As most of you know I spent 6 years in the Marines. Three and half years of that time was spent in Okinawa. Eighteen months later I found myself in Guam, then Saipan, and eventually back in Japan. I've been to many of the battle fields, the suicide cliffs, etc... Awful places, places where as you stand there a sense of despair eats at your soul.
If you've ever visited the Arizona memorial you have probably experienced similar feelings. I've visited both Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the anniversaries of the bombings. While hitchhiking from Hiroshima to Nagasaki I was picked up by a Japanese family who brought me from just outside of Hiroshima to Kita Kyushuu. When we arrived in Kita KyuShu they offered to put me up for the night. That night after dinner I was speaking with the grandfather who told me he had lived in the USA as a child. His parents were missionaries in California in the late 1930's and early 1940's. As WWII broke out his family was interned at Tule Lake. Tule Lake was no picnic but it wasn't horrible. He said they were usually treated well and always had adequate supplies including food. It was still a prison camp and they had few liberties and would have rather not been there, but overall it was bearable and they were safe. Soon after the war was over they were released and returned to Japan soon as soon as possible. Upon their return to Japan they saw the horror of life in Japan. After all we had fire bombed 117 cities. We had nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan was in shambles. Most everything was either rationed or not available including food. Everything had been taken by the military for the war effort. He told me of several family members who had been killed during the allied bombings. And of others who starved to death. He then said he hated being interned in Tule Lake while he was there. It was only upon his return to Japan that he realized how lucky he had been to have been in the US and to have been interned rather than to experience the war in Japan. I am not saying that interning the Japanese was the right thing to do. I am just sharing a story that provided a different perspective than I had ever been exposed to. He took a positive look at everything, even being imprisoned. Confidentiality Notice: This message including any attachments is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and delete any copies of this message. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Discover CFTicket - The leading ColdFusion Help Desk and Trouble Ticket application http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=48 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:169183 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
