Was my dad wrong?

[Lydiarose]

My dad fought in the Navy in WWII in the Pacific. He lost a lot of buddies during the war. When my siblings and I were growing up, we were not allowed to buy anything made in Japan (and their products were as ubiquitous then as Chinese products are today). One time, while attending his annual Tin Can Sailors reunion in Seattle, he and a cohort of veterans stepped off the elevator when a group of Japanese visitors got on. Was he wrong? Today he'd be considered a racist or bigot. But given his experience, were his actions excusable?

[Walleye]

1. I've always said that a war is never over until the last man that fought in it has died

[JustAnotherGen]

6. Well said

[ret5hd]

2. Same attitude to Germans?

If not, why not?

[DURHAM D]

4. It is all in the eyes I reckon. nt

[JustAnotherGen]

7. See my post below

I have a distinct memory of an older german woman bending down to to pinch my cheek and saying I was adorable (mixed race little girl whose parents were stationed in Weisbaden in the 70's) and my Papa George - Great Grandfather, French Army Officer WW1 -

Slapping her hand.

He absolutely hated the Germans. Hated them. Didn't like the peace and that's why he immigrated to the USA in the early 1920's.

[underpants]

13. My Pappaw had a German last name

He wasn’t my actual grandfather. He put up with a rash of shit and he fought in WWII. He spent two years recuperating from wounds at the Greenbrier which had become an Army hospital. He was a big Kahuna at the VFW too but people said horrible things to him all the time.

[Lydiarose]

14. He personally fought the Japanese

I guess that made it more emotional for him.

[NewHendoLib]

3. it is all impossibly complicated.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. I don't know

My dad (Officer, Green Beret) had a tremendous amount of respect for the Koreans and Vietnamese.

But - he hated the Russians. HATED them.

My mom's dad (WW2 US Soldier), her mom's dad (my great grandfather - WW 1 french officer) and her step grandfather were absolutely HOSTILE to Germans when visiting us in Weisbaden in the 70's.

I think when I look at the three of them - it's the difference between knowing people LIKE the enemy (Montagnards - as an example - my dad lived with them and trained them) vs living in a trench for a few years, or entering a concentration camp at the end of the War. Or being at the Nuremberg trials as a Military Physician / Witness.

Familiarity does not breed contempt - it allows us to see the enemy as they are.

Funny though - my mom's dad didn't hold that 'hatred' for the Japanese. I think he thought they were noble - and his guilt for the H-Bomb might have been in play there.

[Lydiarose]

25. Your dad's hatred of Russians

Look what's happening TODAY in the Ukraine!!! And what happened with Crimea! Makes you think. Of course, I don't blame the general populace. It's entirely on Putin!

[sarisataka]

8. Some vets have been able

To put their experience behind them and even become close friends with former enemies.

For others their experience was too much and they cannot see some people except as enemies.

I try not to judge them too harshly.

[Chainfire]

24. People are a product of their times. Of course we tend to judge them all

by the standards of today. (which may or may not be the standards of tomorrow) I don't know how that is to be avoided.

A lot of the issue with American Pacific Combat vets and a lasting hate of the Japanese comes from such a vast difference in the two cultures. The Japanese were seen a particularly brutal, by Western standards, of course. In fact, the Japanese were brutal, by our standards, with each other too. Sargents were brutal to corporals, corporals were brutal to privates, Lieutenants were brutal to Sargents, and so forth. In training in particular and in service in general, the Japanese beat the crap out of each other for minor breaches of conduct, or apparently, in some cases just for the hell of it.

Most of the people who had actual combat with the Japanese at least respected their ability as fighters, but they viewed them as treacherous, sneaky, heartless and a little crazy. They did not play the war game by the same rules as Americans. Suicide pilots, suicide charges, mass suicide rather than surrender just shook the American troops to their core. American troops never could wrap their heads around how a man could intentionally kill himself in order to strike the enemy, or to avoid capture. It just didn't grok...

As soon as the war ended and the fighting troops went home, and the occupation troops took over, that attitude changed abruptly. A lot of American post-war troops brought home Japanese wives. The big surprise for the American leaders and troops was how cooperative the defeated Japanese were with the victors. Senior American leadership expected a lot of post-war violence and it never materialized. Almost as soon as the surrender, American troops were safe in the streets of Japan.

[Lydiarose]

26. Interesting take

I did not know that, but it's very interesting as well as seemingly contradictory. And Japan has made no war overtures since then. It's like they're a whole different country today.

[whathehell]

9. Given his experiences,

I'd say he was being human.

[Busterscruggs]

10. I have been known

To steer clear of Maga hats and open carry idiots. Disliking things and people comes in all stripes

[ret5hd]

16. You don't see the difference?

[Busterscruggs]

17. I have stayed far

Away from military service. Being that I have a serious phobia of guns and weapons of any kind, the Maga hats and open carry avoidance is the only life experience that is similar.

[ret5hd]

18. But the diff between what/how a person says, does, acts...

Vs a trait they were born with is so vastly…uhh, man. Take me away Calgon.

[Busterscruggs]

21. I guess

I dont understand what your point is? I've been caught off guard by a gun on a belt so bad before that I hurried out of the store to breath into a bag while sitting on the curb. The lady at goodwill gave me a hug when I came back though which was nice

[ret5hd]

22. And that's the same as being "caught off guard" by someone being Asian?

[stopdiggin]

11. and many who served got over

that bitterness (or at least modulated over time). IMO - perfectly understandable human behavior. (troops have come home from every conflict with some pretty ugly sentiment about their opponent - just no love lost) At the same time ... This is surely something that we do not want to encourage, embrace, or reinforce?

[LakeArenal]

12. War changes who people. Having said that, racism is racism.

Not all abused children grow to be abusers.

Not all military become racists.

[Effete Snob]

15. Yes

My dad had a lot of buddies killed by Germans (and Austrians), and ended up marrying one.

Those people on the elevator had nothing to do with what happened to your father or his friends.

To suggest it is "justified" is also to justify the common... "I was (beat up / robbed / victimized in some way) by a (insert racial, ethnic or religious group), so I don't like them."

[No Vested Interest]

19. There was a lot of anti-German and anti-Japanese propaganda produced during WWII

that I remember and that we sometimes see in a historical context.
In addition to the interring of Japanese-US citizens and taking their property in many cases. they were blatantly referred to as "Japs" in headlines, etc; i.e., the discrimination was approved of and advanced by US government and institutions.
Germans were similarly demeaned. I recall the Disney short comic film, with the song "In the Fuhrer's face." - Funny, and we all laughed.
In WWI, streets with German names were renamed to more Anglo-sounding names or words.

Some of this was harmless and in support of our troops and war effort; some of it had deep problematic effects that have lasted until the present day.

[Kaleva]

20. Some Native Americans today despise whites

Some people hate those who are Christians.

[Chainfire]

23. He is not the only one, for sure.

I had two uncles, both Marines, both seriously wounded, one on Okinawa, the other on Iwo Jima. Until their last breath, they hated anything to do with Japanese people or culture. Interestingly, both also harbored very bad feelings about the American Red Cross who they claimed, that while in long-term recovery in various hospitals, constantly shook them down for goods that were supposed to be free. Stuff like writing paper, cigarettes, treats. Neither of their children were ever allowed to participate in the RC donation drives that were common in the schools in the 50s-70s.

Were these people bigots. No question. As far as my uncles, it wasn't limited to the Japanese either. As far as that went, the whole country used racism as a weapon during the war against the Japanese. Japanese people were often shown as Monkeys, with buck teeth and Coke bottle glasses, on the propaganda posters. What the government did with innocent Japanese American citizens was heartbreaking, and based on race.

We know the National policy was racist, because neither the Germans nor the Italians were not depicted as sub-humans. Of course, they did make a lot of fun of the German leaders, but depicted them as tyrants and idiots instead of inferior human beings.

[DashOneBravo]

27. You have had some good answers

It’s a product of combat. Which I was never in but my dad and a lot of my friends were.

I’m sure there are soldiers of different armies that feel that way about us. It’s their experiences that were up close and it happened to their friends.

One guy interviewed on tv talked about the North Koreans who found his loaded truck full of critically wounded lying in stretchers. They burned the truck with him in it. He escaped in a ditch. He still hates them.

Awful things happened and the Japanese were especially brutal. A Japanese sergeant or officer could beat and execute a Japanese soldier. They despised people who had surrendered. That’s why the treatment prisoners so badly.


My dad hated the North Koreans as well. It mostly stemmed from them recovering dozens of bodies of US troops who had been tied with their hands behind them and it looked like about 40 guys had used them for bayonet practice.

Hope that helps