Posted on 12/06/2005 9:30:44 PM PST by HarmlessLovableFuzzball
IMPERIAL LEADERS 'IMMORAL' Pearl Harbor was mistake: attack vet, 89
By MIYA TANAKA
KOGA, Ibaraki Pref. (Kyodo) To Zenji Abe, 89, a former dive-bomber pilot, Pearl Harbor was a place where he headed to risk his life to defend his country. But more than 60 years later, it has turned into a place where he can nurture ties with American friends who had once been his foes.
News photo Zenji Abe poses in front of a bomber in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in late December 1941, after returning from the Pearl Harbor attack.
He can clearly recall the day when he joined the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in the early morning hours of Dec. 7, 1941. The spry white-haired veteran spoke about his experiences in an interview at his home in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture, where he lives with his wife.
"I put a photo of my (former) wife holding my 6-month-year-old son in my uniform's inner pocket. . . . I didn't feel fear, or such excitement as 'I'm going to beat the Americans!' Instead, I thought it's just like (an) exercise," Abe, then a 25-year-old lieutenant and squadron leader, said.
Taking off from the Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier, Akagi was part of the second wave of planes. The raid crippled the U.S. Pacific Fleet by sinking or severely damaging eight battleships, including the Arizona -- a symbolic figure of the largest U.S. naval loss in history.
"I nosedived from an altitude of about 3,000 meters and practically a 60-degree angle. It was like plunging headfirst and I released a 250-kg bomb," Abe said, adding that he was "lucky" that he survived..
(Excerpt) Read more at japantimes.com ...
Awww... I hate you too. =)
Ya Think!!??
In my opinion Hiroshima and Nagasaki were Pearl Harbor repaid with compound interest
Not taking out the repair facilities was a big mistake too.
9-11 Terrible mistake, last surviving Muslim says.
Hah, I wonder if the First Chance/Last Chance cafe is still
outside the main gate.
Bento boxs of fried rice.Mmmmmmmmm
Every third drink free.
Saki Sours.
I love you long time.
All the Japanese had to do was stop their barbarous attack on China ;Japan had no right to other nation's resources or lands.
Too damn bad that giant now lets Lefties tie his hands and one leg behind his back.
If we fought WWII the way we are fighting the WOT, everyone to the west of the rockies would be speaking Japanese and the rest would be speaking German.
I felt betrayed when Chrysler was sold to Daimler.
Billy Mitchell predicted in 1926 that the Japanese would attack Pearl Harbor by air.
There is a theory (don't know how much truth there is to it) that Churchill got wind of Japan's planned assault on Pearl Harbor but didn't warn the US about it so he could get us involved in WWII
That is true, but we had no legal right to stop them. We declared economic war on Japan, they subsequently attacked us, and the rest is history.
I am not defending Japan, but there are too many naive folks that believe the Peal Harbor attack was unprovoked.
We didn't stop them. They were free to trade elsewhere. Attacking Pearl Harbor was not required.
I wonder how long it will take Muslims to understand that Sept 11th was a big mistake.
They took down 2 US buildings, we took over two Islamic countries.
If you think about attacking us again,you muslims got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky?
Well, do ya, punks?
If there is a next time, I bet we will take Iran and Syria. Go ahead, make our day.
In hindsight it can be seen the carriers weere more important.
But subs, they can be replaced in 6 months. In the open Pacific, they are only a threat against caro ships moving materials to Japan, shortages of which aren't going to bite within a year. Or military resupply to Japanese held islands, and that is only going to be significant if the US can mount an opposition.
If Japan can achieve naval dominance, then the US isn;t going to be able to movc.
The Japanese had been able to cheat around the treaties in cruisers and destroyers and had near eqality.
In Fleet Carriers the Japs had 6 ships with good aircraft, plus 5 smaller ships in service or completing. The US had 7 ships with crap aircraft, and none completing.
From the viewpoint of 1941 it might seem that the only advantage the US held to stop the Japanese was the battlefleet 17 in service with 4 completing, against the japanese 10 with 2 completing.
Again in hindsight the carriers were more important, but even here: by October 1942 there were only 3 operating carriers in the entire Pacific - They were all Japanese.
The U.S. had every right to embargo U.S. goods in protest of Japanese barbarism in China;and it was in the U.S. interest that anything that could be done to limit the attempts of any group that believed its members were destined to rule all others and claimed the right to instant obedience or summary execution of the soldiers and civilians taken captive by them.
"Your statement essentially says that their attack on Pearl Harbor was justified." In their eyes, it was completely justified, albeit risky. "
The Japanese were an aggressive, barbaric culture at the time. What they did in Nanking, Bataan and many other places is the way to measure their way of thinking at the time." Absolutely! That is why it is best to contemplate the potential consequences of starting a fight (or not starting a fight). Just don't pretend that we didn't start the fight between Japan and the USA.
As if there would be no consequences to a defacto declaration of economic war.
I find your use of the term "economic war" and your apparent justification of a sneak attack by a barbarous group disgusting.
Framing the situation on a more personal level,if one of your friends began beating and raping another of your friends would you stand idly ?If unable at the time to prevent the attack would you continue to do business as usual with the rapist?
For all his many faults FDR was correct in seeing that Imperial Nippon and Nazi Germany were America's enemies. It is regrettable that the American military was so complacent and relatively unprepared for any attack,in Hawaii or the Philipines.
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