[Tenacious 1]

Have you ever visited Pearl Harbor and the Arizona memorial?

I have only been once. But I was struck with how many Asian (assumed Japanese) tourists were also there. I have always wondered what their history classes taught about WWII.

I worked with a young German Engineer early in my career. We once talked about what we were taught about WWII. Her comment was that she never learned much beyond Hitler started it because of WWI, he was bad and Germany lost. She also stated, there are NO WAR memorials in Germany.

[DesertRhino]

“I have always wondered what their history classes taught about WWII.”

Pretty much it’s supposed to be along the lines of, “one day, for reasons they never fully understood, we started dropping atomic bombs on them”.

No rape of Nanking, no experiments on prisoners, no Korean slavery, no forced prostitution, etc etc.

[central_va]

I visited the Marine Corp Museum in Quantico. An asian (Jap) was crying, she was muttering "I didn't know any of this history. I had no idea".

PS: If you go to the museum there isn't even a mention of the Navy, not even a hint. The omission is almost comical. Not one exhibit on the Navy's role in the Marine Corp. LOL.

[GOP_Party_Animal]

I went to the memorial in 2000 and you're right - tons of Japanese tourists. They were very quiet and respectful as I would have been visiting Hiroshima.

The program was great. Very informative and not politically correct in the least. It was a somber experience.

IIRC the cliffs of Peleliu were a strong indicator of what we'd see if we invaded the mainland. We likely saved many Japanese lives by dropping the bombs. I wonder if this teacher has an explanation of why the Japs didn't surrender after the first bomb went off.

[JoeFromSidney]

I visited the Arizona Memorial once. I too noticed the crowd of Japanese also visiting it. My first reaction was to shout, "What are you doing? Looking at your handiwork?" Of course that wasn't fair. Most of those Japanese tourists hadn't even been born in 1941. Nevertheless, it disturbed me.

[Mase]

I have always wondered what their history classes taught about WWII.

I lived in Japan for some time in the late 80's. During that time, one of the most popular books was a story that rewrote the ending of WWII into a glorious Japanese victory. I was constantly amazed by how many people weren't aware of, or refused to admit to, the incredible number of bloodthirsty acts the Japanese committed during the war.

My father was on a ship that had passed through the Panama Canal on it's way to the Pacific theater when the bombs were dropped. I have no patience for people who believe the bombs should never have been dropped.

[Amberdawn]

There are, but few and far between. Also, they are very ‘bland’ in that they simply memorialize “all those killed in the Second World War”, blah, blah.

[ErnBatavia]

But I was struck with how many Asian (assumed Japanese) tourists were also there.

I've been twice...the first time was probably a dozen years ago and there wasn't one Nipper; on the second trip we saw a couple of very small Japanese tour groups. They were very quiet.