Japan's last imperial soldier dies

[ZroC]

the guy spent 20 years in a jungle yet still lived till 91. Wow.

 

[RoninJin]

And what war crime free country might you hail from sir?

None that would celebrate a war criminal so openly

 

[UpaLoompa]

he was a tough bastard, but i can't help but think he was a total jackass. RIP

I don't think there can be any doubt he's far beyond jackass.

 

[kidnic]

None that would celebrate a war criminal so openly

Oh I see, you're still in the closet...

 

[Uchi Mata]

yea really because the Bataan Death March and the Nanking Massacre are all made up events

Yeah, I agree with this guy. The Japanese were every bit as xenophobic, racist, and brutal as the Nazis, just in a less organized fashion.

 

[ElKarlo]

I know who that is without even looking Hiroo Onega. Guy was a man amounts men. Though Vietnam war military sorties were part of WWII. Fuck....couldn't imagine

 

[Discomushroom]

I'll give him credit for being a tough bastard but like many other posters in this thread, I'm not a fan of the acts that he and his people committed during those years. Unforgivable and a permanent scar for humanity

 

[kidnic]

Until lions have historians, the hunt will always glorify the hunter.

 

[JAEGERX]

Fuck that and fuck him. He probably enslave, torture, raped, and killed a good numbers of people under his control. Giving him credit is like giving credit to a SS solider that just passed away. May he burn in hell

cool story

 

[ElKarlo]

Fuck that and fuck him. He probably enslave, torture, raped, and killed a good numbers of people under his control. Giving him credit is like giving credit to a SS solider that just passed away. May he burn in hell

Not Hiroo. He did kill civilians. Buthe was dumped in the pPhilippines after basic right in time for the invasion. Guy was a bandit at worst

 

[Zankou]

I agree, fuck him. The Japanese welcoming him back with adulation was as if the Germans welcomed a Nazi soldier back who had been cowering in the Balkan mountains for 30 years.

You wouldn't kill the guy if there was no proof of direct involvement in war crimes, but you wouldn't acclaim him either.

Not every Japanese Imperial soldier was a monster, any more than every Nazi soldier was a monster. But this guy was a rabid Imperial Japan believer, and he kept periodically killing the locals over the years while 'hiding,' so in no way was he some innocent victim, or somebody to uphold for his valor.

 

[Henry Swanson]

My grandfather is from Nanking. He was about 9 years old when the massacre took place.

No one in his family was killed but the did end up hauling ass out of there. He told me that the family would often leave the house and night and sleep out in the woods because the Japanese preferred knocking on doors at night.

 

[kidnic]

I'll give him credit for being a tough bastard but like many other posters in this thread, I'm not a fan of the acts that he and his people committed during those years. Unforgivable and a permanent scar for humanity

I'm not a fan of any humans atrocities on one another. No race or country is exempt.

 

[Wrath621]

The WWII Japanese soldiers that should be praised and admired are the Japanese/American soldiers of the 442nd (Purple Heart Battalion) 21 members were awarded the Medal of Honor and eight Presidential Unit Citations while most of their families were in internment camps.

That's my feeling anyways.

 

[ElKarlo]

Thread off to a good start... ^

On topic: Read about this in the news earlier today. Then I read some more in-depth about Onoda and a couple of other japanese soldiers that kept fighting into the 1970's. I just can't bring myself to believe that they actually thought the war wasn't over, and any indications to the contrary was just enemy propaganda. They had to have known. Even the notion that they stayed as isolated from the rest of the world as the stories claim seem a bit far-fetched.

Brutal training and massive indoctrination. These were draftees fighting to the death. That says a lot in how effective the indoctrination was. Had farmers and townsfolk dying in banzai charges rather than surrender.

 

[kidnic]

Brutal training and massive indoctrination. These were draftees fighting to the death. That says a lot in how effective the indoctrination was. Had farmers and townsfolk dying in banzai charges rather than surrender.

Dropping knowledge...

 

[ElKarlo]

yea really because the Bataan Death March and the Nanking Massacre are all made up events

Guy wasn't even in basic when those events happened.stop being ignorant

 

[oswald1]

And what war crime free country might you hail from sir?

Exactly. What a moron

 

[ElKarlo]

Dropping knowledge...

Its what I Do. I drop some serious history bombs from time to time.
But Japanese training was brutal. Guy was fully indoctrinated to follow orders until death. He did what he was told to do. There is non disputing that.

 

[Jolomies]

Without taking sides, I'm impressed most by his dedication. He was given an order and he chose to follow it to the best of his ability.