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PHG Blog
On This Day: Operation Ten-Go departs Tokuyama for Okinawa
On this day April 6th 1945, the ships of Operation Ten-Go departed Tokuyama. The mission assigned to the super battleship Yamato, light...
Tony Boccia
Apr 71 min read
On this day: 509th Composite Group arrived on Tinian
On this day April 3rd 1945, the U.S. Army Air Corps 509th Composite Group arrived on Tinian and began training for the missions that...
Tony Boccia
Apr 41 min read
80th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa
I sent the below text in email format to the Sailors of VRM-50, marking the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Okinawa. I...
Tony Boccia
Apr 25 min read


Book Recommendation: "War and National Reinvention: Japan in the Great War, 1914–1919"
Greetings, I have another book recommendation for you all. I firmly believe that any study of the Second World War, modern warfare,...
Tony Boccia
Mar 312 min read


Pacific History Guide Launch
Pacific History Guide - Official Logo Greetings everyone and welcome to the official launch of Pacific History Guide! This website has...
Tony Boccia
Mar 292 min read


Website update - March 28, 2025
Greetings all, here with another website update and I'm happy to announce that the official Pacific History Guide logo has been...
Tony Boccia
Mar 291 min read


A brief history of Japan to accompany the Guide
Most of the locations on the website have a brief history on their page; however there's so much detail for Japan that it didn't quite...
Tony Boccia
Mar 283 min read


Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Ise history
This is a fascinating article on the history of the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship (later hybrid carrier-battleship) Ise courtesy of...
Tony Boccia
Mar 151 min read


Book Review: Japan's Longest Day: A Graphic Novel About the End of WWII: Intrigue, Treason and Emperor Hirohito's Fateful Decision to Surrender - Manga edition created by Yukinobu Hoshino
I've recently finished this manga, one of the better I've read, that follows the events of the last days of the Second World War,...
Tony Boccia
Mar 142 min read


On this day: Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami - March 11, 2011
On this day in 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean roughly 80 miles east of Miyagi, Japan. The earthquake,...
Tony Boccia
Mar 121 min read


IJN Yanagi Breakwater - Kitakyushu, Japan
Some ships live forever. Here is a breakwater in Kitakyushu, Japan that was partially made by the wreck of IJN Yanagi. Apparently part...
Tony Boccia
Mar 21 min read


Suo-Oshima Island - Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
About an hour drive south from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture is Suo-Oshima Island. There are several places...
Tony Boccia
Feb 192 min read


Tour of Second World War sites on Guam - January 2025
Last month I had the pleasure of facilitating a tour of Second World War sites on Guam, given on behalf of Yokosuka Council on...
Tony Boccia
Feb 182 min read


War Dogs Memorial - Naval Base Guam
This is the war dogs memorial on Naval Base Guam, or Big Navy as we call it. If you live on Guam and haven’t been to see it, take the...
Tony Boccia
Feb 181 min read


Family trip to Saipan
Seems crazy how time flies, but last month we took a family trip to Saipan to ring in the new year and take the edge off our upcoming...
Tony Boccia
Feb 183 min read


Imperial Japanese Navy 5th Hospital Corps Memorial
This small in-ground monument is dedicated to the Imperial Japanese Navy's 5th Hospital Corps, at the South Pacific Memorial Peace Park...
Tony Boccia
Feb 181 min read


South Pacific Memorial Peace Park - Yigo Village, Guam
South Pacific Memorial Peace Park - Yigo Village, Guam The South Pacific Memorial Peace Park in Yigo, Guam was established in June 1970...
Tony Boccia
Feb 173 min read


Mikasa Historic Memorial Warship - Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan
Mikasa Historic Memorial Ship and statue of Admiral Togo Heihachiro at Mikasa Park Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan. Back in November 2024, I...
Tony Boccia
Feb 172 min read


Imperial Japanese Historical sites of Tokyo - Enomoto Takeaki statue in Sumida-ku, Tokyo
Enomoto Takeaki 榎本 武揚 is one of the founding fathers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and a pivotal figure in the history of Japan.
Tony Boccia
Feb 173 min read
Website udpate
Over the past month I've gotten the Pacific History Guide website to where I want it to be, and with the help of some friends and my...
Tony Boccia
Feb 71 min read
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