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WWII Pacific Battle Reenactment

Uploaded by: Docubloggers
Video Description:
As many of you may already know, Ken Burns is about to release a new multi-part documentary on PBS. It's called The War, and will air this fall. He follows the stories of men and women that were touched by the war both fighting abroad and standing vigilant with bated breath at home. Domenique and I are heading a production team that is producing a documentary from the local perspective here at KLRU. It will air this fall as an intro to the national Burns series. As we go along, we'll be posting clips from our interviews with veterans and scholars right here on the Docubloggers website. Stay tuned for those.
As part of our coverage of this time period, Domenique and I set out one Sunday to the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg. They have a field not far from the museum that they've converted into a recreation of a battlefield from the Pacific. There, a few times a year, volunteers led by Marvin Schroeder gather as part of the Pacific Combat Living History Program (PCLHP) to educate and demonstrate the history of the Pacific battlefield of WWII.
Visitors to the recreation are shown what soldiers fighting in the Pacific went through, the weapons they used, and the enemy they fought. It would be easy to beat the war drum and tout our country's victory over an adversary, but the approach taken by the PCLHP is one of respect and sensitivity. This is what stood out to us most, followed closely by the program's attention to detail.
It all begins with a demonstration of what the soldiers carried with them into battle. Marvin asks for an audience volunteer, and then proceeds to load them up with their pack, gun belt, weapon, trenching tool, etc. You can see the cumbersome burden manifest itself on the volunteer's face as they sweat in the Texas sun. Following this intro to proper equipment protocol, volunteers of the program demonstrate the weapons and tactics of both the US and Japanese troops. This is essentially several mini-history lessons, each followed by a demonstration of the weapon in action. The biggest gasp from the audience comes as fire spews forth from one of the few operating flamethrowers from that era left in existence.
Following these demonstrations and history lessons, an explosion rocks the combat zone and the volunteers begin their recreation of a battle to take out a Japanese pillbox. As another testament to the sensitivity and respect shown by this program, they don't show American GIs fighting or killing Japanese soldiers. Instead, they create the perception of battle as American soldiers storm a Japanese encampment. The program does recognize the inevitable death that war brings as they have one of their younger volunteers simulate being shot and killed by enemy fire. It is a grim reminder of the cost of battle, but stands as a far more tasteful example than most video games and movies that glorify the brutality of war.
The testimony of history is perhaps the most valuable guiding light for humanity. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." This philosophy is threaded throughout the Pacific Combat Living History Program. The clip below is the battle recreation. It was shot from two vantage points, one stationary (Dom) and one moving on the ground with the volunteers (me). The recreation is short, but stirring. It's a balance of disturbing imagery and history coming alive. The volunteers that contribute their time, energy, and expertise to this program are dedicated to the importance of this history. Contact the program if you're interested in attending a future show or volunteering your time.

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