Americans still have several thousand of our own missing in the South Pacific battle area.
The Germans have accepted their sins in WWII but the Japanese mostly deny the truth of how they behaved.
Such brutality as the “Rape of Nanking” are not taught to them. Many Japanese war criminals are still treated as heroes.
After the Surrender was signed on the USS Missouri, my dad ( who was 18) was sent with his ship to retrieve over 250 American POWs who were on a tiny atoll in the Pacific. They expected the Americans to be emaciated and sick, so they assembled a medical team, and braced themselves for what was probably going to be a difficult, though happy assignment, bringing our boys home.
They arrived to find that the Japanese had abandoned the island, but not before beheading all 250 of the American POWs there.
This is not an anecdote. It is the truth.
It is shocking to think it has been 70 years. The parents of my classmates fought in that war.
My cousin endured the Bataan Death March, transport to Japan to work in coal mines, and was liberated early October 1945.
When he went to war he 5’8” 150 pounds; when repatriated he weighed 85 pounds. He died in 1976.
The Japanese have not yet made a proper repayment for their sins in that war. And in my eyes, they never will.
Words can’t express the gratitude I feel for our troops and the incredible hardships they endured to win the Pacific war. Japs were monsters back then, assuming the Americans didn’t have the resolve to fight. They were so wrong!
I’ll bet they remember John Basilone.
Guadalcanal was my first campaign,(never fired a shot there), Bougainville was my second, fired lots of shots there, Guam was my third and I had changed from rifleman to flame thrower. Got wounded twice, got the Bronze Star and sent home. (Have happily ever since.) Married my childhood sweet heart and were together for 68 years. I am getting old now, BUT I hope and pray that I live long enough that the vermin now in the White House is gone. (And I don’t care where to) Hell would be nice.
The very best to you and yours.
Semper Fi
Texican.
Japanese kids are not taught WWII history, many come to Hawaii as adults shocked visit USS Arizona Memorial to learn about their countries sneak attack for the first time! They learn the truth is as an adult tourist. Sad.