Reply #71: The Japanese were noble?

[Brian Sweat]

Within days of the surprise attack (see naked aggression) on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese set their sights on Wake Island. Wake Island was defended by about 500 marines, 1200 civilian construction workers and 12 Wildcat fighter planes. After the first day of bombing, the marines were down to 4 planes, but they fought off two Japanese invasions, sinking numerous Japanese ships and mauling the both landing parties. During the second invasion, CINCPAC cancelled a planned reinforcement mission because it was believed that Wake Island would be over run before the mission arived. Because the reinforcement mission was scrubbed, the commanders on the island realized that they would not be able to hold out much longer. The Japanese had the resources and the manpower to force the issue. So the decided to surrender and here is were the Japanese nobility really shines through.

Initially, all of the american personnel on the island were gathered on the air strip where they were to be executed (mowed down by machine guns), but at the last minute the Japanese commander stopped the execution on orders from the Emperor. Instead, all of the marines and all but 98 of the contruction workers were put on a ship bond for forced labor (POW) camps in China.

On the trip to China, the Japanese officers decided to have a "Samuri Party." Soldiers were brought up from the hold, a bag was tied over their heads and they were decapitated.

90 construction workers were left on Wake Island to build fortifications, because the Japanese believed that the United States would try to retake the island. Instead, the Americans bypassed the island cutting it from resupply, but they constantly bombarded the Japanese installations from sea and air. Near the end of the war, the Japanese became so angry, they executed all 98 contruction workers.

After the war, the Japanese commander was hanged as a war criminal.


Some of the American soldiers captured in the Philipines were used to test the effectiveness of Japanese artillary.

In Korea, women were forced to work in brothels for Japanese soldiers.

The Japanese behaved extremely poorly in WWII and even when it was clear that they were beaten, they refused to surrender. Instead, they fought savagely using suicide tactics in the hopes that the U.S. would sue for peace.

The idea that the Japanese would have surrendered if we had not dropped the bomb is stupid. If they were going to surrender, why didn't they. They did not even surrender after we dropped the first bomb. It was not until we dropped the second bomb that they realized that we were serious. Many more people would have died had we invaded. In particular, many more Americans would have died.

Don't start nuttin'. Won't be nuttin'.