Why was Imperial Japan so cruel?

University of Washington, Seattle Professor Daniel Chirot explores in an October 27, 2020 lecture, the Ideologies of Racial Superiority and Purity: Why Did Germany and Japan Engage in Such Extreme Mass Murder During World War II?

Although there were differences between Germany’s effort to wipe out Jews (and others) and Japan’s massacres (death through work and human experimentation) there was a common ideological basis for these outrages. What lay behind Nazi ideology and Japan’s aggressive militarism, and why were they so vicious? A comparison helps put what happened in perspective and shows why we cannot exclude the possibility that something like this could happen again.

Among the common traits between Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan were a deep sense of racial and ideological superiority. The difference was that the Germans were ideologically genocidal whereas the Japanese were negligently so. The Germans wanted to eliminate certain peoples while the Japanese were simply indifferent to the welfare of their subjugated and enslaved.

Gold Star Families Remembrance Week

This week, September 20th – 26th, is Gold Star Families Remembrance Week, which honors the families of fallen service members and recognizes the sacrifices made by the family members of veterans who died in the line of duty.

The first tanker to die in WWII was a son of African American Kentucky sharecroppers. Pvt. Robert Brooks of the 192nd Tank Battalion was killed by a Japanese bomb on December 8, 1941 at Clark Field.

Cleveland Wright (b. 1931, d. 1992), U.S. Air Force,

“We Regret To Inform You,” 1979. Oil on Canvas.

Collection of the National Veterans Art Museum.

All rights reserved.

Ceremony and Presidential Proclamation for POW/MIA Day

Navy Rear Adm. Darius Banaji, deputy director of the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency, hosts a moving ceremony on POW/MIA Recognition Day at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Sept. 18, 2020.

President's Proclamation on National POW/MIA Recognition Day, 2020

  Issued on: September 18, 2020

Throughout our Nation’s history, America’s sons and daughters have heroically safeguarded our precious freedoms and defended the cause of liberty both at home and abroad.  On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we remember the more than 500,000 prisoners of war who have endured incredible suffering and brutality under conditions of extraordinary privation, and the tens of thousands of our patriots who are still missing in action.  Although our Nation will never be able to fully repay our debt to those who have given so much on our behalf, we commemorate their bravery and recommit to working for their long-suffering families who deserve answers and solace for their missing loved ones.

Today, I join a grateful Nation in honoring those POWs who faithfully served through extreme hardship and unimaginable physical and emotional trauma.  Their lives and resilience reflect the best of the American Spirit, and their immeasurable sacrifices have ensured the blessings of freedom for future generations.  On this day, we also reaffirm our unceasing global efforts to obtain the fullest possible accounting of our MIA personnel.  The search, recovery, and repatriation of MIA remains help bring closure to families bearing the burden of the unresolved fate of their loved ones.  That is why in 2018, I worked to secure the historic repatriation of remains from North Korea, and why we are continually working to bring more home from around the world.  My Administration will never waver in fulfilling our country’s obligation to leave no service member behind.

This year, as we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and reflect upon both the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War and the 45th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, we pause to recognize the men and women who were held as POWs or deemed MIA in these conflicts against repressive ideologies.  These service members and civilians, many from the Greatest Generation, deserve a special place of honor in the hearts of all Americans because of their selfless devotion, unflinching courage, and unsurpassed dedication to our cherished American values.

On September 18, 2020, our Nation’s citizens will look to the iconic black and white flag as a powerful reminder of the service of America’s POWs and service members who have gone MIA.  This flag, especially when flying high above our military installations abroad, conveys the powerful message of American devotion to the cause of human liberty and our commitment to never forget the brave Americans lost defending that liberty.  On this National POW/MIA Recognition Day, our Nation takes a special moment to pay tribute to those who endured the horrors of enemy captivity and those lost in service to our country.  Our Nation will continue to be resolute in our relentless pursuit of those remains of service members who have yet to return home from war and our steadfast promise to their families that their loved ones will never be forgotten.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 18, 2020, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day.  Together with the people of the United States, I salute all American POWs who, in the presence of great dangers and uncertainties, valiantly honored their duty to this great country.  Let this day also serve as a reminder for our Nation to strengthen our resolve to account for those who are still missing and provide their families long-sought answers.  I call upon Federal, State, and local government officials and private organizations to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth.

Remembering the men of Maywood and all the POWs of Japan

IN HONOR OF 

MAYWOOD BATAAN DAY AND NATIONAL POW/MIA 

RECOGNITION DAY

Extension of Remarks

HON. DANNY K. DAVIS 

of Illinois 

in the House of Representatives 

Wednesday, September 16, 2020 

Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, today I rise to tell my colleagues during this week that ends with National POW/MIA Recognition Day about my district's 78-year old Maywood Bataan Memorial Day tradition. This service honors the men from the village of Maywood, Illinois who became prisoners of war after fighting from December 7, 1941 to April 9, 1942 against invading Imperial Japanese forces in the Philippines. 

The men of Maywood were members of Company B of the federated Illinois National Guard 33rd Tank Company, 33rd Infantry Division based at the town's Armory.  On November 25, 1940, they became part of the 192nd Tank Battalion of the U.S. Army. In October 1941, 89 men from Company ``B'' left the United States for the Philippine Islands. They arrived in the Philippine Islands on November 20, 1941--Thanksgiving Day. On December 8, the war started and the Japanese attacked. 

These Illinois tankers fought valiantly on the Bataan Peninsula with little food, medicine, fuel, or ammunition. Relief from the United States never came. Malaria, scurvy, and dysentery reached epidemic proportions. On April 9, 1942, Bataan was surrendered. The following day, some 85,000 American and Filipino soldiers, as Japanese captives, all became victims of the greatest atrocity of the Pacific War: the Bataan Death March. A seemingly endless line of sick and starving men began their 85 mile trip up from the tip of Bataan to Camp O'Donnell in central Luzon. More than 12,000 died en route. 

Survivors of the March endured three and a half years of death camps, brutal labor, and untold abuse. Many were taken to Japan aboard hell ships to be slave laborers for Japanese companies. Of the more than 10,000 Americans taken prisoner on Bataan, between 6,000 and 7,000 died. Of the 89 men of Company ``B'' who left the U.S. in 1941, only 43 would return from the war. 

This is the first year that the Memorial, which was scheduled for September 13, has had to be postponed. I ask my fellow representatives to join me in commending the hard work and dedication of Maywood Bataan Day Organization President Col. Richard A. McMahon, Jr. and his Board of Directors. And on this Friday, September 18, National POW/MlA Recognition Day may we all pause to remember the men and women of Bataan who gave so much in the fight against tyranny.

For more information about the tankers on Bataan see The Bataan Project.

POW/MIA FLAG IS MIA

 

September 18, 2020, 11:00 am

Today is National POW/MIA Recognition Day. By law, 36 U.S. Code § 902, the POW/MIA Flag is to be displayed whenever the American flag is displayed on prominent Federal properties, such as the White House, to honor the more than 82,000 Americans who are listed as Prisoners of War (POW), Missing in Action (MIA), or otherwise unaccounted for from our nation's past wars and conflicts.

Display of the POW/MIA flag pursuant to this law must be "in a manner designed to ensure visibility to the public."

From August 1998 until June 2020, the POW/MIA flag has been displayed every day atop the White House. It is the only place on the White House grounds that is continually visible to the public. The flag was removed sometime in June 2020. White House spokesman Judd Deere told Reuters, “The president selected a site on the Southwest corner of the South Lawn for this prominent and sacred memorial, which is visible to all those who visit the White House, that features the POW/MIA flag.” This is not what the law implies. It must be visible to all.

On November 7, 2019, President Donald Trump signed into law a refinement to the 1998 law regarding the POW/MIA flag. This change required that the flag be continually flown on designated federal properties, such as the White House. S. 693, the “National POW/MIA Flag Act was introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren and cosponsored by Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), John Thune (R-SD), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Pat Toomey (R-PA). 

Prior to the signing of the Act, the POW/MIA flag was required only to be displayed by the Federal government on certain prominent federal properties only six days per year to include Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and Veterans Day.

POW/MIA FLAG IS MISSING FROM THE WHITE HOUSE TODAY

IN VIOLATION OF US LAW

Events of interest this week to the POW of Japan Community

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH is National POW/MIA Recognition Day
You can get this year's poster here free

There are still 47,177 missing from the War in the Pacific

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH is Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Dedication

The Memorial, commissioned by Congress in 1999, honors the legacy of the World War II Supreme Allied Commander and nation's 34th President.
Eisenhower served as MacArthur's assistant in Washington and his advisor in the Philippines in the 1930s.
See here for more details

C-Span interview with Susan Eisenhower about her new book about her grandfather, How Ike Led.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 is The Bataan Death March and The Sack of Cement Cross Seminar
The National Prisoner of War Museum at the Andersonville National Historic Site in Georgia is hosting a virtual event about the historic cross at Camp O'Donnell. The cross is exhibited at the Museum. 
PANEL MEMBERS
Gia Wagner, Superintendent, National Prisoner of War Museum
Randy Olson (Moderator), Filmmaker, son of Col. John Olson
Chris Schaefer, Filmmaker/Historian
Fred Baldassarre, Historian
Dan Crowley, 98 yr old veteran of Bataan, former P.O.W.
John Eakin, Specialist, Identification of MIA/KIA remains
REGISTER HERE
WATCH AN OLSON VIDEO ABOUT CAMP O'DONNELL HERE ON FACEBOOK

FRIDAY-SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18-19  is the HOME ALIVE IN ‘45: PIVOTAL DECISIONS TO END THE WAR SYMPOSIUM
The Admiral Nimitz Foundation and National Museum of the Pacific War in Texas holds its 33rd Annual Symposium virtually. This year – the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII – the focus is on the strategies, events and impacts of the end of WWII in the Pacific. See and hear five experts in their fields speak and take your questions, a lively roundtable discussion with all five speakers, and stimulating breakouts that connect the dots between WWII and today's concerns.
Book discounts and an auction.

SPEAKERS

Marc Gallicchio - Unconditional Surrender: An Introduction to the End of WWII
Richard B. Frank – Downfall: The Stark Realities of the Atomic Bomb
Craig Symonds - The Legacy of Admiral Nimitz in Today’s Japan
Noriko Kawamura - A Conflicted Man: Emperor Hirohito and the End of the War with the United States
James Hornfischer - Revelation and Reckoning: Total War in the Pacific 1944-1945
Plus 3 concurrent breakouts:
Race in the Military Then and Now, led by Lt. General Vincent Stewart, USMC (Ret.)
The Pandemic—In Search of an Answer, led by Rob Havers, Ph.D.
The Evolving Roles of Women in the Military led by Major General Angela Salinas (Ret.)

REGISTER HERE 

EVENT ABOUT CAMP O'DONNELL

On Thursday, September 17 from 7:00-8:30pm (EDT), a day before the upcoming annual National POW/MIA Recognition Day. The National Prisoner of War Museum at Andersonville National Historic Site in Georgia is hosting a virtual event about 

The Bataan Death March 

and 

The Sack of Cement Cross 

This cross was made by POWs in memory of the 1,547 who died at Camp O’Donnell. The cross is exhibited at the National POW Museum. 

PANEL MEMBERS

Gia Wagner, Superintendent, National Prisoner of War Museum

Randy Olson (Moderator), Filmmaker, son of Col. John Olson

Chris Schaefer, Filmmaker/Historian

Fred Baldassarre, Historian

Dan Crowley, 98 yr old veteran of Bataan, former POW

John Eakin, Specialist, Identification of MIA/KIA remains

REGISTER HERE