Remembrance Day
- Thread starter Darts
- Start date
Japanese prisoners of war - few Japanese soldiers were captured alive because of Senjinkun. Apparently, the few who were captured alive were fairly talkative and provided intelligence information.
At the time of Imperial Japan's surrender, Japanese soldiers still occupied huge areas of China, as well as the great port cities of Hong Kong and Singapore. Liberating these areas and cities by force would have caused massive bloodshed if the liberation of Manila by force is an example.
Fortunately, those offshore Japanese soldiers were ordered to surrender peacefully to allied forces. The result was 1.6 million Japanese prisoners of war.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_prisoners_of_war_in_World_War_II
At the time of Imperial Japan's surrender, Japanese soldiers still occupied huge areas of China, as well as the great port cities of Hong Kong and Singapore. Liberating these areas and cities by force would have caused massive bloodshed if the liberation of Manila by force is an example.
Fortunately, those offshore Japanese soldiers were ordered to surrender peacefully to allied forces. The result was 1.6 million Japanese prisoners of war.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_prisoners_of_war_in_World_War_II
The good Nazis. Not all Nazis were brutal murderers. Some saved lives and others refused to lives. Here are 3 examples.
1) Oskar Schindler -- whose good deeds were portrayed in the movie Schindler's List.
2) John Rabe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rabe
3) Klaus Hornig
First Lieutenant Klaus Hornig, of Res.-Pol.-Btl. 306. Hornig, leader of 2nd. Company, in October 1941 received an order to shoot 780 Russian PoWs, all political officers, in a forest near Zámosc, according to the infamous Kommissarbefehl, that ordered all captured political officers of the Red Army to be shot on the spot. Hornig not only refused to carry out that order, but also referred his subordinates to § 47 of German Military Criminal Law - which stated that subordinates, if they knowingly take part in an action that they know to be against the law, are as responsible as the ones ordering it - and incited them to refuse the order as well.
1) Oskar Schindler -- whose good deeds were portrayed in the movie Schindler's List.
2) John Rabe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rabe
3) Klaus Hornig
First Lieutenant Klaus Hornig, of Res.-Pol.-Btl. 306. Hornig, leader of 2nd. Company, in October 1941 received an order to shoot 780 Russian PoWs, all political officers, in a forest near Zámosc, according to the infamous Kommissarbefehl, that ordered all captured political officers of the Red Army to be shot on the spot. Hornig not only refused to carry out that order, but also referred his subordinates to § 47 of German Military Criminal Law - which stated that subordinates, if they knowingly take part in an action that they know to be against the law, are as responsible as the ones ordering it - and incited them to refuse the order as well.
"In the Moro Rebellion, Moro Muslim Juramentados in suicide attacks continued to charge against American soldiers even after being shot. Panglima Hassan in the Hassan uprising was shot dozens of times before he went down. As a result, Americans elected to phase out revolvers with .38 caliber ammunition in favor of Colt .45 revolvers to continue their fight against the Moros.[74]You know the 38 special gun was invented because they needed more stopping power against the Filipino Muslims that drugged themselves out of control before charging?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moro_Rebellion
A tragic but little known Canadian WW2 story was the two regiments that were sent to Hong Kong to shore up the British garrison and were attacked by Japan. They held out for two weeks before surrendering on Dec 25. The Japanese army killed the wounded, raped nurses and sent the rest off to brutal work camps. Some were POWS for almost 4 years! The Canadian and British gov't hushed it up, did not want the bad news to go public. The Japanese did not offer an apology until the 1980's. This is why I wear a Poppy!
You American were only in it for a short stint.This is not to glorify war but to honor all those who served.
One of the least known stories of WW II are the brave and skilled pilots in their P-47 and P-51 who engaged in combat with the ME-262.
"the Messerschmitt Me 262 surpassed the performance of every other World War II fighter. Faster than the North American P-51"
https://airandspace.si.edu/collection.../messerschmitt-me-262-1a-schwalbe-swallow
Respect to you too.
But full props to the Tempest drivers who would really give them a try.
Lew Ayres was an American actor before WW II broke out. He joined the army but refused to carry a firearm and instead volunteer to be an unarmed medic rescuing wounded soldiers while under enemy fire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lew_Ayres
Some of you may have seen the movie about the war experiences of another WW II American army medic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacksaw_Ridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lew_Ayres
Some of you may have seen the movie about the war experiences of another WW II American army medic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacksaw_Ridge
Meanwhile back on the home front, NHL (except the Canadiens) and MLB teams had so many players in the military serving their country that they had to fill their rosters with 15 and 16 year old teenagers.
"the youngest player to ever score a goal in the NHL was the Bruins' Bep Guidolin, who was just 16 years and 350 days old when he scored against the Chicago Blackhawks in 1942"
"On June 10, 1944, 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall becomes the youngest person ever to play Major League Baseball when he pitches in a game for the Cincinnati Reds."
"the youngest player to ever score a goal in the NHL was the Bruins' Bep Guidolin, who was just 16 years and 350 days old when he scored against the Chicago Blackhawks in 1942"
"On June 10, 1944, 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall becomes the youngest person ever to play Major League Baseball when he pitches in a game for the Cincinnati Reds."
The end of WW II saw millions of displaced persons ("DP"). The logical decision was to return them back to their homeland. The most tragic was the repatriation of millions of captured Russian soldiers and civilians.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victims_of_Yalta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victims_of_Yalta
He lied about his age to enlist in the U.S. army and is the most decorated American combat soldier of WW II.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audie_Murphy
I honor the memory of those that were conscripted and fed into the meat grinder. How sad for all those young men, that were forced to face that horror and robbed of their youth,sanity, health and often their lives. Also all the civilains that were thrust into horror.
He stayed at his post to warn an incoming passenger train to stop because of the explosion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Coleman_(train_dispatcher)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Coleman_(train_dispatcher)
The Battle for Berlin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Berlin
"No plans were made by the Western Allies to seize the city by a ground operation.[29] The Supreme Commander [Western] Allied Expeditionary Force, General Eisenhower lost interest in the race to Berlin and saw no further need to suffer casualties by attacking a city that would be in the Soviet sphere of influence after the war,[30] envisioning excessive friendly fire if both.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Berlin
"No plans were made by the Western Allies to seize the city by a ground operation.[29] The Supreme Commander [Western] Allied Expeditionary Force, General Eisenhower lost interest in the race to Berlin and saw no further need to suffer casualties by attacking a city that would be in the Soviet sphere of influence after the war,[30] envisioning excessive friendly fire if both.
In the aftermath of WWII, the racial, religious and cultural make up of Germany, France and other western countries also changed due to the need to rebuild.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastarbeiter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastarbeiter
Some credit for victory in Europe must also go to the "Ghost Army".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Army
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Army
I was not aware of this until yesterday. Canada had an all black volunteer battalion in WW I.
https://globalnews.ca/news/4649762/ago-exhibit-black-soldiers/
https://globalnews.ca/news/4649762/ago-exhibit-black-soldiers/
The amazing stories of the two Johnsons. They engaged in aerial combat with professional seasoned German pilots.
https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/01/world/johnnie-johnson-85-world-war-ii-ace-pilot.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_S._Johnson
https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/01/world/johnnie-johnson-85-world-war-ii-ace-pilot.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_S._Johnson
