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.
Trend
recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 1 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 1.
Appearances
Green to this whole region, this 58-year-old with sunken eyes and wispy white hair gets to it, working out how he'll fuel ships, land planes on islands with little more than coconuts on them, and get a fighting force safely on these beaches all within this tight time frame.
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And let us be clear, those amphibious striking fighters aren't soldiers.
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They're Uncle Sam's leathernecks, or if I may make a nod to the last world war, his bellow wood seizing devil dogs.
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Yes, the Marines.
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Fresh out of training in North Carolina, the 1st Marine Division will land on Guadalcanal.
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Many of these young men signed up after Pearl Harbor.
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They've got little to no amphibious training aside from a chaotic rehearsal in Fiji.
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Their commander, Major General Alexander Archer Vandegrift, or Sonny Jim, as his colleagues call this disciplined, dimple-chinned Marine with extensive experience in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
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is initially on Doug's side.
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He thinks that the timeline for this attack is too short.
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But as Ernie King refuses to budge beyond pushing their landing day from August 1st to August 7th, the jowled Virginian makes peace with it and gets to work.
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Sonny Jim's positive attitude carries the room despite the lack of maps and the punishing prep work ahead.
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Ah, and what exactly is the plan?
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Codenamed Operation Watchtower, the target isn't just Guadalcanal, but other neighboring Solomon Islands, like Tulagi and Cavuto.
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Vice Admiral Frank Jack, or rather, Black Jack Fletcher, whom we met in Episode 198 at both the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, will combine with Allied forces, bringing three aircraft carriers, as well as cruisers and destroyers.
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A total of 82 ships that will bombard the beaches with airstrikes and artillery, thereby providing cover against aerial counterattacks.
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Then it's up to the 1st Marine Division.
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On the afternoon of July 26, 1942, Admiral Black Jack Fletcher summons the task force commanders to iron out the last details.
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General Sonny Jim Vandegraaff will later recall that the naval commander is nervous and tired and quickly let us know he did not think it would succeed.
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Come on, Fletcher.
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Showing 201–220 of 621 · page 11 of 32
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