The movie opens with a special battalion being formed and a guy interview prospective members. He asks the first guy why he wants to kill “Japs.” Once the unit is formed, the commander tells them that the first basic key is self-discipline, and the first thing in that involves throwing out all prejudices, including racial.
(That's a very major statement for the times, to put it mildly.)
He also tells them they will meet before they go into battle and after, the after part to criticize and evaluate the mission. He is open to suggestions. This is also rather revolutionary thinking for the times.
The term Gung ho is from the Chinese meaning to work in harmony, according to the commander of the unit who served in the Chinese army for a while.
He says that the Japanese are unable to adapt themselves to unusual situations. A radio one guy is listening to announces that the US military has landed on Guadalcanal.
The unit gets shipped out via submarine. They are going to a place called Makin Island. I read a historical account of the actual battle. Apparently things did not go so well, there was a lot of problem with weather, and some questions of leadership.
The first Japanese appears 45 minutes into the movie. The landing is done is fairly good weather, where, in fact, the weather was quite bad. There is no accidental firing of the first shot, as actually happened. The film is accurate in that the order was given not to fire on some Japanese planes that flew overhead.
The movie throws in a lot that didn't happen, and leaves out a lot that did happen (and that wasn't exactly positive from our point of view.) It also almost doubles the number of deaths on the US side. The film also ends with an almost over-the-top speech by the commander.
In other words, it was a film that highly doctored the actual events and was a propaganda-type film to raise morale. As a film it's fairly good, as long as you don't compare it to what really happened.
Main Index
Japan main page
Japanese-American Internment Camps index page
Japan and World War II index page
