Originally Posted By Mr X I happened to hijack a thread by DavewasBaloo (a VERY interesting thread on Alton Towers, if anyone is interested)... But in any case I figured it was time to move that particular conversation over here, so I'll paste in what I wrote and I hope Dave will paste in what he wrote as well if he wants to (I won't paste without permission, of course). Here's what I wrote... (I had a) FASCINATING conversation with my Father in Law, who was in grade school during the occupation and talked about life in Japan, the Macarthur occupation and his supremacy over the Emperor in those days, and his views on current U.S. occupations...most fascinating to hear from someone who truly lived that history! And then Dave wrote some very interesting stuff, and I replied with... .this kind of history is FASCINATING to me, it's funny I was so uninterested in it as a student. (although if I were to walk into a University classroom these days, I'd probably do nothing more than piss off the teacher lol). On a side note, I did try to illicit some info on Allied atrocities post war from my FiL, but he wasn't biting...he seemed quite impressed with MacArthur, almost to a "cult of personality" level. I've read that kind of stuff in books, but never before did I talk to someone growing up around it! So anyway, this is sort of the "who has lived through history?" topic... I feel as though we've seen some incredible recent history, with so many friends and loved ones caught up in the wars in the Middle East, and I've had some conversations with elder family members (one who was in the thick of the battle of the bulge, which he talked about but I was too young and stupid to pay much attention to!)... Stories, please!
Originally Posted By Mr X I happened to hijack a thread by DavewasBaloo (a VERY interesting thread on Alton Towers, if anyone is interested)... But in any case I figured it was time to move that particular conversation over here, so I'll paste in what I wrote and I hope Dave will paste in what he wrote as well if he wants to (I won't paste without permission, of course). Here's what I wrote... (I had a) FASCINATING conversation with my Father in Law, who was in grade school during the occupation and talked about life in Japan, the Macarthur occupation and his supremacy over the Emperor in those days, and his views on current U.S. occupations...most fascinating to hear from someone who truly lived that history! And then Dave wrote some very interesting stuff, and I replied with... .this kind of history is FASCINATING to me, it's funny I was so uninterested in it as a student. (although if I were to walk into a University classroom these days, I'd probably do nothing more than piss off the teacher lol). On a side note, I did try to illicit some info on Allied atrocities post war from my FiL, but he wasn't biting...he seemed quite impressed with MacArthur, almost to a "cult of personality" level. I've read that kind of stuff in books, but never before did I talk to someone growing up around it! So anyway, this is sort of the "who has lived through history?" topic... I feel as though we've seen some incredible recent history, with so many friends and loved ones caught up in the wars in the Middle East, and I've had some conversations with elder family members (one who was in the thick of the battle of the bulge, which he talked about but I was too young and stupid to pay much attention to!)... Stories, please!
Originally Posted By Mr X This doesn't have to be a "war stories" topic either, any sort of historical accounts will do (preferably the really old stuff that we're always in danger of losing touch with)...
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Ooops, I posted another thread, but this one opens it better, let's keep the discussion going in this thread.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo This is a spin off conversation from another thread we are trying not to hijack too much. Mr x was sharing some tid bits of a conversation with a Japanese man who shared his experiences of War Time Japan, the American occupation post war and views on current US foreign policy. I then shared snippets of conversations with a Luftwaffe Officer I knew who described what it was like to bomb the UK, why he joined (poverty and he wanted to get girls - sounds like a lot of US G.I.s huh?), and what Germany was like during the post war years including the American attrocities that are rarely written about. This is a thread to share the unusual comments or any others (like the most resonating thing I heard from an Auschwitz survivor was how difficult it was having a period with no feminine hygene products and how some women in trying to get clean, it would cost them their lives. also I would be happy to share the UK experiences shared with me, and why I think the US still really does not understand what war was about, at least maybe until 9/11.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Here is what was written in the Alton Towers thread: Sounds like a facinating conversation, I would love to hear more. Just like when I sat with my German exchange friend's grandfather and we discussed his time as an officer in the Luftwaffe, why he joined (poverty and prestige), his views on bombinb Coventry and his views on the final solution and on US foreign policy. It was facinating (especially when he discussed the atrocities of the allied forces in Germany in 1946). Gives you a whole new perspective on history, media, jingoism etc.
Originally Posted By Mr X Looks like we're both of the same mindset tonight Dave! I'm looking forward to some very interesting insights on this stuff from many WE posters!
Originally Posted By fkurucz My FIL fought on the German side of the war. He says that they had been pretty much brainwashed into signing up, which he did, even lying about his age. He fought on the Russian front and was wounded. From what he told us the Americans were magnanimous victors, and that he went out of his way to surrender to US forces. He never spoke about what he saw on the Russian front, and I can only imagine the horrors he witnessed and possibly participated in.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***From what he told us the Americans were magnanimous victors, and that he went out of his way to surrender to US forces*** Given the way they treated their own citizens (subjects is more appropriate, really), that's no surprise at all. I do recall talking to another Japanese elder back in the day, and he mentioned that they were very taken aback and surprised to find themselves relatively well treated (this is debatable though, bad things certainly DID happen although it seems that MacArthur tried to avoid the worst of it which was a smart move on his part as was keeping the Emperor on the throne, or at least I think that was smart but I'd love to see some alternate Universes on this one!). In short, they fully expected to be enslaved and/or killed after the surrender. The reason they thought so, was because that's how THEIR government did business (ask any Chinese or Korean or allied POW about THAT).
Originally Posted By Tiggirl When I was laid off I sarted a blog typing up all the old letters I found that my Grandpa wrote to my Grandma while he was away in Hawaii as a Marine in WWII. They met just a few months before he went off to boot camp and fell in love, wrote all through his time in Hawaii and got married once he got back. I really loved doing it. I plan to update more letters soon once I get a little more free time. But if anyone it interested in that stuff (which I am) its really a great peek into history and a little love story to go along with it. <a href="http://letterstobetty.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">http://letterstobetty.tumblr.com/</a> ~Beth
Originally Posted By fkurucz Hey X, I'm curious as to what its like to be a foreigner in Japan (Especially an American). Do you have a Japanese passport (through your wife?). If you aren't a citizen, what kind of restrictions do you face? Are some jobs off limits to you? DO you have to pay surcharges to attend public universities? And finally, another Japanese cultural question.... When watching anime shows there is a certain "comedic artifact" that I don't fully understand. Namely, its when a large baking pan like object falls on someone's head. What is that supposed to mean? And why is it dropped on their heads? At first I thought it was because they said something stupid, but that doesn't always seem to be the case. And why the pan?
Originally Posted By mawnck >>its when a large baking pan like object falls on someone's head.<< The thing you gotta remember about anime is that it's all based on manga, IE comic books. And a lot of graphic visual humor gets carried over that you wouldn't see in Western stuff. I believe what you're referring to is the Japanese visual equivalent of "being hit in the head by a ton of bricks," IE being shocked or surprised. No more silly than a flock of tiny birds appearing out of nowhere to fly in a circle around the coyote's head. See also: <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HyperspaceMallet" target="_blank">http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmw...ceMallet</a>
Originally Posted By LPFan22 Tiggirl ~ the Letters to Betty blog is amazing! I love stuff like that. Especially when there's a little love story behind it. Wow. Thank you so much for sharing!
Originally Posted By Princessjenn5795 My grandfather flew planes in the Pacific during WW2. A month before he left, he met my grandma. They married three weeks after the day they met at a dance (which made my great grandpa very, very mad) and then he left. 9 months and two weeks after he returned, the first of 6 was born.
Originally Posted By Tiggirl Thanks LPFan! I'm glad you like it. I loved typing them up. I miss my grandparents a lot so it was a nice way to reconnect with them. I just hope I find some time so I can continue! ~Beth
Originally Posted By hopemax Princessjenn, some of the WWII wedding stories are interesting. In June 1944, my Grandma met a young serviceman in NYC, in mid-Aug, they eloped in Maryland. The next week, he boarded his ship, the USS Warrington. The ship sank in a hurricane on Sept 13. The record of their marriage wasn't even filed by the Navy, because the documents were on the ship. She decided not to fight for the death benefit, so it went to his mother. But she did start corresponding with the serviceman's brother who was serving in the Army in the Pacific. He was discharged at the end of Jan 1946, and went to meet the widow of his brother in NYC. On March 17th they were married! And my Grandma moved to a small town in Illinois. My uncle was born on Christmas Eve in 1946. My grandparents went on to have 4 more kids, and were very happy together until my Grandpa died in 1975. But can you imagine!
