Restored battle tank readied for restaging of Iwo Jima conflict

The Monitor ^ | February 18,2005 | Dulcinea Cuellar

[brazzaville]

Good morning.

The majority of the WWII vets I know who fought the Japanese still hate them.

Michael Frazier

[Chad Fairbanks]

Ping!

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

My dad was wounded on Iwo. He partially lost his hearing (which was quite inconvenient, since he was a professional musician) and had fourteen craters on his body from shrapnel wounds, with one piece embedded so near his spine he was threatened with paralysis his entire life.

He never said an unflattering word to me about the Japanese.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

'swhat my dad told me. Cadillac car motors, at least in some of them.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Who is "them" If you could tell me?

I'd wonder if you would clarify? Is that the military they directly fought (and/or the Imperial Japanese system of fascism which we destroyed), or is "them" the entire Japanese people, even the 60% born since General Tojo swung from the rafters at Sugamo GHQ Prison in Tokyo?

[llevrok]

5. 6. what ever. Still a great story.

[brazzaville]

Good evening.

I don't think I've ever asked anyone to be specific about who they hate and I don't remember any who have said. Since most of the vets I've met who fought in the Pacific theater probably never met a civilian Japanese, I would have to assume they meant the soldiers and Naval Infantry they faced.

My two uncles who fought in the Philippines, most of the career soldiers I served with who fought in the Pacific and the Marines I have worked with didn't differentiate between civilians and military.

My other two uncles and most others I've known who fought in the ETO and Med just never felt the same about the Germans and Italians, though I did know a Sgt Major who had liberated a camp who had a deep and visceral hatred for ALL Germans.

I, personally, try to avoid hatred as it is just too tiring. If I were going to hold on to hatred it would be for liberal DemocRATS but even there it just isn't worth the effort.

Michael Frazier

[AmericanInTokyo]

That was a pretty damn wel complete and helpful response. Thanks again.

[pylgrym]

Toyota is building a Truck factory in Texas, site of the Iwo Jima Reenactment last weekend which was held in the presence of over a hundred American survivors of that battle - none with whom I spoke hold any animosity towards the Japanese.