The Dark Side of War: US Military Behavior Toward Japanese Surrendering Soldiers During World War II
The conduct of the US military during World War II has been widely studied and analyzed, but certain dark aspects of their behavior, especially towards Japanese soldiers who tried to surrender, have garnered renewed attention. This article explores the verified accounts of such behaviors, drawing on historical documents and personal memoirs to provide a comprehensive look at this troubling period.
Understanding the Context
World War II was a time of unparalleled global conflict, and the behaviors of soldiers on all sides were often driven by a combination of fear, frustration, and a distinct racial dehumanization of the enemy. In the Pacific theater, where racial tensions were particularly acute, these factors led to some of the darkest episodes of the war.
Accounts from the Battlefield
One of the most chilling accounts comes from the memoirs of Bill McMurrie, a Marine who fought in the Pacific. In his book Hey Mac, McMurrie recounts an incident where, after being fired upon, his fellow Marines decided not to take any prisoners, believing that the Germans were not to be trusted. Similarly, U.S. Senator Dan Inouye, who fought in the war, recalls shooting a wounded German soldier who tried to surrender, later learning that the soldier had been reaching for a picture of his family. These incidents highlight the distrust and reluctance to take prisoners that permeated the ranks of Allied forces.
For the Japanese, the situation was equally grim. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author Norman Mailer, who served in the 112th Cavalry Regiment, provides a vivid account in his novel The Naked and the Dead. In one scene, a patrol comes upon four Japanese soldiers who were unconscious. The lead man flips pebbles at them, awakening one, who is then shot. Another soldier was left alive, but also met a grim end. Mailer’s firsthand experience and the descriptive detail he provides paint a picture of the brutal and callous behavior towards Japanese soldiers who surrendered.
Charles Lindbergh, a civilian observer during the war, also documented such incidents. In his diary, he writes about facing an unspeakable sight: a Japanese prisoner beaten to death, and mentions the common practice of German and Italian soldiers being treated differently, with a greater willingness to take prisoners in those campaigns.
Race and Dehumanization
A key factor in the behavior of the US military towards Japanese soldiers who surrendered was the deeply entrenched racial dehumanization prevalent during the war. American propaganda and the media reinforced the idea that the Japanese were subhuman, further fueling the racial violence seen among the troops.
Dower’s book War Without Mercy highlights the racial dehumanization of the Japanese, noting that American politicians and the public made a clear distinction between the Japanese and other enemy forces like the Germans and Italians. Cartoon drawings in publications such as Leatherneck and Washington Post further illustrated the dehumanizing images of the Japanese as apes and monkeys.
This dehumanization culminated in genocidal attitudes among both the military and civilians back home. For instance, a public opinion poll indicated that up to 22.7 percent of Americans wished the US had used atomic weapons on Japan more extensively. These attitudes underscore the deep-seated racism and dehumanization that pervaded the war effort and influenced military behavior.
Conclusion
The treatment of Japanese soldiers who tried to surrender by the US military during World War II remains a dark chapter of the war’s history. While these accounts are often attributed to the immediate fear and chaos of battle, they also reflect a broader societal racism and dehumanization of the enemy that pervaded both the battlefield and the home front.