Following the success of Band of Brothers, producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks decided that they wanted to make another big-budget show set during the Second World War.
They landed on ‘The Pacific,’ which, rather than being about a battalion – like Band of Brothers Easy Company – instead focuses on the wartime experience of three marines.
Here’s where the inspiration for the 10-part mini-series came from.
Is “The Pacific” based on a true story?
Yes, The Pacific is based on a true story, as the three guys in question existed and were members of the 1st Marine Division.
Robert Leckie was a member of the First Regiment. Eugene Sledge was a member of the Fifth Regiment. And John Basilone served in the 7th Regiment.
Eugene Sledge's book ‘With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa' and Robert Leckie's ‘Helmet for My Pillow' serve as inspirations for the production. China Marine (also by Sledge) and Chuck Tatum's biography Red Blood, Black Sand were also used to gather stories for The Pacific.
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Hugh Ambrose, son of Band of Brothers author Stephen E. Ambrose, worked as a consultant on the project. He also created a tie-in historical fiction, ‘The Pacific: Hell was an Ocean Away,' which was released in 2010.