Captain Toti's Pearl Harbor (Part 2) Episode 230

This week Bill takes you on a tour of Pearl Harbor, to include USS Bowfin, the Pacific Submarine Force Museum, and the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.

PS-- this is our version of "Operation Shoestring" where we try to do on location video podcasts on a shoestring budget, complete with audio problems! The good news is that we learned from this and future attempts will be better.

[bughunter]

Bill, thanks for taking SOOooo much time out of your vacation to produce all of this. Clearly a LOT of time and effort was spent on these episodes. And a special thanks goes to your wife also for the great filming work. This is much appreciated.

Thanks to Chuck and Eric also for the tours.

[carrabellefl]

As an airlift pilot (C-130) it tightened my jaws to hear the C-47 referred to as "not a combat aircraft." The 374th Troop Carrier Group, 5th Air Force was the most decorated Army Air Force unit in the Pacific with 3 Presidential Unit Citations. It is equivalent to saying a LST or a carrier is not a combat ship. You don't get PUCs for hauling kotex and eggs to Freemantle.

[patrickgrove]

Captain Toti, first let me thank you for your service. I truly enjoyed both of your shows on Pearl Harbor. The tour of the Bowfin was excellent. I look forward to season three.

[christopherrowe]

Thanks, again, Seth and Bill for another great video! Bill's explanation around 1:06:20 about the use of telegrams instead of chaplains to convey death notices reminds me of a story from my grandfather's memoirs. My grandmother was returning from Easter dinner in 1943 with my 14-year-old uncle and my 2-year-old father in the car when the radio announced that a German U-boat claimed to have sunk the USS RANGER. My grandfather was then in command of the RANGER, so my uncle and then my dad burst into tears while my grandmother told them to calm down. Just as they pulled into the driveway, there was a telegram waiting for them, which my grandmother loathed to open. Fortunately, it was just an Easter greeting from my oldest uncle, then away at college, but it goes to show how people with loved ones serving in the military dreaded telegrams. The RANGER wasn't sunk, BTW, but my grandfather ordered all hands aboard to mail cards home for Mother's Day, which I believe fell two weeks after Easter that year.

[ramal]

I think y'all should do similar videos but about American shipyards during the war

[angelolowrie]

Enjoyed both episodes with Capt. Toti, especially the tours of the museums. The work they do in keeping WW2 history alive is invaluable. Would love to see more museums featured on the podcast. If you make it to the PNW I would suggest the Flying Heritage Museum.

[IamJunius]

Awesome! I can't believe the material condition of the interior of Bowfin. Even all the brass was polished. I could almost smell the never dull and coffee. We all owe a debt to the men who sailed in the boats in WW2

[morganhale]

I am so happy that the original intro is back. The clips of actual war action in the Pacific are mesmerizing.

[lt.petemaverickmitchell]

Absolutely AWESOME video Captain Toti!
Thank you for doing this!

[v.mwilliams]

Thank you Captain and all who took the time to talk to us followers. Much appreciated.

[Titus-as-the-Roman]

Really nice show, maybe someday, for those that can't do Hawaii the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB outside Dayton, Ohio is a very good choice till you can, those into Aviation will be mind-blown.

[mitch]

Bill you outdid yourself, I enjoyed this episode, I toured the Bowfin in the early 80s, as a Young sailer in drydock I still recognized valve body's that were still in use 40 years later

[AJ-hmck]

Thanks Bill! Great to be on a guided tour with the Captain of a sub.

[MadLudwig]

My wife and I visited the Arizona and walked past USS Bowfin in 1985. Regrettably we didn't tour the sub as we had both been on a couple of other fleet subs back on the mainland. Judging from your video, Bowfin is truly a masterpiece of preservation and I sure hope to visit her someday!

You did an amazing job (once again) of revealing more fascinating details and little known historical facts about WWII in the Pacific.

Thanks so much Bill!

[michaelwolf]

Thanks Bill, A great 3 part series sub-series and you flew solo. Missed Seth though. The restoration on Bowfin is a wonder. Loved the spit and polish.

[andrewdawson]

I doubt I will ever have the pleasure of visiting Hawaii. Its a bucket list thing for me. Captain Toti, the tour you just gave over these two episodes was incredible. And exactly some of the things I would want to see if I ever made my way there. Thank you very much for the work, and the tour. And Seth, I am looking forward to season 3, because the BIg "E" is about to finish her refit in Bremerton, and is about to re-join the fleet. Looking forward to getting to some of those stories in the coming weeks.

[trojankev]

Bill, I grew up in Monterey, and as my father was an Army officer with Fifth SFG serving in the Vietnam conflict, I got to spend a lot of time as a young kid visiting the Naval Post Graduate School, and the DLI up at the Presidio of Monterey.

[jamesthompson]

Wow! This is one you have to watch three or four times because you keep seeing new things. Great job!!!

[geneziemba]

Thanks for this one. I read an entire book about FM Sonar and this video finally showed me what “Hells Bells” equipment actually looks like.

[frankbodenschatz]

Bill, you never cease to amze myself and many others, I'm sure. Thanks so much for the tour and to Chuck and Eric as well! As I would love to visit there my wife's health issues for long aircraft flights prevent us from attending. You all did it proud as your presentation provides every week. ❤