The Battle of the Coral Sea - With Craig Symonds

Comments · 262

• WW

  @WW2TV · 4 years ago · pinned

  it was an honour to listen to Craig! If you have enjoyed this show, please don&apos;t forget to click like, leave a comment for other viewers and if you have not done so already please SUSBSCRIBE so you don&apos;t miss our next streams. You can also become a member of this channel and support me financially here <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUC1nmJGHmiKtlkpA6SJMeA">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUC1nmJGHmiKtlkpA6SJMeA</a>. Links to any books discussed, WW2TV merchandise, our social media pages and other WW2TV shows to watch can all be found in the full YouTube description. Lastly, my own book Angels of Mercy is always available online - more info here <a href="https://www.ddayhistorian.com/angels-of-mercy.html">https://www.ddayhistorian.com/angels-of-mercy.html</a>

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• BR

  @briankorbelik2873 · 2 years ago

  Thank you for this excellent and enlightening video. &nbsp;I have, through my mom a special interest in this battle. &nbsp;My mom&apos;s best friend in high school was engaged to one of Yorktown&apos;s fighter pilots. &nbsp;My mom told me his name years ago, but to my shame I can&apos;t remember it. &nbsp;My mom&apos;s best friend Marian moved from Altadena, CA, (right next to Pasadena) to Norfolk VA, and moved in the pilot&apos;s parents home. &nbsp;&apos;Old Yorky&apos; was still with the Atlantic Fleet at that time. &nbsp;When Yorktown was sent back to the Pacific Fleet, Marian remained living with the pilot&apos;s parents, awaiting his return. &nbsp;Sadly he was shot down and killed in the Coral Sea. &nbsp;My mom&apos;s friend eventually moved back to SoCal, but my mom said that Marian never really got over his death.

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• CH

  @cheesenoodles8316 · 4 years ago

  Great show with a great guest. &nbsp;This battle showcased the dawn of a new era. &nbsp;The age of the Aircraft Carrier. &nbsp;As a young lad, devowered ever book I found on the Pacific war in 1942 - 1943. &nbsp;This was around the early seventies.

  8

• TO

  @tomtom34b · 18 hours ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20devRhCWIw&amp;t=3787">1:03:07</a> Why is he refuelling all the time?<br>&quot;Sir the gauge is on Reserve!&quot; 😁🤣😇

• BW

  @bw1889 · 2 years ago

  Great overview and discussion. My grandfather was an electrician first class on Lady Lex when it went down at Coral Sea. He died in 2019 after an incredible and long life. Miss him every day.

  5

• SC

  @scottgrimwood8868 · 4 years ago

  An excellent presentation on the Battle of the Coral Sea! &nbsp;It is great to hear a well rounded presentation on this important but often overlooked battle.

  13

• ME

  @MendTheWorld · 4 years ago (edited)

  The discussion about historiography and the proper meaning of the term “revisionist history”, towards the end of the video, is, at the highest level, &nbsp;the most important aspect of this discussion. &nbsp;The important aspects of this are: 1) that knowledge about past (historical) events is, just as in science, an ongoing, iterative process of constructing a coherent narrative that incorporates <i>all</i> available reliable evidence. In this regard, as in the manner of a jigsaw puzzle, an accurate picture of what took place will become progressively more detailed and more refined as additional pieces of evidence become available, and 2) that this process must take place without bias or prejudice aimed at accomplishing a political or ideological objective. This can be difficult, as politics and ideology can shape our very perception of reality. &nbsp;<br><br>I say this with a sense of growing alarm and urgency, as in the United States we are currently facing a worsening situation wherein many political leaders and influential media sources are actively revising even very recent history in the worst possible biased way, with the <i>specific</i> goal of accomplishing political objectives. &nbsp;In consequence, we have a <i>very</i> large proportion of our population who believe the most preposterous, fantastical things about the recent past, even without a shred of credible evidence to support their view, but simply because they <i>wish</i> it were so. &nbsp;<br><br>We must <i>first and foremost</i> be committed to the concept of a single shared objective reality that can, <i>and must</i> , be elucidated through sincere collaborative effort. &nbsp;<br><br>Thanks for an excellent job on the task at hand, reconstructing the objective reality of the Battle of the Coral Sea.

  17

• TR

  @troydeckert7273 · 2 years ago

  Craig Symond concludes that Adm. Jack Fletcher deserves more credit than he&apos;s gotten. Maybe we couild see more from historians about Jack Fletcher, and his contributions, verus the relative damage of any mistakes. As compared to Adm. Mitcher sending every single plane, the whole of a carrier&apos;s air attack, in the wrong direction? On the flight to nowhere. That was perhaps on purpose on Mitcher&apos;s own hunch, not to the coordinates reported by scouts. But Fletcher is in history&apos;s doghouse? The whole U.S. Navy was learning, so mistakes were to be expected. Let&apos;s remember that, out of respect for everyone&apos;s intentions, patriotism, sense of duty, and bravery. None of these leaders lacked for good intentions to the U.S. cause, the fight for democracy, as far as the record shows in that regard. These people were patriots.They took on a lot tougher jobs than most people can even fathom.<br><br> Symonds notes that Fletcher was in Adm. King&apos;s doghouse, but King wasn&apos;t perfect. King refused to set up convoys for a long, long time for U.S. shipping, depite pleas and advice from the Brits to do so. As if the years of experience from the British for the wisdom of convoys was mist on the water. Yeah, the centuries-old British Navy, what experience do they have with proper tactics? That doomed a lot of U.S. sailors and merchant men. A lot of them. Finally, the U.S. started convoy tactics and U.S. sinkings and deaths went way down. And how did King, as the top guy in D.C, thus the responsible person, let U.S. sailors end up stuck with duds for torpedos for so long? A lot of U.S. deaths resulted from that. U.S. navy ships and flyers brave IJN fire, get in position, fire the torpedos King provided, and they&apos;re all duds. Then here comes the lethal IJN fire. Or those IJN ships and planes came back later, again and again, when they would have been sunk long ago if the U.S. torpedos had worked. It&apos;s quite sickening, from the U.S. side. The IJN could have sent King and his ordinance bureau letters of thanks and some IJN medals for contributions to saving IJN ships and lives, month after month after month, like for a year, was it?. No doubt it crossed their minds, as the IJN sailors and officers wondered why in the world the U.S. would keep firing duds at them.<br><br>Symond reminds us that the Japanese invasion was stopped by Fletcher. Yes, with a major carrier sunk, but the IJN wasn&apos;t using spitballs, and to launch an attack, leaves both sides within flying range of the other guy. So would King expect no loss from anyone? What if King himself was there, would IJN lethality be any less? <br><br> And note this important point from Dennis Weidner&apos;s in the comment section:: &quot;It needs to be mentioned that while Zuikaku was completely undamaged, a very large part of the Japanese aircraft lost in the Coral Sea were from &nbsp;Zuikaku which is why Adm. Yamaoto decided not to use the undamaged Zuikaku for the Midway operation, and to go ahead with only four carriers rather than the six fleet carriers originally intended.&quot; That&apos;s huge. Fletcher wiped out the pilots and planes of a major IJN carrier, which then was not at Midway. Wow. Another IJN carrier at Midway? The Midway battle would have been much different in who knows how many ways. Not to say that with the U.S. advantage of suprise, that Dick Best wouldn&apos;t have hit the Zuikaku as well. But how often do you hear about Jack Fletcher preventing a 5th IJN carrier, the Zuikaku, from being at Midway? Not much. Or, again, that the whole point of the IJN Coral Sea action, the invasion of Port Moresby, was stopped? In passing. Perhaps we should see some more looking into Jack Fletcher&apos;s record?

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• RI

  @richardbennett1856 · 9 months ago

  The Dean of the Pacific awar. Woody, you score another Giant of WW2 history. &nbsp;That&apos;s why we tune in. Cheers!

  1

• MI

  @michaelmichael4132 · 4 years ago

  Watching Mr. Symond&apos;s crisply authoritative performance was the academic equivalent of a master mason building a stone wall. Well done.

  5

• TO

  @tonetriv · 4 years ago

  It was insightful to include this in Pear Harbor Week. &nbsp;And it bridges the gap between Pearl Harbor and Midway, highlighting learnings from both sides during the continuum. &nbsp;What resonates with me was how the US Navy had a firm battleship-centric mindset on Dec 7, and yet quickly adapted to carrier warfare by Midway. &nbsp;Everything from anti-aircraft defense of carrier task forces to high-tempo carrier flight operations were shaped and honed during the interim. &nbsp;Including Coral Sea in Pearl Harbor week was a brilliant move, Paul.

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• SO

  @sonsofliberty75 · 2 years ago

  The brave men and women that served during WWII deserve to be honored each and every day. &nbsp;The sacrifices they made are worthy of praise and appreciation.

  3