Remembering Pearl Harbor

[Tidewater]

All true. They actually bend over backwards. My own SIL is a prime example, however, he did lose family members to the Nazis...

I honestly have no frame of reference for how the Japanese have accepted the sins of their fathers. The Japanese did name their "helicopter destroyer" the Kaga, the same name as one of the IJN carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor.

Kaga is the name of a province in Japan, but I'm not sure what to make of that.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I honestly have no frame of reference for how the Japanese have accepted the sins of their fathers. The Japanese did name their "helicopter destroyer" the Kaga, the same name as one of the IJN carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor.

Kaga is the name of a province in Japan, but I'm not sure what to make of that.

I do, but it mostly comes from other Asians. I think it's pretty well recognized that they more or less just slough over WWII in their schools. The few times, I've tried to broach the subject with Japanese who were actually alive (not really recent because there're just not many around), I got the embarrassment reaction - hand in front of mouth and general statements about it's being a "terrible time," etc...

 

[Tidewater]

I do, but it mostly comes from other Asians. I think it's pretty well recognized that they more or less just slough over WWII in their schools. The few times, I've tried to broach the subject with Japanese who were actually alive (not really recent because there're just not many around), I got the embarrassment reaction - hand in front of mouth and general statements about it's being a "terrible time," etc...

I wonder what percentage of Japanese citizens know about Unit 731, the Rape of Nanking, but all should know about it, if for no other reason than to prevent it from happening again.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I wonder what percentage of Japanese citizens know about Unit 731, the Rape of Nanking, but all should know about it, if for no other reason than to prevent it from happening again.

Given attrition, even with their lifespan, very few. IMO, we didn't do our job of rubbing their noses in it and I blame McArthur mostly for that...

 

[TIDE-HSV]

My brother's BIL was a Japanese POW during WWII, captured in the Philippines and survived the Bataan death march. I got a detailed account of POW life from him. It was basically a form of the worst sort of slavery, where the masters regard their slaves very much as subhuman. There were simply no rules. There was death handed out on whim, rampant sexual abuse, you name it. It's affected my attitude towards them ever since - just not enough to prevent my purchasing their automotive products... :blush:

 

[92tide]

My brother's BIL was a Japanese POW during WWII, captured in the Philippines and survived the Bataan death march. I got a detailed account of POW life from him. It was basically a form of the worst sort of slavery, where the masters regard their slaves very much as subhuman. There were simply no rules. There was death handed out on whim, rampant sexual abuse, you name it. It's affected my attitude towards them ever since - just not enough to prevent my purchasing their automotive products... :blush:

my best friend's dad was a south pacific theater vet (marine). he told me that outside of acknowledging he was in the war, he never talked about it with them. i can only imagine how horrible that was.

 

[day-day]

My brother's BIL was a Japanese POW during WWII, captured in the Philippines and survived the Bataan death march. I got a detailed account of POW life from him. It was basically a form of the worst sort of slavery, where the masters regard their slaves very much as subhuman. There were simply no rules. There was death handed out on whim, rampant sexual abuse, you name it. It's affected my attitude towards them ever since - just not enough to prevent my purchasing their automotive products... :blush:

Had a friend in high school whose father lost hearing in one ear due to a rifle butt in the ear while on the Bataan death march. He was a big dude too.

Guilty on the automotive products as well. Blame Deming for that.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

my best friend's dad was a south pacific theater vet (marine). he told me that outside of acknowledging he was in the war, he never talked about it with them. i can only imagine how horrible that was.

Few people understand how truly different the Japanese are and it's a matter of culture, centuries of it...

 

[Relayer]

Few people understand how truly different the Japanese are and it's a matter of culture, centuries of it...

Lived there for almost 5 years and had about 10 Japanese civilians working along side as interpreters. The word "inscrutable" comes to mind.

 

[ROTYDE]

My father was walking across the bridge at Decatur Al when the attack took place. Not long after he was part of the D-Day invasion. My father was in the 9th Division 42nd Inf. and fought the Battle of the Bulge. This is after the war and just before his return home. He very rarely talked about the war except during December and always on the 7th.

[/url]via Imgflip Meme Generator[/IMG]

 

[TIDE-HSV]

My father was walking across the bridge at Decatur Al when the attack took place. Not long after he was part of the D-Day invasion. My father was in the 9th Division 42nd Inf. and fought the Battle of the Bulge. This is after the war and just before his return home. He very rarely talked about the war except during December and always on the 7th.

[/URL]via Imgflip Meme Generator[/IMG]

I had a next door neighbor for almost ten years who served first in the Wehrmacht and then later was picked out of the troops and sent to Peenemünde, after they found out he had a PHD in physics. He never heard of the "Battle of the Bulge." I finally found out the German name for it was "Wacht am Rhein." - "Oh"...

 

[GrayTide]

My father was in the Pacific theater with the 82nd Seabees. His first stop was Guadalcanal. His battalion island hopped building air strips for the Army bombers. He said they use to throw coconuts at the Japanese POWs to kill some time. He would never buy any car made by a Japanese automaker.

 

[ALA2262]

Tweet from the French ambassador to the United States.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Tweet from the French ambassador to the United States.

I don't seem to remember the UK and France confronting the fascist powers until France was invaded...

 

[Bazza]

An account my father (USN '39-'59) wrote of the attack. He was stationed on the Helena.

 

[Tidewater]

Tweet from the French ambassador to the United States.

Wow. That is quite undiplomatic.
France refused to back up the Soviets when they begged France to help the Soviets guarantee Czechoslovakian independence in 1938.
The Wehrmacht had only 42 divisions, of which 37 were along the German-Czechoslovak border, and only 5 divisions were lined up against France. France had 91 divisions. If France had simply said, firmly and unmistakably "Yes" to the Soviets, and "No" to Hitler, Czechoslovakia would have been spared and war averted.
But France wimped out, Monsieur L'Ambassadeur. Big time.
Stalin interpreted that to mean that the West was weak and unreliable, so he carved out his own deal with Hitler. Weakness breeds more weakness, Monsieur L'Ambassadeur. Courage breeds more courage.

 

[tidegrandpa]

My father was in the Pacific theater with the 82nd Seabees. His first stop was Guadalcanal. His battalion island hopped building air strips for the Army bombers. He said they use to throw coconuts at the Japanese POWs to kill some time. He would never buy any car made by a Japanese automaker.

My Uncle (mother's brother) was also a SeeBee, helped build air base at Saipan and others, he showed me how slitting the kidney was silent way of neutralizing a Japanese guard.

 

[ALA2262]

Wow. That is quite undiplomatic.
France refused to back up the Soviets when they begged France to help the Soviets guarantee Czechoslovakian independence in 1938.
The Wehrmacht had only 42 divisions, of which 37 were along the German-Czechoslovak border, and only 5 divisions were lined up against France. France had 91 divisions. If France had simply said, firmly and unmistakably "Yes" to the Soviets, and "No" to Hitler, Czechoslovakia would have been spared and war averted.
But France wimped out, Monsieur L'Ambassadeur. Big time.
Stalin interpreted that to mean that the West was weak and unreliable, so he carved out his own deal with Hitler. Weakness breeds more weakness, Monsieur L'Ambassadeur. Courage breeds more courage.

Typically French, he quickly retreated saying, "We are immensely grateful for what the US did for France in 1944 but it is a fact that US, France and UK committed mistakes in the 30s". Again I'm

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Wow. That is quite undiplomatic.
France refused to back up the Soviets when they begged France to help the Soviets guarantee Czechoslovakian independence in 1938.
The Wehrmacht had only 42 divisions, of which 37 were along the German-Czechoslovak border, and only 5 divisions were lined up against France. France had 91 divisions. If France had simply said, firmly and unmistakably "Yes" to the Soviets, and "No" to Hitler, Czechoslovakia would have been spared and war averted.
But France wimped out, Monsieur L'Ambassadeur. Big time.
Stalin interpreted that to mean that the West was weak and unreliable, so he carved out his own deal with Hitler. Weakness breeds more weakness, Monsieur L'Ambassadeur. Courage breeds more courage.

The ambassador is not the first Frenchman who's weak on history. When my wife was an exchange student in France, she met a gentleman at a garden party in Paris who maintained that the Allies had heavily bombed Paris with the intent of crippling it and France in the post-war period. Certainly sounds like a fringe belief, no? His name was Lionel Jospin and he went on to become a Prime Minister of France...

 

[crimsonaudio]

Screw that french surrender monkey.