VMF-221: The Fighting Falcons in the Pacific War with guest Pete Owen - Episode 601

VMF-221: The Fighting Falcons in the Pacific War with guest Pete Owen - Episode 601

From The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War by Seth Paridon, William Toti

May 26, 2026 · 1h 12m · Season 6 · Episode 1

About this episode

Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall discuss VMF-221's experiences in the Pacific War with guest Pete Owen.

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall open up Season 6 with friend, author and historian Pete Owen. Pete, a retired United States Marine, and Naval Academy graduate, brings us the story of VMF-221's Pacific War odyssey. 221 first saw combat at Midway in June 1942, then went on to Guadalcanal after a lengthy rebuild. After the Canal, and flying the F4U Corsair, the Falcons flew in the Solomons before finally ending up aboard USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) in 1945. Pete gives us the low-down on the squadron and some of their personalities and training that are in his new book. Check out our first episode of Season 6--plenty more to come! NOTE: “Although Pete Owen is a retired Marine Corps officer, an adjunct faculty with Marine Corps University, and a federal civil servant, his remarks are his own and do not reflect the position of the US Government.” #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #essex #halsey #taskforce38 #wwii #wwiihistory…

People in this episode

Hosts: Seth Paridon, Jon Parshall

Guest: Pete Owen

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: United States Marine Corps, Naval Academy, USS Bunker Hill, Marine Corps University

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