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  bushlover at 05:23 PM JST - 11th September

  I wonder what they got from their government upon repatriation to the US. This seems a little late in petitioning the Government for compensation. Should have thought of that 50 years ago.

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  Molenir at 05:34 PM JST - 11th September

  This whole thing is such a joke. Come on, more then 60 years later, they're asking for compensation. At this point, they should all be on pensions anyway. Do they really need the money?

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  Everton2 at 08:24 PM JST - 11th September

  Molenir: They probably would need the money now more than ever

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  KitsuneYoukai at 10:01 PM JST - 11th September

  Why not, if they did their service for their country (US) then they should be compensated. It's a small price for what they went through.

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  usaexpat at 11:43 PM JST - 11th September

  They are seeking compensation form the US government but I can't see how being a prisoner of war would entitle them to more than someone who wasn't captured. I agree that all vets should get better pensions and healthcare and the like but I just can't accept that this group is somehow seperate and distint because they were POWs.

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  usaexpat at 11:46 PM JST - 11th September

  timtak: good post there is certainly enough blame to go around. I still accept that bombing Pearl started the US involvement in the war (therfore Japan started the war). My Japnese friends point out the embargo as justification as well and I always tell them that whatever their oppinion it was the worst tactical mistake the Japanese could have made.

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  SwiftBoatVet at 11:51 PM JST - 11th September

  Give these guys some bucks for their golden years. They suffered, so we can have our freedoms now. Could we be on this message board if WWII was not won by the allies?

  These survivors should have some compensation/reward for their suffering and maybe make their blife a little easier in old age. Their allies have mostly received from their governments.

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  rjdsr at 01:18 AM JST - 12th September

  Japan has already settled WW2 issues via treaties.
  Those who committed these crimes are dead. Stop blaming ghosts.

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  rjdsr at 01:21 AM JST - 12th September

  Molenir,

  Do they really need the money?

  Seen the US economy lately? Not all have pensions. Not all have military medical care. They need the money because the US wrote off Japan's reparations.

  We can only hope for peace, by hoping that they die off soon and shut up.

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  tigermoth at 04:33 AM JST - 12th September

  It's true that this article was about the U.S. paying out money for POW's held by the Japanese, but it's funny how every time the war is mentioned on here you folks start crying about the poor people of Hiroshima/Nagasaki and how the U.S. started the war with it's embargo. What a bunch of bull; if you think an embargo rationalizes all out warfare - and not just against the US - then I would conclude that sixty years on you think too much like the Japanese warloards of the day.

  Despite the Japanese trying to sugar-coat their participation in the war and their subsequent sub-human brutality, it can't be white-washed away. The reason it's still such a topic of passion is because the sheer brutality and savagery of the Germans and the Japanese - two races that were supposedly civilized and thinking societies - goes so far beyond human comprehension that it strains the mind. And you can't push it away by blaming the U.S. and playing the 'A-bomb card'. You can argue until your blue in the face about the morality of the atomic bombing of Japan. In truth, if you knew anything abou it NEOJamal and others, you'd know that conventional bombing was killing far more civilians and destroying the infastructure of Japan. As crazy as it sounds, given the Japanese government's relunctance to surrender more people would likely have been killed by conventional bombing if the war hadn't ended, including those who died later of radiation.

  But aside from that, the A-bomb does not excuse or eradicate the fact that the Japanese soldier - who by definition should have been a fair representative of the typical Japanese people - was one of the most brutal and sadistic killing machines in the ugly anals of warfare. They treated prisoners worse than animals, starving and killing them at will. Read the accounts of guards driving up and down the line during the Bataan death march, bashing the heads of U.S. GI's with golf clubs or simply cutting their heads off, bayoneting those who fell, etc. Read about the experiments they conducted. Look at the numbers who survived that hell.

  That's why some on here might suggest that it should be Japan paying reparation instead of the U.S. Government. Rather than accusing the States or crying about the bomb, you should be hanging your collective heads in national shame still - even after all this time. Particularly considering your government's shameful way of denying it all.

  Oh, but I forgot, we Americans are the evil ones. What's that expression about stones and glass houses?

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  Zurg at 06:13 AM JST - 12th September

  Enough is enough ....it’s water under the bridge ...Forgiveness is fertile ...Let the dead bury the dead ...Hatred grows weary ...All you need is love ...Make love not HATRED ...Resentment has a neverending dragon tail ...Give it up .......ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

  With all of the Japanese young killing themselves, Japan is suffering a great deal having to deal with their internal problems. We, as Americans do not have to impose any more selfish ideas as it is. ....... Let it go. It is already in the history books. They are forever branded. As for the US, they should let it go !!

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  tigermoth at 12:17 AM JST - 13th September

  Truth hurts doesn't it zurg. Sure we should 'let it go' in a sense. It's not the fault of today's youth by any means. Of course, if you were one of their prisoners it might be a bit more tough to 'let it go'. A government/nation that tries to simply pretend it never happened seems frightful to me; where's the lessons of history? It does have a nasty habit of repeating itself.

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  adaydream at 01:10 AM JST - 13th September

  This country and this administration have treated the military with lies and refusals.

  There are the Former Gulf War POWs tortured by Iraqis.

  http://www.interventionmag.com/cms/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=554

  There was the Bonus Army of WWI

  http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm203.html

  We as a nation we have used them, abused them, talked down at them in peace time and given them missions that sometimes seem impossible and still our military has performed to expectations not appreaiated sometimes.

  We need to properly compensate our soldiers who have protected us in the past. These soldiers who fought in WWII were actually fighting for our freedom versus the soldiers in Iraq who were sent into a war for a president looking for a legacy. < :-)

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  Zurg at 01:50 AM JST - 13th September

  tigermouth at 12:17 AM JST - 13th September

  Truth hurts doesn't it zurg. It does have a nasty habit of repeating itself. 55555555555555555555555555555...

  I understand the 'truth' on both sides. I have a Japanese wife as well as many friends and family from Japan. I just see it as things beyond OUR control and should just ' LET IT GO!!!' If it were money you are supporting then I would call that you are supporting 'BLOOD MONEY'. If you don't mind having that on your hands, so be it. It is a responsibility that would defiantly shake you in YOUR BOOTS. Be careful how you bark. You are barking too loud for a little puppy.

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  adaydream at 02:07 AM JST - 13th September

  Thank you Zurg.

  Have a good day. < :-)

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