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PODCAST

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War

Seth Paridon, William Toti

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War Podcast is the creation of Seth Paridon and Bill Toti. Seth is a World War II historian with over 20 years experience who"s many roles also was serving as a chief historian for The National WWII Museum for 15 years. Bill is not a historian, but is a retired submarine commodore and military planner with a special interest in the Pacific War. Bill has a unique perspective to offer as one who spent more than a decade sailing those same waters where the

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All Episodes

01:32:07

Invasion of Tarawa and Alexander Bonnyman Medal of...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/11/11

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall dig into the archival footage shot by Norm Hatch and his crew for the invasion of Tarawa in November 1943. Thge guys dig into some of the personalities seen on screen like Herb Amey, Jim Crowe, Norm Hatch and Alexander Bonnyman. Towards the end of the episode Seth and Jon go through Alexander Bonnyman's Medal of Honor action as filmed by Norm Hatch on Day Three at Tarawa. Incredible footage, and incredible courage on screen. Check it out. #wwiihistory #ww2

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01:15:55

The US Army at Pearl Harbor with John McManus -...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/11/04

This week, Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome their mutual buddy, John McManus to the show to discuss the role of the US Army at Pearl Harbor. Everyone knows what the Navy and Marine Corps did and went through during the Japanese attack on Oahu, but do you know the role of the US Army? Tune in to this episode and you will find out. The guys get into such topics as the Coast Artillery, Army AAA during the raid, individual heroics, attacks on Schofield Barracks and Fort Shafter as well as the role

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01:46:09

The Battle for Wake Island Part 2 - December 12-23,...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/10/28

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a look at the second part of the Battle for Wake Island, the Japanese invasion and American defense. The guys also dig into the details, focusing on the American relief effort planned by Admiral Husband Kimmel, the Japanese plans for a re-do, the Japanese landings and subsequent beat-down that the Marines put on Kajioka's assault troops. All this leads up to the controversial decision to surrender the island by CDR Cunningham. The guys get into a rare

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01:40:09

The Battle for Wake Island-Part 1- December 8-11...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/10/21

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall tackle the topic of the American defense of Wake Island. In this much-anticipated series of episodes, Seth and Jon take a look at why Wake was occupied in the first place, what it took to build Wake into a useful base, as well as the commanding officers, both American and Japanese. Finally, the guys get into the story of the Marine defense of Wake on December 11, 1941 against a Japanese amphibious landing. It's the story you know with the details you don't

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01:29:51

Battle of Midway Archival Footage - Episode 524

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/10/14

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a look at the archival footage shot just before and during the Battle of Midway from June 3-7, 1942. Some of the footage we go through here was shot in late May 1942 aboard USS Enterprise and shows such future Midway heroes such as Wade McClusky, Dusty Kleiss, Cleo Dobson and others. The guys then go through the John Ford material that was shot on the Midway atoll from May 27-June 7, 1942. In these shots we see some of VMSB-241's SB2U Vindicators,

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01:13:52

Raising the Fleet: Pearl Harbor Salvage Operations -...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/10/07

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a deep dive (ha) into the world of post Pearl Harbor salvage operations. The effort to get the Navy's battleships off the harbor bottom and back into the war was truly monumental. A gargantuan effort that began on December 7, 1941 and didn't end until months later. The guys go into the stories of rescue and survival aboard USS Oklahoma and then get into the salvage efforts of each of the battleships in the harbor, ending with the titanic effort to salvage

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00:57:07

Immediate Post Pearl Harbor America with Rich Frank...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/09/30

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome back their mutual good friend, Rich Frank to talk about the after-effects of the Pearl Harbor attack here in the United States.The guys get into the fountains of rumors that sprang up from coast to coast telling of Japanese aircraft carriers in the Panama Cana Zone to Japanese paratroopers landing on Oahu and everything in between, including the so-called Battle of Los Angeles. All of these issues, and more, lead to the incarceration of Japanese

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01:00:45

Immediate Post Pearl Harbor America with Rich Frank...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/09/23

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome back their good buddy historian Rich Frank to the show to talk about immediate post Pearl Harbor America. In the days and weeks after Japan's successful attack on Pearl Harbor and Oahu, the United States found itself in a strange new world. The news hit both FDR and the populace like a thunderbolt causing mayhem and mass confusion from coast to coast. The guys get into the relief of Husband Kimmel and Walter Short, as well as the arrival of one Chester

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01:19:05

Marshall Islands Raid, Butch O'Hare Medal of Honor,...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/09/16

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a dive into the archival footage world of the US National Archives and look at imagery from the Marshall Islands Raid of February 1, 1942. After looking through selected shots, the guys dig into previously unrecognized archival footage of Edward "Butch" O'Hare's Medal of Honor action. The footage was shot aboard USS Lexington (CV-2) on February 20, 1942. O'Hare's kills, and what we believe to be O'Hare's F4F are seen in several shots. The guys break down

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01:46:41

Attack on Pearl Harbor: The Second Wave - Episode 519

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/09/09

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall wrap up the Japanese attack on Oahu with the second wave. As the first wave of Japanese attackers winged off and away from Oahu, the second wave followed them into the area just a short 15 minutes later. Seth and Jon get into the weeds of the second wave discussing the vast differences between the two assaults and how the next wave of Japanese attackers met with furious American anti-aircraft, cloud cover, and a myriad of other problems all leading to a

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01:04:03

Attack on Pearl Harbor: The First Wave Part 2 -...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/09/02

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall wrap up the First Wave of the attack on Pearl Harbor by covering what happens to USS California, USS Arizona, and other ships in the anchorage before they move inland. The guys get into the attacks on Hickam Field and tell the story of the inbound flight of B-17s coming in from the mainland. Flying into a war unarmed, low on fuel, and with a skeleton crew--yikes. Ewa Mooring Mast, Kaneohe, and Wheeler Field are all covered in this episode, with the discussion

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01:14:54

Attack on Pearl Harbor: The First Wave Part 1 -...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/08/26

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall finally get to the meat of the Pearl Harbor series with Part 1 of our discussion of the First Wave. We get into the nuts and bolts of 1st Air Fleet's run towards Pearl Harbor, the launch sequence, the attack plan and the flight into Oahu in great detail, giving way to conversations about William Outerbridge and USS Ward, Opana Point and the various early warnings given to the Americans that an attack was imminent. Of course, the "what if this had been done"

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01:39:50

Prepping for Pearl Harbor: American Defenses -...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/08/19

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a look at the American preparations, or lack thereof, for an attack on Pearl Harbor. The guys take a dig into Admiral Husband Kimmel and General Walter Short by looking at their personalities, history, leadership and, above all, steps for an eventual war with Japan and how to deal with it. Diving into the US intelligence we see just exactly what was known, what wasn't, and how we, specifically Kimmel and Short as well as the US Government, dealt with it

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01:27:54

Japanese Planning for Pearl Harbor - Episode 515

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/08/12

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall dig into the Japanese planning for the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. The guys get into the brain behind the idea, that being Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, and his first ideas for the plan in April 1940. The guys discuss the growth of the plan from idea to reality through 1940, into 1941, including dives into the personalities involved including: Kuroshima, Kusaka, Genda, and Fuchida. Jon then gives us a masters class on the formation of Kido Butai as a

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01:56:35

The Air War Over China 1937-40 with Justin Pyke -...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/08/05

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome a new guest to talk about the air war over China. Justin Pyke joins us and delivers a masterful performance talking about an oft-forgotten aspect of the war in China. We always talk about nerding out--well here you go guys. We get into everything from the first deployment of the G3M, to the P-36 Hawk over China, Japanese strategic bombing, IJN ground support for IJA operations and everything in between. #wwiihistory #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa

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01:25:07

Countdown to Pearl Harbor-Diplomatic Warfare Part 2...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/07/29

This week Seth Paridon and co-host Jon Parshall welcome their good buddy Rich Frank back to the show to continue last week's conversation on the diplomatic road to Pearl Harbor. The guys pick up where they left off and begin with Rich's key steps to the oil embargo of July 1941. The discussion is fascinating as the trio waxes poetic on the world view situation as looked at by the Roosevelt administration, speaking on topics ranging from the Eastern Front and Operation TYPHOON, to the Japanese quest

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01:19:46

The Diplomatic Road to Pearl Harbor Part 1 with Rich...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/07/22

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome their good friend, the "Grand Poo-Bah" of Pacific war historians, Rich Frank to the show to discuss the actions of Japan and the United States between the years 1938 and early 1941. Incidents such as the sinking of the USS Panay, FDR moving the fleet to Pearl Harbor, the Japanese move into Indochina, as well as, the Japanese siding with Hitler and Germany by signing the Tripartite Pact all equally led down the road to Pearl Harbor. The guys discuss

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01:08:20

Doolittle Raid Archival Footage Dissection - Episode 511

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/07/15

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a look at the archival footage from the famous Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942. There are several iconic moments in Pacific War history, or WWII for that matter, and the Doolittle Raid ranks right up there in the top five for sure. The guys take a peek at some footage that hasn't been seen very much, as well as some of the more famous images, dissecting the shots, identifying the planes, the crews, and their fates as they make their way through the

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00:59:30

Annapolis Goes to War: The Naval; Academy Class of...

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/07/08

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall welcome noted author and historian Craig Symonds to the show to discuss Craig's new book. Annapolis Goes to War: The Naval Academy Class of 1940 is an excellent read and this episode gives you a brief look at some of the grads who made an imprint on the Pacific side of the war. Craig is an amazing historian and it was an honor to have him with us as he goes through many of the stories of some of the USNA Class of 1940 grads who were at Pearl Harbor among

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01:31:50

FDR and the Preparation for War 1933-1940 - Episode 509

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War ·

2025/07/01

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall take a really deep dive into the preparation for the war that no one in the US wanted to fight. We have always said that it isn't like flipping on a light switch--the build-up had to start somewhere. Where did the US Naval and US Army build-up begin? In the heart of the Great Depression of all places. Seth and Jon get into an absolutely fascinating conversation about how American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt got his country ready to fight the war that

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