It’s the subject of a new book with a Netflix film in the offing.
It was wartime, and college football was at the height of its popularity. On Christmas Eve 1944, the 4th and 29th Marine regiments found themselves in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. These young men were training for what would become the bloodiest battle of the war. It was World War 2 and the Battle of Okinawa.
Graphic courtesy Netflix
These young men, with high ranks, included one of the greatest pools of football talent anyone has ever known. They were former All-Americans, captains from Wisconsin, Brown, and Notre Dame. Many would be drafted to the NFL and ultimately play in the league.
With this much athletic talent, there would be some trash talking. The 4th and 29th regimes reached a fever pitch about who had the better football team. They decided to play a football game known as The Mosquito Bowl. The atmosphere was electric. The game featured a cleared coral field, built goalposts, printed programs, and a broadcast over what would be called the Mosquito Network with 1,000 spectators.
In the time to come, out of the 65 players who played in the game, 15 were killed just months later during the bloody battle of Okinawa. Known as part of the historical background of the 6th Marine Division. Friday Night Lights author Buzz Bissinger has written about this story in his new book, The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II. It is also being made into a movie directed by Peter Berg for Netflix.
