Episode 171 | Negative Survivability

Episode 171 | Negative Survivability

From Unhinged History by twigliot

May 1, 2026 · 55 min · Episode 176

About this episode

This episode explores the story of Paul Nobuo Tatsuguchi and the Battle of Attu, highlighting the trauma experienced by Dick Laird and his friendship with Laura Tasuguchi Davis.

Look at Unhinged History, we are known for a couple of things. A love of the National Parks Service content, stories you’ve never heard, and banter. This episode is basically more of the same. Theresa takes the entire episode to share the story of Paul Nobuo Tatsuguchi and the Battle of Attu. For most of us, we never realized that the Battle of Attu was the only time since the War of 1812 that the United States lost ground to a foreign invader. Dick Laird, the man who killed Paul Tatsuguchi, would spend 50 years living with the trauma of this battle, only to share his burden with Laura Tasuguchi Davis, Paul’s daughter. The two develop an unlikely friendship. This story pairs well with: The time the Japanese bombed Brookings, Oregon, during WWII Join Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/UnhingedHistory Email us: Unhinged.HistoryPod@gmail.com Head to Social Media and be Social With Us: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unhinged.historyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/unhinged.historypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unhingedhistory Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe. As a small, independent podcast, we rely heavily on those small actions to help. They’re free, and so…

People in this episode

Host: Theresa

Topics covered

  • Battle of Attu
  • World War II
  • friendship
  • trauma
  • National Parks Service
  • historical events

Keywords

  • Battle of Attu
  • Paul Nobuo Tatsuguchi
  • Dick Laird
  • Laura Tasuguchi Davis
  • World War II
  • trauma
  • friendship
  • National Parks Service

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: National Parks Service

Places: Brookings, Oregon

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