Wunder Kraut had a post up the other day about an article that one James Carrol of the Boston Globe wrote on July 5th. Typical damp washcloth stuff, really, tying together how evul Bushy McChimphitler and crew are now with…

I had many, many emotions after reading what Carroll wrote and after I wrote my post. I am reminded of a book I read. It is called Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley. It is about the men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. James Bradley’s father was John Bradley, one of the flag raisers. I is a wonderful book and shows how much of a struggle it was to just survive.

Mr. Carroll wrote that these men are not heroes because they did not take prisoners. Implying that our guys killed surrendering Japanese. True enough, but ever wonder why? James Bradley explains perfectly in a scene in which he is a collage student and he is talking to his dad about how the U.S. was partially to blame for Japans aggression. He laid out the usual Post Modern crap about economic boycotts, steel, fuel, oil etc. At some point his father could stand it no more and burst out that (I could not find the book this AM so I am going on memory) the Japanese sons of bitches had cut off his friends balls and stuffed them down his throat.

Stunned silence.

He was referring to his best buddy who went to the rear for some supplies and was never seen alive again. Apparently John Bradley and others stumbled across his body in a cave. He had been tortured for days and had his genitals cut off and stuffed down his throat.

From what I have read, this was common practice for the Japanese army. If that is how they treated our boys, then I do not blame our guys for not taking prisoners.