United States Marine Corps
One of the branches of the United States Armed Forces, the US Marines are an elite group of infantry tasked with, among other things, protecting the US Navy ships they're stationed on, as well as amphibious operations. In Pacific Assault, both kinds of tasks are depicted, with Conlin initially part of a US Marine detachment onboard a stricken battleship during the Pearl Harbor Attack, as well as participating in several island battles later in the war alongside the rest of his squad.Tropes applying to the US Marines as a whole:
- Elites Are More Glamorous: They're Marines, so this is to be expected of them.
- Conlin and his squad take it further by becoming Marine Raiders, specialists in raids where they are Trapped Behind Enemy Lines.
- Semper Fi: Very much so. The entire game focuses on the exploits of the US Marines Corps from Pearl Harbor all the way to Tarawa.
Private Thomas "Tommy" Conlin
- Voiced by: Dave Wittenberg
A US Marine, and The Protagonist of the game. The entire game is from his viewpoint, from boot camp just a few months before Pearl Harbor, all the way to the Battle of Tarawa in late 1943.
- Beginner's Luck: What pretty much describes his venture in piloting the SBD Dauntless he's ferrying, as he tops it off with destroying a Japanese destroyer and possibly a fleet carrier.
- Falling into the Cockpit: He and Frank are riding as passengers in the gunner seats of some SBD Dauntlesses on a ferry flight. He's forced to pilot the plane he’s in after the pilot is wounde, panics, and bails out while forgetting that Tom doesn’t have a parachute. The game handwaves Instant Expert via Tommy saying in the mission intro that he’s gotten some stick time on a couple of joyride flights on Guadalcanal, plus the other pilots giving him tips over the radio.
- Field Promotion: He gets promoted to Sergeant just before the Battle of Tarawa, due to Minoso getting wounded just prior.
- Guy in Back: He's temporarily assigned as a back gunner on an SBD Dauntless for a ferrying mission between Guadalcanal and Tarawa.
- Player Character: Of Pacific Assault
- The Hero: He's the viewpoint character throughout the game, and we get to experience his story from Pearl Harbor to Tarawa.
- Hyper-Competent Sidekick: To Minoso. Without him, it's likely that the rest of them would have been killed as far back as Makin.
- Rank Up: First to Private First Class, then to Corporal. By the end of the last mission, he's a Sergeant.
- Silent Protagonist: He seldom speaks, only either when giving squad commands or in the narrations.
- The Leader: Of his squad, since he's more proactive than Minoso in this regard.
- The Lancer: To Minoso. He's the second highest-ranking soldier in The Squad, and the one Minoso trusts enough to lead in his place.
- You Are in Command Now: Following Minoso getting wounded during the ferrying trip to the USS Independence, Conlin is made the new official squad leader.
Private William "Willy" Gaines
- Voiced by: Will Friedle
The squad's designated marksman. He wields a Springfield sniper rifle for most of the game, before switching to a shotgun for the Tarawa battle.
- Friendly Sniper: For most of the game, he's the squad's designated marksman.
- The Generic Guy: Is this compared to the rest of the squad, as he's only really known for his shooting skills.
- The Lancer: Take's Minoso's place following the former getting wounded in action as Conlin's number two man during the Tarawa battle.
- Southern-Fried Private: He has a noticeable Southern accent, and is pretty trigger-happy.
- Vitriolic Best Friends: With Frank Minoso.
Sergeant/Gunnery Sergeant Francis "Frank" Minoso
- Voiced by: Bart Tangredi
The highest ranking member of Conlin's squad. He wields a Browning Automatic Rifle.
- The Big Guy: He has a hulking frame and he's considered the strongest of Conlin's squad.
- Big Guy Fatality Syndrome: Subverted. He gets wounded by an attacking Japanese Zero during the ferrying mission from Guadalcanal to Tarawa but survives, albeit having to be sent back to Hawaii to recover from his wounds.
- Fatal Family Photo: Averted. He shares a photo of his dame back home to Conlin just prior to the Japanese assault on Bloody Ridge, but nothing comes of it when both he and Conlin survive without a scratch.
- The Lancer: To Conlin for most of the game.
- Put on a Bus: He gets wounded by a Zero during the ferrying mission from Guadalcanal to the USS Independence, losing consciousness in the process. It's later revealed that his wounds are so bad, that he has to be sent back to Hawaii, but not before handing his BAR to Conlin.
- Rank Up: He's promoted to Gunnery Sergeant after Guadalcanal.
- Sergeant Rock: Downplayed. He prefers to be rough around the edges whenever he gives orders, although most of the time he's pretty lax and prefers to have Conlin do the leading.
- Supporting Leader: Despite being the highest ranking soldier in the squad, he lets Conlin take point, preferring to mow down Japanese soldiers instead.
- Vitriolic Best Friends: With Willy Gaines.
Corpsman James "Jim" Sullivan
- Voiced by: Chris Cox
The Medic of Conlin's squad.
- Badass Bookworm: He has an extensive medical background, but he's in the Marines.
- Badass Driver: When he gets to the wheel during Makin Atoll: Stealth Jungle, he proves to be this. He pulls this feat again on Tarawa, where he drives through practically most of the Japanese garrison stationed on the airfield.
- Combat Medic: He's the squad's medic, but is no slouch in combat, often firing on and killing charging Japanese with a pistol or revolver.
- Hidden Depths: For someone who's more of a doctor than a fighter, he turns out to be a Badass Driver, as Conlin and the others find out.
- The Smart Guy: Not only is he the squad's corpsman, he's also well versed in human anatomy and medicine due to taking up courses in said subjects.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Wears glasses, and is well versed in medicine.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: He usually throws up on the side while reviving someone.
Colonel Merritt A. Edson
Commanding officer of the Marine Raiders, and the direct superior of Conlin and Minoso during the Makin Island raid and Guadalcanal campaign.
- Big Good: The closest to one for Conlin and his squad.
- Colonel Badass: Oh yes. When you're still composed and giving orders when the Japanese are bombing and shelling close to your position, it definitely counts.
- Historical Domain Character: He's practically the only Real Life character amongst the Marines. In fact, the battle at which he's shown leading the defense of Bloody Ridge is alternatively known as the Battle of Edson's Ridge.
Imperial Japanese soldiers
The enemies of Pacific Assault, these are soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy Special Landing Forces. Due to Interservice Rivalry between the Japanese Army and Navy, they've established their own, separate infantry forces. The Japanese Army soldiers are generally more numerous, while the Japanese Marines on the other hand are better-equipped.The Japanese Forces as a whole:
- Bayonet Ya: One of their favorite tactics is to charge towards Conlin and other Marines, then bayonet them.
- Color-Coded Armies: IJA soldiers wear khaki uniforms, while IJN Marines wear green.
- Suicidal Overconfidence: One of their staple tactics: to charge at the player and other Marines when they're desperate enough. Of course, this usually ends with them killed.
- Zerg Rush: They're extremely fond of rushing Marines, usually with bayonets and/or katanas in hand, and especially when they're in a desperate and hopeless position.
Imperial Japanese Army
Soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army. They are the primary opposition for most of the game, shown being garrisoned in Makin and attacking American positions on Guadalcanal.
- Mooks: The standard enemy troops for the majority of the game. Compared to the more specialized IJN Marines on Tarawa, and even the US Marines, they're relatively lightly armed, mostly relying on the old Arisaka Type 38, with only the squad leaders getting any automatic weapons whatsoever.
- Playing Possum: A platoon of them pull this off in order to catch Minoso and Conlin off-guard during the Battle for Bloody Ridge. You can turn it on them if you spot them and mow them down while they are on the ground.
Special Naval Landing Forces
Elite infantry of the Imperial Japanese Navy. They are encountered at Makin and later, Tarawa.
- Driven to Suicide: Many of them on Tarawa would rather die than face capture, and this is reflected when several of them commit suicide with their own grenades.
- Elite Mooks: The ones based on Tarawa are this, being more heavily-armed than the Makin garrison and the Japanese Army soldiers fought at Guadalcanal.
- Evil Counterpart: To the US Marines, as they more-or-less fulfill the same role their American counterparts (being elite troops specialized in amphibious landings).
- Last Villain Stand: During the last Tarawa section, a huge number of them decide to mount one last Banzai charge at the Marines, with the rest of the island's garrison having been being wiped out in the hours prior. Despite this, they prove to still be very much a threat, as they can still deplete Conlin's health quickly with their bayonet attacks.
- More Dakka: The Tarawa garrison carry around a far bigger number of automatic weapons, namely the Type 96 LMG.
Other Characters
Chief Petty Officer Bobby McAfee
A US Navy officer stationed at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack.
- Mr. Exposition: He tells Conlin all about the layout of the Pearl Harbor base just minutes before the attack.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Lasts only a few minutes into the Pearl Harbor level, and is then killed when a Zero strafes his position.
