Comments on: Letters from Iwo Jima, Blog Thoughts from Me http://www.bkdunn.com/blog/2007/05/letters-from-iwo-jima-comments-from-me/ Striving to better, oft we mar what's well. Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:09:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: bkdunn http://www.bkdunn.com/blog/2007/05/letters-from-iwo-jima-comments-from-me/comment-page-1/#comment-203 bkdunn Sun, 24 Jun 2007 05:03:51 +0000 http://bkdunn.com/blog/?p=30#comment-203 Sounds cool -- I'll have to check that one out once I get over my ethnocentricity problem. Or sooner. It's amazing to compare casualty numbers for any of the Pacific battles -- it becomes readily apparent that being involved on the Japanese side in any capacity was suicide. Engagements with 10-to-1 (or worse) fatality ratios were pretty common, not to mention all the death by starvation, disease, and dysentery suffered by Japanese forces. It's easy to mock the Japanese for believing that their "superior fighting spirit" would carry the day when, clearly, it couldn't. But gosh -- their leadership just loved death and didn't seem to care much who did the dying. Tojo = jackass. Sounds cool — I’ll have to check that one out once I get over my ethnocentricity problem. Or sooner. It’s amazing to compare casualty numbers for any of the Pacific battles — it becomes readily apparent that being involved on the Japanese side in any capacity was suicide. Engagements with 10-to-1 (or worse) fatality ratios were pretty common, not to mention all the death by starvation, disease, and dysentery suffered by Japanese forces. It’s easy to mock the Japanese for believing that their “superior fighting spirit” would carry the day when, clearly, it couldn’t. But gosh — their leadership just loved death and didn’t seem to care much who did the dying.

Tojo = jackass.

]]> By: Rahul Kanakia http://www.bkdunn.com/blog/2007/05/letters-from-iwo-jima-comments-from-me/comment-page-1/#comment-201 Rahul Kanakia Sun, 24 Jun 2007 02:20:05 +0000 http://bkdunn.com/blog/?p=30#comment-201 Because it seems vaguely relevant, I'm going to mention a book I read awhile back called The Divine Wind by Rikihei Inoguchi, Tadashi Nakajima, and Roger Pineau. It's an account of the origin and development of kamikaze tactics during World War II. It's written by someone from the Naval Institute in collaboration with two Japanese military officers (including one who was a part of one of the squadrons, though clearly not a successful part). It definitely adds a bit of story to this part of World War II. Furthermore, it definitely puts you in the mindset of those pilots. Considering where Japan's air force was at that time (around 1944, most pilots sent on an attack could expect not to return, making every mission a suicide mission). It's told mostly through first-hand accounts and interviews with participants in these squadrons (again, these were mostly volunteers who were left over when the war ended / all the planes broke down). Because it seems vaguely relevant, I’m going to mention a book I read awhile back called The Divine Wind by Rikihei Inoguchi, Tadashi Nakajima, and Roger Pineau. It’s an account of the origin and development of kamikaze tactics during World War II. It’s written by someone from the Naval Institute in collaboration with two Japanese military officers (including one who was a part of one of the squadrons, though clearly not a successful part).

It definitely adds a bit of story to this part of World War II. Furthermore, it definitely puts you in the mindset of those pilots. Considering where Japan’s air force was at that time (around 1944, most pilots sent on an attack could expect not to return, making every mission a suicide mission). It’s told mostly through first-hand accounts and interviews with participants in these squadrons (again, these were mostly volunteers who were left over when the war ended / all the planes broke down).

]]> By: bkdunn http://www.bkdunn.com/blog/2007/05/letters-from-iwo-jima-comments-from-me/comment-page-1/#comment-144 bkdunn Sun, 27 May 2007 18:00:16 +0000 http://bkdunn.com/blog/?p=30#comment-144 Oh, and also, can we *stop* de-saturating the color in WWII films? It makes them look like they're taking place in an old-time fantasy world. When, in fact, the situations being shown were very real. From my reading, I'm understanding that combatants' senses are considerably heightened before/during/after battle. It seems like the appropriate thing to do, if anything, would be to *saturate* the color. *Plus*, I mean, for someone like me, the closest I can get to seeing WWII first-hand like it really might have been is through film. It doesn't help me get any sort of idea about what it was like when the colors are all washed out. And why hasn't smell-o-vision caught on yet?! Oh, and also, can we *stop* de-saturating the color in WWII films? It makes them look like they’re taking place in an old-time fantasy world. When, in fact, the situations being shown were very real. From my reading, I’m understanding that combatants’ senses are considerably heightened before/during/after battle. It seems like the appropriate thing to do, if anything, would be to *saturate* the color.

*Plus*, I mean, for someone like me, the closest I can get to seeing WWII first-hand like it really might have been is through film. It doesn’t help me get any sort of idea about what it was like when the colors are all washed out. And why hasn’t smell-o-vision caught on yet?!

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