The Pacific | Season 1 | Episode 6

Part Six

TV-MA | 50 MIN

Written by Bruce C. McKenna, Laurence Andries, Robert Schenkkan
Directed by Tony To

September 1944. Stateside in Mobile, Alabama, Phillips visits the Sledge family to give them news of their son. Meanwhile, Sledge, Leckie and their respective units grow increasingly dehydrated as they prepare to attack the airfield. Following a thunderous naval barrage, the Marines begin crossing the airfield under heavy fire and, once again, suffer serious casualties. Runner is shot, and Leckie, desperate to aid his
friend, is ordered to go back to get a working radio and a corpsman, which means he must recross the airfield. Meanwhile, Sledge's newfound comrade Oswalt is shot in the head and killed instantly. Searching for a corpsman, Leckie is blown off his feet and knocked unconscious. He is evacuated onto a hospital ship.

That night, Sledge confesses to Capt. Haldane how frightened he was when they crossed the airfield. Haldane assures him that every Marine was scared that day, veteran and boot alike, and that "it's all worthwhile because our cause is just." Sledge begins noting his combat experience in his New Testament. Now a battle-hardened Marine, Sledge is christened "Sledgehammer" by Snafu. Assigned a seemingly impossible mission, Capt. Haldane heads back to battalion headquarters to request a change in orders. Leckie and Runner reunite on the hospital ship and wonder as to the fate of Hoosier and Chuckler. They sail away from Peleliu and out of the war.

1.Part One

In the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Marine Sgt. John Basilone prepares to ship out, while budding journalist Robert Leckie enlists in the Marine Corps. Eugene Sledge is unable to enlist because of a heart murmur.

2.Part Two

Basilone and the 7th Marines arrive on Guadalcanal to reinforce Leckie and the rest of the 1st Marines as they continue to defend the crucial airstrip. Basilone plays a key role in repelling a nighttime attack, but suffers a frightful personal loss.

3.Part Three

Physically and mentally debilitated after Guadalcanal, Leckie, Basilone and their comrades land in Melbourne. While his buddies carouse, Leckie becomes attached to an Australian woman. Basilone is awarded the Medal of Honor.

4.Part Four

Finally enlisted as a Marine, Sledge trains for combat. The 1st Marine Division lands on New Britain, where Leckie and the other Marines battle the enemy as well as the jungle itself. Leckie begins displaying the physical and mental effects of combat.

5.Part Five

Basilone's celebrity grows as he travels across the country on the war bonds tour. On Pavuvu, Sledge is briefly reunited with Phillips, and Leckie rejoins his company. Sledge then gets his first taste of combat as the division lands on Peleliu.

6.Part Six

Despite terrible heat and a lack of water, Sledge, Leckie and the other Marines attempt to capture the Peleliu airfield. Leckie is wounded and evacuated, while Sledge witnesses the shocking truth about what is sometimes required to survive another day.

7.Part Seven

The Marines continue the battle of Peleliu against an enemy determined to fight to the last man. Devastated by the loss of a revered leader and witnessing unimaginable barbarity on both sides, Sledge veers to the edge of moral collapse.

8.Part Eight

Basilone convinces the Marines to allow him to train troops headed for combat. He enjoys a whirlwind romance, but the couple know they are living on borrowed time as Basilone is soon to take part in the Marine landing on Iwo Jima.

9.Part Nine

Sledge and the 1st Marine Division are ordered to relieve an Army division that has been in combat against the most strongly defended Japanese position on Okinawa. The conditions and the moral dilemma posed by civilians put great strain on the Marines.

10.Part Ten

After the Japanese surrender, a healed Leckie returns home, while Sledge heads back to Alabama to be reunited with his family. Lena has an emotional meeting with Basilone's family. Leckie resumes his old job, but Sledge will require more time.