from '43 on was mud, rain and jungle living. He recognized a special "effort" in what the marines had done in the PTO... and he was a combat veteran of some of the toughest fighting in Europe. I regret any aspect of the production that detracts or even provides the opportunity for distraction from this fact.

I will readily admit that having watched the entire series now, I see that Sledge's "dark night of the soul" was not simply the scene with the gold teeth... it carried on into the scene on Okinawa where he found the dying woman who begged for a bullet to end her misery and he held her gently until she passed... giving lie to the statement he'd made when he said he hoped they (the Japs) wouldn't surrender, so they could simply "kill 'em all". Sledge did not allow his soul to be ripped out, as his father feared... he maintained his humanity throughout. I'm not saying he didn't struggle, but he struggled with the firm understanding that his efforts made a difference and were for a "good cause". I think this is the message that could have been clearer than it was.

All criticism aside, though... this was a great series. I can't express how it moves me to see shows where the brutal nature of war is so plainly (almost off-handedly) presented... one moment you are looking at a woman trying to hand off a baby, and the next you see her (literally SEE HER) explode into a pink cloud because of the booby trap strapped to her chest. THAT brings across the message of PTSD and "shell shock" far better than the sideways messages left in the "knowing" glances and dazed looks of the characters. I also missed the pattern of "bonding" that must have existed between the marines in the show. Yes, they knew each other and shared common experiences... but that was not conveyed the same way (or nearly as well) as it was in BoB. That Sledge and Smith remained friends for decades after the war was NOT something I might have picked up on at all... had it not happened to show it to me in a bio-segment at the end of the last episode. In fact, Snafu and Sledge never seemed to be friends at all until they took the long train ride back from San Diego to their homes in New Orleans and Mobile (and by the way, could they have possibly found a better New Orleans accent than the one they found with the actor portraying Snafu? I don't think so... that kid did a French Quarter accent to perfection).

One more question: I'm not questioning accuracy at all... I'm sure that Sledge had it all right and that the producers and writers did their homework..., but did anyone else notice that the battle on Okinawa, when the civilian women were being hearded down the hill with explosives strapped to their chests as human bombs for the Japs to detonate with rifle shots, was a fight taking place on what the Japanese considered "home turf"? In other words, those women were "Japanese" women... the babies were Japanese babies... and the Imperial Marines that the US Marines were facing were using them as weapons and weapon platforms like they were nothing more than tools. That is tantamount to US troops using American women to carry explosives to the enemy... without their consent (obviously)... to ensure the highest body count possible amongst the enemy. No concern whatsoever for the welfare and safety of noncombatants... just another tool to kill American "GI's".

Intentional or not... I thought that was a telling example of how similar the fights of yester-year are to the fights of today... and how costly the fights of today might become before we can see an eventual end to the conflicts.

So... I'm off to watch it all again.