"It seems like only yesterday I was strafing so many of your homes. Here I am today, begging you not to make such good cars."
My dad was combat infantry in WWII and Korea. He hated all Asians with a passion until the day he died.
I had my front tooth knocked out with a baseball bat when I was 12. My dentist, a Hawaiian born of Japanese descent, had to put in temporary tooth about every 6 months as my face would change as I grew and the temp would fall out.
My mom always took me to my appointments, but dad got frustrated and decided to take me. When the dentist came out my dad stood up and said “ a G’damn g@@k! No wonder his tooth won’t stay in! I used to shoot you SOB’s in the war! We left and never went back.
Hatred is a tough thing to overcome, especially when it’s based on real personal experiences.
The Pacific War was a racial Clash; the Japs were as much to blamed for that as anyone else.
It’s a shame that entire lives were lived postwar carrying that in their minds, but I guess it’s inevitable.