50 Fun Facts About The Pacific

On what date did The Pacific premiere in the United States?

The first trailer had aired nine months earlier before the season-two premiere of True Blood.

The Pacific is the second of three companion miniseries; which came first in 2001?

The earlier series followed Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment through Europe.

Which 2024 series completed the trilogy of companion miniseries?

It follows the 100th Bomb Group and is the only one of the three not to air on HBO, going to Apple TV+ instead.

Which network aired The Pacific?

In the credits HBO was listed as the sole copyright holder despite the DreamWorks and Playtone involvement.

Who plays PFC Robert Leckie?

He had played Chase Edmunds in 24 and later Eric Savin in Iron Man 3.

Who plays Cpl Eugene Sledge?

The same year he played Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz in The Social Network.

Who plays Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone?

A former amateur boxer, he also played Chris Pérez opposite Jennifer Lopez in Selena.

What is the title of Eugene Sledge's memoir, one of the series' two main sources?

It was also a key source for Ken Burns' PBS documentary The War in 2007.

What is the title of Robert Leckie's 1957 memoir?

Leckie wrote it after walking out of the musical South Pacific, determined to show 'the war wasn't a musical'.

Which Marine does Rami Malek play?

Tom Hanks wrote to the producer after Malek's audition: 'This guy's got haunting eyes'.

Alongside Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who was the third producer?

Goetzman is Hanks' partner in Playtone, which co-developed all three companion miniseries.

Which Tom Hanks company produced the series with DreamWorks?

Its Masters of the Air follow-up was the first series made by Apple Studios with Playtone and Amblin Television.

In which country was The Pacific filmed?

Locations ran from Port Douglas in Queensland to a sand quarry near Geelong and the streets of Melbourne.

Roughly how much did The Pacific end up costing?

It had been budgeted at $100 million and became the most expensive TV miniseries made to that point.

Which film composer co-wrote the series' score with Geoff Zanelli and Blake Neely?

The soundtrack was released on March 9, 2010, five days before the premiere.

What is the subtitle of Hugh Ambrose's official tie-in book?

The book adds men not in the series, including Marine officer Austin Shofner and Navy pilot Vernon Micheel.

How many Primetime Emmys did The Pacific win in 2010?

That was the most of any program that year, ahead of Modern Family's six.

Which top Emmy category did The Pacific win, matching its predecessor?

Critics still dinged its more disjointed narrative structure compared with the earlier series.

What nickname did Snafu give Sledge?

The two did not speak for over thirty-five years after the war until Shelton read Sledge's book.

What weapon did Sledge crew in combat?

When fighting got too close for the mortar he served as a stretcher bearer and rifleman.

Where did Sledge keep the wartime notes that became his memoir?

In the series he is seen occasionally scribbling in the little Bible.

What did Sledge become after the war?

He taught zoology and ornithology at the University of Montevallo from 1962 until retiring in 1990.

Which Alabama city was Sledge's hometown?

His childhood friend Sidney Phillips, also from there, wrote from the front urging him not to enlist.

What is the title of Sledge's posthumously published second memoir?

It covers his postwar posting in Beijing and his recovery from the trauma of combat.

Which working title did Sledge give his memoir before settling on With the Old Breed?

An earlier working title was the plainer 'A Marine Mortarman in World War II'.

Which musical pushed Leckie to write his memoir in 1951?

He walked out halfway through, saying 'I have to let people know the war wasn't a musical'.

What was Leckie's profession after the war?

He had started as a 16-year-old sports writer and went on to write more than 40 books.

Whom did Leckie marry after returning from the war?

She was his childhood friend and neighbour; Caroline Dhavernas plays her in the series.

Which of Sledge's childhood friends served in Leckie's H Company?

He was sent home after being picked in a lottery draw on Pavuvu, two weeks after reuniting with Sledge.

Basilone received the Medal of Honor for his actions in which campaign?

He and two machine-gun sections held off a far larger Japanese force at Henderson Field in October 1942.

In which battle was Basilone killed on the first day of the invasion?

He died on February 19, 1945 near Airfield Number 1 after guiding a tank through a minefield.

Basilone posthumously received which award, a unique WWII pairing with his Medal of Honor?

Both medals are now displayed at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

What boxing nickname did Basilone earn while serving in the Philippines?

He was a champion boxer during three years in the US Army before joining the Marines.

What slogan was attached to Basilone's 1943 war bond tour?

He hated the celebrity, turned down a commission and kept asking to go back to the war until approved.

Where did Basilone and Lena spend their honeymoon?

The wedding reception was at the Carlsbad Hotel after a ceremony at St. Mary's Star of the Sea.

Before joining the Marines, Basilone spent three years in which service?

He wanted back to the Philippines and figured the Marines would get him there faster.

Where was Basilone reburied in 1948?

His widow Lena is buried at Riverside National Cemetery in California.

What is the title of Chuck Tatum's memoir, another source for the series?

Tatum, played by Ben Esler, witnessed Basilone's death and said America 'lost its number one hero'.

Which actor plays Lt. Col. Lewis 'Chesty' Puller?

Puller commanded Basilone's battalion at Henderson Field and remains the most decorated Marine in US history.

How was Captain Andrew 'Ack-Ack' Haldane killed on Peleliu?

Sledge called him 'the finest Marine officer I ever knew'; Scott Gibson plays him.

What is the title of R.V. Burgin's memoir?

Martin McCann plays Burgin, who also appears himself in the series' documentary footage.

What did Tom Hanks write about Rami Malek after his audition?

After the shoot Malek left Hollywood briefly for Argentina to decompress.

Where did Rami Malek live briefly after the intense shoot?

He later said the move was unsuccessful and that he has 'since found better ways of coping'.

Which child role did Sledge's actor play in Jurassic Park?

He later played Queen bassist John Deacon in Bohemian Rhapsody.

Which character did Leckie's actor play in the Fox series 24?

He later reprised the part in 24: The Game.

What was the 2011 HBO documentary on the veterans' postwar lives called?

Tom Hanks executive-produced it, and the Sledge and Leckie families appear alongside Easy Company veterans.

What approval rating did The Pacific hold on Rotten Tomatoes as of 2026?

Metacritic gave it 86 out of 100, and Time's James Poniewozik put it in his top ten series of 2010.

The first US trailer aired before the season-two premiere of which HBO show?

It closed with just '2010' on screen; a Super Bowl XLIV spot followed in February 2010.

What was Eugene Sledge's father's profession?

His mother was dean of women students at Huntingdon College; his older brother fought at Omaha Beach.

Why did Sledge deliberately flunk out of the V-12 officer program at Georgia Tech?

Half his detachment did the same so they could enlist immediately and not 'miss the war'.