[glasseye]

``Japanese and Americans feel entirely differently about Iwojima. For us Japanese, it is an island for mourning the dead. For the Americans, it is an island for glorifying their victory.''

Sucks too loose......

[Lockbar]

I think what the Marines really said was "Olympic hero Baron Nishi, come out of your cave so we can put a .45 slug right between your eyes".

[krb]

and carrying two cameras

That's not going to help dispel any stereotypes...

[rottndog]

For us Japanese, it is an island for mourning the dead.


It should be a place of great shame, that their ancestors' ambitions led to so much death. History is once again being forgotten (ignored).

[martin_fierro]

Pingawinga.

[Californiajones]

I've heard that the Japanese actually have comic books that have rewritten the history of WWII to show that the Japanese won! Very strange situation. National pride can be a good thing or a weird thing, I guess.

[SaltyJoe]

If we are sure enough of ourselves, then we ought never to demand an apology from today's generation for what a grand parent's generation inflicted long ago. Instead, we can find assurance of our steadfast ally of today that we will be friends without polarizing into unresovalbe conflicts, and we will compromise upon what we cannot completely agree.

I was stationed on Okinawa during the anniversary of the 50th year of friendship. There's no need to drag our present Ally's dignity through the mud over battle history. The Japanese have suffered their own defeatist attitude long enough. Objective history can restore honor to the honorable soldiers and rightly condemn those who've acted criminally. Many soldiers from all human history have suffered for having fought in a losing battle.

We don't vilify our Vietnam Vets (Sen Kerry does, but we're not like that are we?), so we don't have to drag those honorable Japanese's dignity with snide remarks of politics they could never have controlled.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

It is said that U.S. soldiers on Iwojima tried in vain to get Nishi to surrender, calling out to him by name: ``Olympic hero Baron Nishi, please turn yourself in. You are too great a man to die.'' But Nishi refused.

Some think this story was made up after the war.

I'm thinking it was made up. No doubt Nishi wouldn't surrender (to have done so would have been considered very dishonorable in his culture), but I think the part about U.S. Marines appealing to his ego is, well, probably something his family conjured up.

Pride was a big thing to them.

[ccmay]

Whenever a catastrophe comparable in magnitude to 9/11 occurs, the photo is invariably used

Good God. . . Did I miss something important? How many events comparable in magnitude to 9/11 have we actually had?

-ccm

[Joe Boucher]

I don't care about Japans pain.
I care about the pain of Americans as well as other nations citizens that died because of Japan.

The Japaneese were more then brutal. They were savage.
I would no sooner buy a mitsubishi then I would tour France.
This company as well as many other Japaneese firms used American and other P.O.W.s as slave labour.
I can go on for about ten pages decumenting the abuses meeted out by these "Allies".
The only reason they care a whif about us is to have us help keep China at bay.
The Chineese would still love to beat hell out of japan after the carnage they suffered so long ago.