Posted on 08/06/2008 4:09:53 PM PDT by B-Chan
Wow. I had never seen that picture before.
Me either, until today. It’s an amazing shot.
It was the most compassionate act that could have been done under the circumstances.
Good point. That would have been extremely destructive.
FWIW -- My Dad said his unit (33rd Infantry) landed, was welcomed by childred with flowers, and treated well by the Japanese.
Some months later they rotated back stateside, replaced by another American unit which had not fought in the war. Those later Americans were more arrogant and not as well accepted by the Japanese, according to my Dad.
That reception to the Victors is part of the ‘Bushido’ code.
The Japanese as a whole ‘respected’ the Victor but not the ‘non-combatants’ that immediately followed.
Remember the Japanese Army thought that to surrender was worse than death.
The Japanese Navy was more compassionate to captured Allied Sailors (than say the Army or fisherman) that probably due to the ‘law of the sea’ where we ALL have/had a common enemy.
When I got to Japan in 1957 they treated us fine (at least where the young enlisted sailors were wont to go) but that was probably due to the fact that their ‘job’ was to relieve us of our yens so they were using the old ‘catch more flies with honey etc....’ theory and by gum, it worked.
My Dad said something similar, as I remember. Dad died in 1974.
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