If you want an idea what life was like for Americans who were in Japanese POW camps, read this book...
I was amazed to discover this fact about American POWs, revealed by Hillenbrand in her book "Unbroken": Only 1% of those who were held by the Germans and the Italians died...but 37% of American POWs held by the Japanese died.
Jap camps were very very bad.
Good book, too.
I second that. I just read it about four months ago. It’s really overwhelming to think of how cruel and sadistic the Japanese military we’re.
I am anticipating the film version and plan to see it, even though I rarely go to theaters anymore. It’s being directed by Angelina Jolie.
Another good book on the subject is Fly Boys.
I once was supposed to introduce a group of Jap businessmen at a luncheon back in the 80’s. I told my boss there was no f’ing way that was going to happen. He was incredulous, and asked me why—in front of these guys. I told him that I lost an uncle, another uncles leg, and another’s eye in the War, and unless they went with me to apologize to them, I wasn’t really interested in making them comfortable.
They understood. One of them quietly came up to me later and we discussed it.
Really not a fan of Japan.
The Knights of Bushido: A Short History of Japanese War Crimes by Lord Russel of Liverpool.
At 350+ pages, "short" is a relative term.
