Our Marines were surprised to find that the Imperial Marines they were fighting were big guys, and ‘salty’.
And as you say, like Zero, Val and Zeke pilots, they had a short shelf life.
The thing is, though, for all the talk about Nazi and Japanese atrocities there is still little concern or discussion about the sadistic practices of the worst group of all: the Communists of the Soviet Union, China, NK, Cambodia, and on and on. The others were pikers compared to them.