JapanForum.com - ELDERLY AMERICAN P O Ws at last some recognition'

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Originally Posted by Dayanx (Post 832593)

We're a cranky species. That's not going away any time soon. I've seen first hand what human beings can do to each other- good and bad.

Conflict is something we subconsciously need. For instance- Novels, TV, Media of any kind. There must be a protagonist, antagonist, conflict and challenges to overcome. Even the sappiest romance novel sets people and circumstances against one another.

I'm glad whenever I read articles like this. The last one I read was a few weeks ago on 4chan's /k/ channel so I don't have a link.

In the European theater of WW2 a B17 bomber and crew was returning from France after a bomb run. The plane had been shot to hell and back, with 3/4s of the crew dead or injured, 2 engines down, half the tail shot off, ect.

A ME-109 pilot came across the badly damaged bomber- which had fallen behind from the rest of the force. Slow and could barely maneuver- easy meat for the Luftwaffe pilot. He closed in, saw the condition of the ship and crew (the tail gunner was splattered over what was left of the tail) and he escorted them out into the English channel, then reported that he had shot down the plane.

The pilot of that Bomber couldn't sleep at night after the war- as much from what had happened here as the rest of what he'd been through, and he began writing the German government looking for records, rosters, ect. It took him until the early 90s but he actually located that 109 pilot.

They met in Germany and though so many years went by, they both cried like children hugging each other- old enemies, but sharing a bond that only people fighting for their lives share. That they were on the opposing sides didn't matter anymore.

Greatest Generation indeed :)

what a story! In the midst of all that killing-- Compassion. thankyou.

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I don't think that Japan should apologize to the U.S or any pow's form there until the U.S apologizes for what it did, which I think is a lot worse. Ex. Nuking Japan and imprisoning Japanese Americans in internment camps just because the government was paranoid. It seems like the U.S government only follows the constitution when it's convenient for them.

it's too late to aplogize to the dead, only ensure we never see a war of that scale ever again.

The US did apolgize about interning Japanese Americans.. We aren't going to apolgize about useing a big weapon to win a war as quickly as possible, thus saveing countless American lives. That's crazy talk.

AS to the ones responsable for the harsh treatment of POWS they have been delt with decades ago, so it's a moot point.

what about all those women the nurses-- who struggled to help injured captives-- raped, abused killed at random.

you forget that some are still alive-- those who survived-- and their families-- what about the families of those who were treated so terribly in camps.

Its all too easy to say its in the past-- but the past comes back to haunt us and we should never forget how easily MAN can so easily treat other human beings in such inhumane way.

Never forget and learn as much as you can about the truth.

I recommend you read "THE REAL TENKO" and other books.

Comfort women or somthing similar I believe they were called.

I agree that their story should be told also.....from what i understand many were shipped to mainland japan (or japanese territories) from all over asia (korea, china, phillipines etc) but are still to this day fighting for recognition and rights.

well yes but many of the nurses and POWS from other camps. especially Dutch and Australian among ,many others.

There is still so much we are learning. Killing survivors from a Ship-- who were on the beach.Only one survived after the Japanese thought she was dead.

those nurses were true heroines.

Yea..as far as the war against Japan itself goes..the US has nothing to apologize for. Nor do I suspect those Austrialian or British pows who were rescued because the US played hardball will complain either.

There is one thing fighting army against army, and there's another thing nuking an entire city consisting mostly in civilians to end a war. It's the worst possible way to achieve you're goal. And beginning to say that apologies aren't needed is even worse.

Civilians build tanks, bombs, planes, ships, bullets...all the equipment that the enemy army uses to kill the soldiers in my army. . Not attacking an enemy's supply ability is stupid tactically. The same goes for America..who do you think build's M1's or F15 Tomcat's or the Supercarriers, Elves?

Total War, Nations that go to war, go to total war...all aspects of the nation and it's civilans go directly to the war effort. That has been the American standard of fighting since the beginning, when we burned down the capitol of Canada in the war of 1812.

You blast every aspect of total war a nation has, you crush thier ability to fight, you destroy thier will to fight, you destroy their capability to fight. You can not hesitate or hold back or it's your civilians that get bombed.

That's a cold harsh reality of war. That's why we should endevor to prevent war from starting, cause once it starts, you don't hold back. There is no second place in war.