I abhor violence. So, generally, I avoid violent fictional books and movies. The only exceptions I make are when the stories are non-fiction about the atrocities inflicted by Japanese military.
Nearly a year ago, I read a book called, “By Dammit, We’re Marines!” by Gail Chatfield. To say that brutalities inflicted by Japanese military in their gory details made me sick to my stomach is an understatement. Yet, something about the topic pulls me in to face the truth. The truth that, when told by so many different people, simply cannot be ignored. Here is a list of notes I had jotted down as I was reading it.
- As a child, I saw what no child should have had to witness: repeated violence against my mother by my own father. Many of the WWII veterans were in their late teens/early twenties at the time. They, too, experienced what no human being should have had to experience. In a very sad way, I feel a kinship with these veterans for having been a witness to evil. Being Japanese by birth, it is disconcerting to realize that both of these experiences were due to evil that had permeated throughout Japan at the time.
- I am grateful for WWII veterans of the Allied Forces who helped bring evil to its knees. I knew we all owed our freedom to them. What I did not realize was the extent of the horrendous sacrifices these veterans had endured.
- I knew, obviously, that I was born after the war. What I did not realize was how close the situation was such that I may never have been born.
- The description of the steel-covered bible – neatly fitting the left pocket, shielding the heart of one veteran – was so very moving.
- One theme I noticed throughout the book was that most of those who survived WWII stayed married to the same spouse for a long time.
- Each and every day since I finished reading the book, I have been grateful for things I used to take for granted; e.g., shower whenever I want, clean underwear, clean clothes, and good food.
Ms. Chatfield’s work is of historical significance, capturing the gruesome details of the war as told by those who were at the battle grounds. As was anticipated, this was an extremely difficult book for me to keep reading. Yet, it captivated me till the very end.
Showing mercy to the vanquished was a foreign concept to the Japanese military. Japanese soldiers and civilians were being led to believe by authorities that, if they were to surrender, the “enemy” would rape, torture, and kill them. These predictions, of course, were in line with what the Japanese military did to its enemies and, therefore, very real to the Japanese. No wonder so many soldiers and civilians ended up taking their own lives when the war ended.
In contrast to what the Japanese were being led to believe by their own military, the reality was that the Allied Forces – led by the Americans – brought food, peace, and democracy to post-WWII Japan. This explains why my parents and their generation of Japanese held America to the highest pedestal. This explains why it was important for me to come to America. I wanted to learn to be a good human being by osmosis.
