Okinawa 75 years ago
By PFC. WILLIAMS LAND | STARS AND STRIPES May 22, 1945
Stars and Stripes presents these archive reports as they were written by the reporters in the field. The graphic and politically incorrect language used may be offensive to some readers.
Editor’s Note: A fortnight ago Bill Land, one of our battlefront reporters, learned that he was a father. Back to us by radio came this story of Oki’s orphans. Unable to go home to see his own daughter in Baton Rouge, La., Bill let himself go on Oki’s orphans – being left to die by the Sons of Heaven. But the GIs wouldn’t let the kids die…
OKINAWA – Here’s a story you could call “The Children’s Hour.” Ever since I got that radio about my new baby daughter I’ve had in mind writing a children’s story, especially since the material is so plentiful.
It is said that there are more children on Okinawa than there are goats, and, brother, that is some statement.
Very rarely does one see a woman who isn’t carrying either a born or unborn child around and most of the time it’s both.
For doughboys and leathernecks, the care of children started on the first day of the invasion, and from the way it keeps on, it looks as though “the Children’s Hour on Okinawa” will outlast Lillian Hellman’s play on Broadway.
Military government has even set up an orphanage, probably the first the island has seen.
“Since the natives showed interest only their own babies, we had to do something to care for children whose parents were killed or missing,” said Army Capt. W. W. McAllister of Iowa City, Ia., the officer in charge.
Nipples are made from surgical gloves and the orphans seem to take kindly to their new diet of canned milk through a glove.
In another part of the island, Chief Pharmacist’s Mate Hugh Bell of Iberia, La., found himself playing the role of a mother when his outfit, a Marine reconnaissance unit, was scouting for suspected enemy installations and suddenly came upon a whole colony of natives hiding in a cave. Most of them were starving and sick and 35 children required immediate medical attention.
Bell, being the only “doctor in the house,” had all of them on his hands. For 24 hours he treated them, giving them plenty of food and feeding them canned milk while his buddies drank their coffee black.
“The kids thought I had used magic to fix them up,” he said, “and followed me around whenever I went. The headman of the group of cave dwellers told the unit command later that Bell was called “Mother” whenever they referred to him.
It is not at all a strange sight to see kids running around in cut-off GI woolen underwear or rompers made of fatigues, but Sally’s diapers made of green camouflage cloth really take the cake. Sally’s one of the orphans.
Sitting on the hard coral rock playing with the ration can, it looks as if she selected a soft tuft of grass to place her little behind on.
Pfc. John J. Stroke of Olmsted Falls, Ore., found her. She’s a two-year-old girl, and Stroke supervised her bath and sprinkled her with anti-vermin powder. Then, with the help of marine fatigues, a jungle knife and couple of pins, he went into the diaper business.
With most able-bodied Japs in the Imperial army or navy there seems a definite shortage of obstetricians among civilians and therefore many deliveries have to be performed by American soldiers and medics.
Relating his first attendance at childbirth here, First Class Pharmacist’s Mate Richard P. Scheid of Napoleon, O., warned, “I knock down anybody who calls me a mid-wife.”
As in the play, “The Children’s Hour,” and everywhere else, for that matter, there are good little children and naughty ones.
The other day, Sgt. Elvis Lane, marine combat correspondent from Louisville, Ky., ran across a couple of them who didn’t want to take to the American way of life at first. Dressed in a ragged Jap soldiers’ suits, they kept hoping to fight the “American devils” who were soon to be blasted by superior Japanese power.
That night, enemy units attacked the camp in which the two boys were staying and the air was filled with screams of the Jap wounded, the rat-tat-tat of machine gun fire and explosions of hand grenades. When morning came, the boys stared in horror at the Jap bodies and one of them said:
“Jap is a big liar. I think my brother and I want to be like our father – farmers.”
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.
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Current News –
Live missile found at Lakeland, Florida airport.
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Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Lucy Amat – Providence, RI; US Army WAC, WWII
Michael Burke – Montreal, CAN; RC Air Force, WWII, radar mechanic, attached to RAF 106th Squadron
Richard Gentz – Jackson, MI; US Navy, Admiral (Ret. 33 y.), pilot, Naval Academy grad ’57
Warren “Bud” Henke – South Bend, IN; US Army, WWII, ETO, 2 Silver Stars, Bronze Star
Harold Mendes – Cleveland, OH; US Army Air Corps, Japanese Occupation, 11th Airborne Division
Bryan Mount – Parawan, UT; US Army, Iraq & Syria, Calvary scout/gunner, Sgt. KIA
John E. Norman – Powell, TN; US Army, Vietnam, 101st Airborne Division
Patrick Tadina – Fayetteville, NC; US Army, Vietnam, CSgt. Major, 2 Silver Stars
Floyd Welch – Burlington, CT; US Navy, WWII, PTO, USS Maryland, Pearl Harbor survivor
Henry Zajac – Elyria, OH; US Merchant Marines, WWII, Merchant Marine Academy graduate
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Posted on August 20, 2020, in Current News, Post WWII, Uncategorized, WWII and tagged 1940's, Army, family history, History, Medic, Medical Corps, Military, Okinawa, Pacific, veterans, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 144 Comments.
Reblogged this on Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News.
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Thank you, Ned.
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The remark about the multitude of Japanese baby’s and children during the war reminded me of a current story I just heard the other day. They said marriages and births have really fallen off in recent years in Japan. That the Japanese just aren’t having babies. But then that’s like a lot of developed nations I suppose.
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So that leaves 3rd world countries mainly in South America and Africa, eh?
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I recall reading this story somewhere before gp, great to read it again and it still gets me thinking to the brainwashing that teaches two little boys to pretend to be 18 and 20, cheers.
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The signs of a desperate nation, eh? Germany did the same with the children.
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Toch geweldig dat die GI al gedaan hebben wat ze konden om de kinderen te helpen., Fantastisch.Bedankkt voor al diegene die hun lot hebben proberen te verbeteren
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Zeer gewaardeerd.
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I never knew about all of the civilian natives with so many children. I am sure that caring for those kids as tough as it was, was a nice break from the horror of combat. The American soldier, a kind soul.
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In every war, orphans are created, but wherever the American G.I. is, you can be sure they are helping to care for them. Thank you for visiting!
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An excellent post, GP, showing a different aspect of the war. The men did what they could for those orphaned children.
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In any war, in any generation, the children melt the hearts of our military. I’m always proud of them for that.
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This is wonderful!
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Thank you.
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Sir kindly read my article as I am a beginner and I am seeking guidance so that I can improve 🙏
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I am certainly not a professional writer or critic. You might want to ask an author for assistance, just as I do.
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Thank you 🙏
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Thanks for your like of my post, ” End Times 21, Revelation 12:7-17, War In Heaven-War On Earth;” you are very kind. Please keep up your own good articles.
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👍
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Thank you very much. I always look forward to reading your posts.
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Truly heartwarming, GP.
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Thank you, Anna, I appreciate that.
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Another excellent post showing a different side of the war. If only all history writing was as good as this.
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We wouldn’t be having wars if they were all like this, eh? Thank you for the compliment!
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That is true. 🙂
It’s well deserved – always something new, and usually something obscure.
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There are millions of stories, wish these blogs were larger! haha
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It must be hard work just finding the stories.
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When I’m looking for something in particular, it seems I run into a lot of brick walls, but as a whole I have more than I could ever put in here.
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Research is a talent in itself, just like the writing. It’s often undervalued by people who chatter away about handbags and cocktails (and in my case, the evils of the modern world). 🙂
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Don’t sell yourself short. You also have done posts on gardening, the benefits of having your own garden and coins. BTW, have you happened to come across any information on the British Trade Dollar minted in 1911? My father gave me one that is in a ring to be used to wear around the neck. He said he won it off a pilot in a card game during the Japanese Occupation.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_dollar
This should explain it. They often come with “chop marks” which were marks struck into them by Chinese merchants. We don’t actually see many of them in the UK as they were used in the east.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chop_marks_on_coins
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Thank you very much.
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No problem – an interesting souvenir.
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I like it. It’s quite unique, especially here.
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I kept looking for something ‘offensive,’ but never found it. It took the comment section to clear that up for me. I smiled at the reference to milk through a glove — that’s a very old, and very familiar procedure. I suspect a few of those farm boys knew about it, too. Even calves profit from that sort of technique!
One of the things that stories like this make clear is that even guys who might not have been experienced as midwives or child carers found ways to dig deep, and help. It’s just wonderful.
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Thank you for that, Linda. You are right, and I hadn’t thought about it, farm boys would have known to use a glove!! I have always found that generation to be quite innovative.
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I really enjoyed this post, GP. Our soldiers were always ready to take on whatever needs to be done. I think humanity is what separated us from our enemy.
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The enemy not only had us to contend with, but their own superiors. I’ve often wondered what would have become of so many of them if not for the cruelty of their own superior officers and government.
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Good point, GP. I remember my uncle telling me about similar ways, after he returned from Vietnam. That whole culture is (and was) hard for us to understand.
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👍
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Thanks for a wonderful and moving story…
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Some war stories can be downright pleasant to read!
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Its so sad to think of the deception by the Japanese that they spread to their own people including Okinawans
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They still held out the hope of stopping the Allies from advancing onto the mainland. Desperate people often use desperate measures.
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Yeah. My wife’s grandpa had a brother that was in Okinawa and he was skilled In many Asian languages and they had him shout into caves trying to convince the civilians not to kill themselves or fight the Americans and from all the relatives I know it was a horrific time for him in his life. Good post brother
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I can only imagine what your wife’s grandpa experienced. The lower ranking military were as controlled and brain-washed as the civilians back home.
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Crazy…
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A particularly sad situation because of the huge number of civilian casualties. The Japanese military as good as ordered them to kill themselves, terrorizing them with tales of alleged American atrocities. Some were given two hand grenades and told to throw one at GIs and then blow themselves up with the other. Others jumped off cliffs en masse, despite GIs trying to stop them. Revisionist “historians” are now casting doubt on this and removing it from textbooks.
Only one WAC in the tributes this week. Lucy Amat was 96.
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People are trying too hard to erase history these days rather than learn from it.
I appreciate your interest here on each post, at least my readers add to the history rather than try to delete it!! 👍🆒
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This is the side of WWII my dad saw. After the battles were fought and won, having to deal with the aftermath of human suffering.
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I would imagine that that can often be the worst part.
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It was what prompted my dad to become a priest.
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Understood. My father had a hair trigger before the war, and came out able to defuse any argument.
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GP, this post brings the era to life. Wow, you continue to bring to light aspects of that time that I never considered. This is delightful. Hugs on the wing.
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Thank you very much, Teagan.
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Growing up on Okinawa, 3-5th grade in the mid-50s, I knew and played with some of these children. They came on base with their parents to tend rice paddies or care for family burial crypts, large concrete or stone structures. One irony, which I didn’t think about until later, is that we played soldier—running about, shooting one another, judging who could die most realistically. Kids, huh!
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Kids – totally oblivious, eh?!! Thanks for bringing us your story.
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Reblogged this on depolreablesunite.
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Thank you for reblogging, Rick.
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A great story
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Thank you.
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My father had a book I read as a youngster, 100 Best True Stories of World War II. I think there was a story about a native in Okinawa who suffered from Elephantitus of the testicles. The GI’s fashioned him a wheelbarrow to carry his testicles around in. Surely I didn’t just create that in my head.
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I really don’t know. I’ve tried to locate such an article, but I have not located anything as yet.
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I think your comment about wanting to feel ‘human’ again hits the nail on the head. Decent American soldiers probably had to do things in combat that made them feel not so decent. Last year, I detoured from Tokyo to spend a couple of days on Okinawa with my nephew who had been there for almost three years with the Marines. Looking at modern Naha and the now peaceful sites of some of the fighting, it is hard to imagine the carnage of the battle. This is a great tribute to the kindness of US soldiers under difficult circumstances. Wonderful post as always GP.
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Thank you very much, John.
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Reblogged this on Wilhem Arrows.
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Thank you, Wil.
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I left a comment and it disappeared???
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It’s strange, sometimes the comment will remain visible and just say, “Awaiting moderation” and other times it disappears until I approve it.
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Okay, good!
HA! I thought I forgot to hit “send”…which I might do have chattering on for so long! 😉 😀
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No problem. 😉
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You know this has me crying.
That in war time, AND in times of peace, our troops have reached out to help others…especially children…does not surprise me and it makes me so proud of them…I’m encouraged that there are more good people in the world than we realize. 🙂
My oldest brother tells stories of how they helped children in Vietnam.
Excellent post, GP! 🙂
HUGS!!! 🙂
PS…”Yes, sir, I heard everything” made me laugh! 😀
I once heard Terry Schappert (on Hollywood Weapons TV show) say, “When I was in the Army I often said, ‘I should have paid more attention in school.'” 🙂
Among other important positions, Terry was, also, a Special Forces Medical Sergeant AND a Combat Medic serving in several wars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Schappert
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I’m so glad you get something from these posts!! That wiki page on Terry is very interesting and a great contribution to the post. (he sure has been a busy guy!!)
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A most excellent post, what a great bunch of guys.
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Thank you for saying so.
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My father was in Okinawa 75 years ago. How times moves ever forward.
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Even during this virus, I find time slipping faster and faster!
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You are so right! Living every precious moment! Love stopping by for a visit!
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That does make me very happy! Thank you for saying so.
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There are way too many parallels to our current times and situation here. I don’t even want to get started on that. Suffice it to say even in the most dire situations it brings out the good from the most unsuspecting people. And this should give us hope.
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I think for men who saw death day in and day out, children represented a new beginning.
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Great look at those Americans, GP. That was the spirit of that generation.
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It was – too bad it has to be written in the past tense.
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I agree.
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So true, GP! But maybe it can in a good way inspiring some for the future. Michael
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I certainly hope so, Michael. Thank you for the encouragement.
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Always a great pleasure putting important things forward. Enjoy your weekend, GP! Hope you will have a lot of sun. Just had heared from the UK, they will use sun lamps instead.
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Thanks, Michael. I hope yours is clear and sunny as well. By Monday we should have some rain from the 3 tropical storms headed our way. We’ll see.
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Thank you GP! Here its wonderful. First time ever 36 degrees C, and i got pretanned the last weeks. Looking a little bit like from Tunesia. 🙂 (Most of the other here more like a sheet of white paper. Lol
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It’s great to hear wonderful stories like this. But American troops always show compassion in the midst of chaos. It makes you believe in the goodness of the human race with a very rare exception.
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They are amazing people and wish more respected them for being that way.
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And there’s still people out there who insist all we know as soldiers to do, is to kill others. Obviously they’ve never looked much further than the ends of their noses.
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People use what they want to make their point. Truth is rarely seen these days (IMO).
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Those Marines played many roles in the war zone it would seem. Thanks for sharing their Children’s Hour as I’m sure they made a big difference in the lives of many little ones.
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Those little ones are now old and the younger generations appear to have forgotten. Perhaps something will change their minds.
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There were a lot of innocent, ordinary people who suffered as a result of the war. It’s nice to know that we can and do show our more humane side now and again.
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During war back then, war pretty much meant ‘anything goes,’ the goal was to win. Today there are so many rules, no final ending ever comes to fruition.(hence the 19 year wars). I really don’t know what the answer is.
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So good to see the humanity in the soldiers caring for the children of their ‘enemies’. And such a contrast with the treatment handed out to Chinese children during the Japanese occupation of that country.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I think because Westerners think of children as a new beginning. It is different for some in the East back in those days.
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That was a lovely post. Westerners fight so many wars, but so many of them are capable of treating the enemy in a decent fashion once the bullets stop flying, especially where children are concerned.
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Children and animals bring the best in people, I feel; especially after seeing what so-called adults could do to each other during the war.
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Didn’t know that about all the kids. Very interesting.
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Sad, but true. I suppose any war leaves it share of orphans.
Stay safe, Jacqui.
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Another example of how American soldiers are some of the best people on earth. My favorite quote was when the guy said, “I knock down anybody who calls me a mid-wife.”
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Just doing his job, eh? Those medics were certainly all-round innovators in keeping people alive!
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Yes sir, you’ve got that right.
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Such amazing and sensitive generosity after what they had all been through
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Isn’t that wonderful? It’s stories like this that give us faith in humanity, I believe.
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Indeed.
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There is nothing offensive in the report if one reads it with an understanding of a soldier’s mindset during the invasion in 1945. The spirit of the report was positive providing food and assistance to the people in dire need.
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Thank you, Peter. For many, saying Jap, was merely an abbreviation and not a slur also.
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Well you already know this, but for Japanese Americans, that abbreviation was used later in such a derogatory way, it’s still triggering although I get the context here, the spirit of it all. It’s just most slangs start off innocuous such “nips” for Nippon (Japan), but end up being used in a derogatory way… even mundane foods like rice even became negative (sorry for the tangent).
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I can understand that. Even for my father though, the word ‘nips’ was already a derogatory term. Therefore I have never used that one. My father and I have had nothing but the highest regard for Japanese-Americans, so if you ever catch me saying something wrong, please bring it to my attention, Greg.
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I love your posts, and you cover aspects of Japanese and Japanese American history that many outlets can’t even close to covering. Also, I only went on a tangent because others might not know the history, but you’ve been so on point with every one of your articles which is why your blog is one of the only ones I actually read, plus I love the stuff you cover. Keep up the great work, and I highly doubt I’ll ever have to bring anything to your attention.
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I thank you for saying so, but I have been known to messin’ up every now and then. 😏 Is there anything in particular you might like?
Do you happen to know Koji Kanemoto? He had relatives on both sides of the Pacific and he covers that on his blog.
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What an amazing story and tribute to our American troops. Saving all those babies and people with their humanity. What a wonderful story about what America service men and women stand for and the kindness they are made of and how they showed their love. Thank you GP for this. Love, hugs and blessings to you and all your loved ones. Joni ❤️💕
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Thank you, Joni.
I hope you and yours stay safe through all this.
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You are so welcome, it was my pleasure my friend. Great piece. Love 💕 Joni
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Reblogged this on Janet's Thread 2.
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Thank you, Janet!
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Reblogged this on John Cowgill's Literature Site.
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Thank you, John.
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You are very welcome.
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Great post.👌
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Thank you very much.
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I always love to hear stories about soldiers caring for children in need
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Isn’t it remarkable? War, combat and death surrounded them for so long and the first chance they got – they took care of the helpless.
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In my opinion, only good upbringing and good commanders could create an atmosphere for compassion
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A good point, Maria.
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Wonderful story. The US Military still makes orphanages a priority. Almost every Navy cruise book includes pictures of at least one orphanage visit, particularly at Christmas. When I was deployed to Hungary, the base chaplain requested that anyone returning to the United States please leave their sheets for beds at the orphanage he had adopted. I left mine. Father Mulcahey in M*A*S*H got it right when it came to portraying how our troops bond with the local kids.
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That is news that always great to hear!!
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Oh, that Okinawa story is so compelling.
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I am so happy you liked it, Joy. That means a lot to me.
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Dang it , GP. You made me tear up again. I love these stories. I’ve seen the photo of the old woman and the medic and it never fails to stir my emotions. I can only imagine her initial fear and the trembling until she realized the medic didn’t want to kill her but only wanted to help her and the others. People have long memories and those memories are carried further and deeper in some cultures than others. I never had a bad experience when I was stationed in either Okinawa or Japan. I always felt they remembered how we treated them after the war after they expected a completely different result. That memory carried to the present and made me feel welcome everywhere I went out in town.
Great post!
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You have no idea how happy your comment of your own personal experience has made me, Will. I appreciate you taking the time to bring it to us!!
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You’re welcome! I’m glad to bring my perspective, GP.
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👍
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It’s amazing that they could find such tender human feelings in a war zone. For the two responses to the “enemy”‘ to coexist makes me very proud of these soldiers.
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After all the war they did see, perhaps they needed to feel ‘human’ again.
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Good point.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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