Clint Eastwood attacks Japan war myths

[lovely bones]

Two new movies based on a bloody 1945 battle are stirring up memories and forcing both sides to re-examine their history

Justin McCurry (The Observer) in Tokyo

More than 60 years after it became one of the bloodiest battlefields of the Second World War, Iwo Jima's tragic history retains the power to overwhelm.

As his plane prepared to land on the isolated Japanese island last month, the actor Ken Watanabe found he could not hold back the tears. Accompanying Watanabe, who shot to stardom playing a feudal warlord opposite Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai, was another hard man of Hollywood whose time on Iwo Jima would lead to something of a professional epiphany.

When Clint Eastwood's two films about Iwo Jima, one of the darkest periods of the Pacific War, reach cinemas this year, audiences could be excused for forgetting the man behind them was once the trigger-happy Dirty Harry.

The 75-year-old director has promised Flags Of Our Fathers and Red Sun, Black Sand will attempt to show for the first time the suffering of both sides during 36 days of fighting in early 1945 that turned the island into a flattened wasteland.

On a recent trip to Japan, Eastwood said his time on Iwo Jima had forced him to re-evaluate the one-dimensional portrayal of America's former enemy in so many war films. 'There were good guys on one side. Life isn't like that,' he said.

He describes Red Sun, shot in Japanese and with a largely Japanese cast, as his attempt to understand the country's soldiers. 'I think those soldiers deserve a certain amount of respect,' he said. 'I feel terrible for both sides in that war and in all wars. A lot of innocent people get sacrificed. It's not about winning or losing, but mostly about the interrupted lives of young people. These men deserve to be seen, and heard from.'

Eastwood had to mount a diplomatic offensive before filming could begin. Tokyo's ultra-conservative governor, Shintaro Ishihara, who administers the island, gave Eastwood permission to film only after he agreed he would 'absolutely not' trample on Japanese sensitivities.

Japanese Iwo Jima veterans who met Eastwood say they are confident the films will honour their fallen comrades. 'I asked him to make a human drama, not a war film,' said 83-year-old Kiyoshi Endo, of the Japanese Iwo Jima Veterans' Association. 'I wanted him to show how the soldiers felt when they were fighting and, having read the script, I think he has done that. Who won or lost is not the point.'

The US assault on Iwo Jima began on the morning of 19 February 1945. When fighting ended 36 days later, an estimated 7,000 US troops and more than 21,000 Japanese soldiers were dead. Fewer than 1,000 Japanese survived.

Koji Kitahara, 84, who served aboard a vessel protecting supply ships, said he hoped the film would capture the utter desperation of the Japanese troops. 'I remember countless soldiers in smaller boats coming out to my ship and begging us for food and water,' he said. 'All I could give them were a few cigarettes and some sweet bean jelly I had on me. I was haunted by their appearance and certain that they would die soon.'

While Eastwood promises to avoid the jingoism of John Wayne's 1949 film Sands of Iwo Jima, the first of his two films, Flags Of Our Fathers, promises to be more palatable to American audiences. Based on the 2000 bestselling book of the same name, it focuses on the six US soldiers captured in AP photographer Joe Rosenthal's iconic and controversial photograph, as they raised the Stars and Stripes at the summit of Mt Suribachi.

But if Iwo Jima was one of the US marines' hardest-won victories, it came at a price: nearly a third of all marines killed in the war died on the island.

These days Iwo Jima, 700 miles south of Tokyo, is populated by only a few hundred Japanese soldiers, the families of the dead having successfully lobbied against building on what they regard as sacred ground. For veterans like Kitahara, Red Sun's release in December promises to evoke painful memories. For younger Japanese, it will be their first exposure to one of the bloodiest episodes in their country's modern history.

Just as it was for Watanabe. 'As we went through this film, we realised that until now we haven't really looked at Japan's past. We kind of looked away from it,' he said. 'But we have to look at it and accept the fact that this is what our fathers and grandfathers have done. Accepting the reality is the first step.'


From: The Guardian

[Grimmlok]

Oh lawd, being a WW2 buff I'm totally going to see these. It's about time a more rounded approach was taken in showing the horrors of war. The rah rah good guys, vs. bad guys stuff is tired.

[moomies]

I usually don't like war movies for that reason Grimms, a lot of them seem to just portray some sorta heroic drama by making either side good or bad but the ordinary citizens just suffered the most no matter what.

[lovely bones]

Has anyone seen "We Were Soldiers Once?" I heard it was good, supposedly different from the usual war movie 'oeuvres.

As for civillian attocities in WW2's Pacific theatre - scarred my grandparents/family more than my generation and descendents will ever know.

[ultrafabviolet]

Iwo Jim Memorial

A Veteran's Day story worth reading.

The Boys of Iwo Jima
(From the book: Heart Touchers "Life-Changing Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter © 2004) reprinted by permission of Michael T. Powers.

Each year my video production company is hired to go to Washington, D.C. with the eighth grade class from Clinton, Wisconsin where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.

On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history-that of the six brave men raising the American flag at the top of Mount Surabachi on the Island of Iwo Jima, Japan during WW II. Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, "What's your name and where are you guys from?

I told him that my name was Michael Powers and that we were from Clinton, Wisconsin.

"Hey, I'm a Cheesehead, too! Come gather around Cheeseheads, and I will tell you a story."

James Bradley just happened to be in Washington, D.C. to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good-night to his dad, who had previously passed away, but whose image is part of the statue. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington, D.C. but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night. When all had gathered around he reverently began to speak. Here are his words from that night:

"My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin. My dad is on that statue, and I just wrote a book called Flags of Our Fathers which is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list right now. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me. Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game, a game called "War." But it didn't turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of twenty-one, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out; I say that because there are generals who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen years old.

(He pointed to the statue)

You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken, and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph. A photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for protection, because he was scared. He was eighteen years old. Boys won the battle of Iwo Jima. Boys. Not old men.

The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the "old man" because he was so old. He was already twenty-four. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, "Let's go kill the enemy" or "Let's die for our country." He knew he was talking to little boys. Instead he would say, "You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers."

The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona. Ira Hayes walked off Iwo Jima. He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, "You're a hero." He told reporters, "How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only twenty-seven of us walked off alive?"

So you take your class at school. 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only twenty-seven of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes died dead drunk, face down at the age of thirty-two, ten years after this picture was taken.

The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop, Kentucky, a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70, told me, "Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epson salts. Those cows crapped all night."

Yes, he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of nineteen. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the morning. The neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away.

The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John Bradley from Antigo, Wisconsin, where I was raised. My dad lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Kronkite's producers, or the New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to say, "No, I'm sorry sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back."

My dad never fished or even went to Canada. Usually he was sitting right there at the table eating his Campbell's soup, but we had to tell the press that he was out fishing. He didn't want to talk to the press. You see, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and a monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a caregiver. In Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died, and when boys died in Iwo Jima, they writhed and screamed in pain.

When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said, "I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. DID NOT come back."

So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima, and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time."

Suddenly the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a hero in his own eyes, but a hero nonetheless.

Copyright © 2000 Michael T. Power

SOURCE: http://www.taphilo.com/history/snippets.shtml

VI

[HWBL]

As far as setting history straight> I just hope the Japanese government will someday have the guts to write about the Japanese attrocities in Indonesia in their history books, instead of teaching new generations totally different things about the Japanese crimes there. Speaking as someone who is a descendant of war victims of the Japanese in Indonesia, it's about time they start owning up to their war crimes and start paying damages like the Germans did to their victims.

[Grimmlok]

Actually, the Germans have had about 60 years of guilt and considering 95% of those ALIVE during that time have kicked off, I think the Germans need to be left alone for awhile.

The Japanese, however, should own up. The Allies as well, considering all the horrible firebombing they did that's pretty glossed over.

[Sojiita]

It was pretty horrible all aound..and yes it is about time everyone owned up to what they did(on all sides)..the more this kind of revelation is done, then the more difficult it is to start new heinous atrocity-filled wars. The US, the Russians, the Japanese, The British-all have sins of the Pacific to own up to.

[HWBL]

Originally Posted by Grimmlok

Actually, the Germans have had about 60 years of guilt and considering 95% of those ALIVE during that time have kicked off, I think the Germans need to be left alone for awhile.

The Japanese, however, should own up. The Allies as well, considering all the horrible firebombing they did that's pretty glossed over.

That's what I said> the Germans have, by consecutive governments, paid war debts and compensation to victims of their past regime's crimes. Japan has yet to do so to that extend. Many of their victims have already perished, but the next generation (like myself) have had their share of suffering due to all kinds of syndroms that our parents suffered from as a result from what the Japs put them through. The Germans have owned up to their crimes, the Japanese haven't.

[Grimmlok]

And really, do we need another holocaust memorial? Yes, millions of people died, there are tons of memorials already.

How about some momuments to MOVING FORWARD in the spirit of partnership, forgiveness and pride?

[AliceInWonderland]

The japanese also raped and ravaged China as well; those stories are sickeing, I mean how do you rape a person to death?!

[Sojiita]

Originally Posted by AliceInWonderland

The japanese also raped and ravaged China as well; those stories are sickeing, I mean how do you rape a person to death?!

Totally agree..how can there be real healing between Japan and China(nanking); Indonesia(as has already been mentioned); The Phillipines(Battle for Manila and the atrocities committed then-over 100,000 civilians dead, many murdered outright)..not to mention Korea(occupation)..when Japan refuses to admit and acknowledge what happened and teaches it's young that these crimes never happened?..I have to say the Japanese are the least apologetic and actually have the most for which to apologize.

*A person is raped to death when they are violently and brutally serially gang-raped repeatedly to the point where they have basically been ripped open and then die from internal hemmorhaging or external bleeding. This also occurred on the Eastern Front and in the balkans with regularity during WW Two.*

[AliceInWonderland]

^ omg that's sickening; a real human being w/ any level of humanity in them could never do that to another person.

[MrsMarsters]

Originally Posted by Grimmlok

And really, do we need another holocaust memorial? Yes, millions of people died, there are tons of memorials already.

How about some momuments to MOVING FORWARD in the spirit of partnership, forgiveness and pride?

Your right..especially about forgiveness..it's an act of compassion, and it should be not necessarily because someone deserves it..but because it's needed..I'd love to hear about a civilian's viewpoint. Instead of the US from THEM bullshit.

[lovely bones]

Originally Posted by MrsMarsters

I'd love to hear about a civilian's viewpoint. Instead of the US from THEM bullshit.

I asked my grandmother this, I asked her if she could ever forgive and move on "in the spirit of partnership, forgiveness and pride."

She shook her head, "Impossible."

My grandmother was a beautiful, loving and generous woman to everyone who knew, rest her soul. But she had her "demons." I thought it was so weird that she was so intolerant and stubborn about this one point until I found out later from other relatives that she and all the other women and girls of her village were rape victims of the Japanese in WW2.

A lot of things clicked for me after that.

To the end of her life she despised ALL Japanese. When her son (my uncle) dated a very nice Japanese girl about whom he was getting serious, she made it clear that she would never give her blessing if they were to marry. (He broke up with the girl)

It's different for those of us who were born later, much later - perspective changes when you're generations removed. We have the luxury (or "gift") of being forgiving and wanting to move forward, but there is the memory of those who were victims, who may be still alive but most are dying now of old age, etc.

I think we need to be empathetic or even tolerant of those who have a strong view and WANT a memorial. They usually have their reasons.