Jim Downey

speaker

621 appearances 1 recordings 1 series first heard Jul 2026 last heard 13 Jul

Jim Downey’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 1 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 1.

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History That Doesn't Suck · 208: The Pacific War, 1942–43: Guadalcanal, the Aleutians, and Operation Vengeance · 13 Jul 2026 podcast

Sober-minded George tries to calm him, but also keep him in line, replying to Doug that, regardless of the outcome of these negotiations, which I hope will be as you desire, every available support, both Army and Navy, must be given to operations against the enemy. matched

And with that, it's time for George to go full diplomat mode. matched

On June 30th, 1942, Middleman General, Chief of Staff George Marshall, invites the aggrieved commage, Admiral Ernie King, to have lunch in the map-lined presentation room inside the Combined Chiefs of Staff building. matched

See, George likes to use lunches to talk business, or more exactly, to solve problems. matched

And right now, Ernie's well-known stubbornness is the problem. matched

After what I can only imagine is a tense back and forth with sharply delivered words while clenching butter knives a little too aggressively, George and Ernie come to a compromise. matched

Action in the Southwest Pacific will have three objectives. matched

The first and most important task will be the Eastern Solomon Campaign, as proposed by Ernie and executed by Admiral Chester Nimitz. matched

Just to make sure everyone's happy, they'll even scooch over his field of command from east longitude 165 degrees to 159 degrees, thereby encompassing the island of Guadalcanal. matched

Tasks two and three will include the control of New Guinea, which will fall to Doug MacArthur. matched

But Doug's path is a bit too much to squeeze into this episode. matched

Those are stories for another day. matched

The key takeaway for us, right now, is that Ernie's finally got what he wants. matched

And it's immediate. matched

The offensive at Guadalcanal will begin in one month. matched

It's a tall order. matched

This would be the largest amphibious landing in American history to date. matched

And it's to be carried out within a month? matched

So many problems have to be solved before daring to land American boys on the island. matched

And the burden falls on Navy Vice Admiral Robert L. Gormley, the commander of South Pacific Forces, or COMSOPAC. matched

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