The Pacific | Season 1 | Episode 8

Part Eight

TV-MA | 56 MIN

Written by Robert Schenkkan, Michelle Ashford
Directed by David Nutter, Jeremy Podeswa

Pavuvu, 1944. Sledge and Snafu recuperate from their time on Peleliu. Back in New Jersey, an increasingly-frustrated Basilone is unable to enjoy the comforts of home and family. He requests permission from General Vandegrift to return to a more active duty. He is transferred to Camp Pendleton to train new recruits, including Tatum and Evanson, and works to get himself back into fighting shape as well.

At Pendleton he meets Sgt. Lena Riggi. Despite her initial coolness, Lena eventually warms to Basilone, and they enjoy a whirlwind courtship. His enlistment nearly lapsed, Basilone re-ups. Being a Marine, Lena understands. They marry and enjoy a passionate honeymoon.

Months later, in February 1945, Basilone, leading the men he trained at Camp Pendleton, lands on Iwo Jima. Demonstrating the same leadership he displayed on Guadalcanal, Basilone is an inspiration to his men but this time, tragically, he is killed on the first day of battle. Back in America, Lena is left to contemplate her life without the man she loves.

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.