Can't see the video? Watch this video now in a browser or download this video now. Boing Boing tv's retro-tech correspondent Todd Lappin of Telstar Logistics submerges us in WWII history on the supersized submarine USS Pampanito. This Balao-class ship was built in 1943, and today one of her younger volunteer caretakers schools us on all the gadgets, gizmos, and old-school technology that kept this baby cruising to Pearl Harbor and back. Did you know that subs like this couldn't submerge for more than 24 hours back then, because they'd run out of battery life? Think of it like this, Gen-Y-ers, that's like when your iPhone 3G slides into "red" mode, because you've been twittering too much. Only with people inside. And big guns to shoot bad guys. Pampanito trivia: she's named after this little fishie, prized as a seafood delicacy. Wait, a sushi ingredient? Doesn't sound like a great idea for a WWII military ship! Shot for BBtv by Eddie Codel, during the Long Now Foundation's Mechanicrawl. Previously on BBtv: * Multi-millenial Mechanical clocks (Long Now Mechanicrawl pt. 1) * WWII Boatpunk: Aboard the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, with Todd Lappin (pt. 2) Less

Can't see the video? Watch this video now in a browser or download this video now. BBtv guest correspondent and blog pal Todd Lappin of Telstar Logistics takes us inside a steam-powered World War II "Liberty Ship," the SS Jeremiah O'Brien. We marvel (!) at the cool old retro-technology that kept this behemoth boat running to and from the beaches of Normandy, and we meet the volunteer caretakers -- obsessive nerds just like us, only with white hair! -- who keep her ship-shape today. Did you know that shipyards in the San Francisco Bay Area once churned out Liberty Ships like this in 4 days or less, during the heat of the war? Watch and learn, li'l skippers. Todd has a rockin' photoset of images from the ship, too. Shot for BBtv by Eddie Codel, during the Long Now Foundation's Mechanicrawl. Less

Part two of a five part series about the New England Shipbuilding Corporation in South Portland Maine. During WWII, people came from all over Maine and New England to build Liberty Ships at the shipyards and forever changed a small fishing village. We look back at WWII as a very patriotic time and it was. But, the big incentive to work at the shipyards was the good paying jobs. Workers talk about the good wages and how having money affected their lives after the Great Depression. Produced by Stephanie Philbrick for WMPG-FM and Portland Harbor Museum Less

Part one of a five part series about the New England Shipbuilding Corporation in South Portland, Maine during WWII. People came from all over Maine and New England to build Liberty Ships, and in the process changed a small fishing village forever. This segment is an introduction to the New England Shipbuilding Corporation. Former workers talk about the first months building Liberty ships during WWII and former residents of Ferry Village remember what the neighborhood was like before the shipyards. Produced by Stephanie Philbrick for WMPG-FM and Portland Harbor Museum. Less

Meet Lee Alley, author of the new book “Back From War: Finding Hope and Understanding After Life in Combat.” He discusses the events that led him to write this awesome book for returning soldiers and their families. In it, the physical and emotional problems that returning Veterans of WWI, Vietnam, Korea, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq are suffering are discussed opening and with heart-wrenching candor. Less

When WWII started, Eugeniusz – then 19 – was an Officer Cadet who despite such young age became a Catering Officer on the front line during the military campaign against the Nazi aggressor. But Wehrmacht was much stronger than the Polish Army and the September 1939 campaign quickly ended. Eugeniusz tried to escape to Romania, but got caught and became a POW. Luckily, he was able to escape soon after that – by jumping off the train that was carrying the POWs to Germany. But before that he had a funny adventure with one of the German soldiers when he exchanged his elegant gun for few gulps of vodka. He describes that in Chapter 8. Less

2403 American servicemen and 68 civilians died that day with another 1178 wounded. Five battleships were sunk other were sinking, three destroyers were wrecked, a minelayer and target ship had capsized, two cruisers were badly damaged and many other ships needed repairs. 188 aircraft were destroyed. About half the lives lost were servicemen on the USS Arizona, it lost 1,177 of its crew. The Okalahoma lost 456 men. The hull of the Arizona became a memorial to those lost that day, most of whom remain within the ship. The men on the ships were woken to the sounds of bombs exploding and cries of “Away fire and rescue party” and “All hands on deck, we’re being bombed”. Despite the lack of preparation, which included locked ammunition lockers and undispersed aircraft, there were American military personnel who served with distinction during the battle. Like Ship’s Cook Third Class Doris “Dorie” Miller, a cook on West Virginia, who went…...... Less

Mel Corren interviews Irving Corren about his life and work in Stockton, California, and his experiences in World War II. Less