PBS Secrets of the Dead – Dogfight Over Guadalcanal (2006)

Deep in the jungle of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific, scattered among tall trees and thick, razor-sharp grasses, are the rusting remains of a World War II-era fighter plane. A fragment of the tail still bears traces of the light blue paint of U.S. Navy aircraft of the period, and the number 5192. Research confirms that the plane is the doomed Wildcat flown by James “Pug” Southerland in one of the most heroic and legendary dogfights in aviation history. This documentary investigates the legendary showdown between 30-year-old Southerland in his Wildcat, and Saburo Sakai, 25, in his Mitsubishi Zero that took place on the opening day of the battle for Guadalcanal in August, 1942. Dogfight Over Guadalcanal resurrects this visceral, gut-wrenching series of events, step by step, via narrative readings of accounts from each of the men’s diaries and a thrilling journey to the recently discovered and excavated American plane – which, astonishingly, still rests at its crash site many decades later.
In August of 1942, American and Japanese forces began fighting for control of Guadalcanal Island in the South Pacific theater of WWII. A major turning point in the war, the Battle of Guadalcanal played out as a bitter dogfight between the powerfully opposing personalities of American fighter pilot James “Pug” Southerland and his Japanese counterpart, Saburo Sakai. Eventually the Japanese pilot shot down the American, who crash landed behind enemy lines but managed to escape before being captured. Using both pilots’ comprehensive memoirs, and following a forensic expedition to the recently-found American plane, Dogfight Over Guadalcanal examines and re-creates every anxious second of the WWII showdown over the Pacific, revealing just how evenly matched the two men were and how they both survived, despite serious injuries. Investigation of the Wildcat’s wreckage finally answers the puzzling question of why Southerland, who briefly had Sakai in his sights, did not fire on him. Was it chivalry, lack of ammunition or something else?