Guadalcnal

Donald Yerxa has written an excellent summary of the battle that changed the tide of the war in the Pacific against the Japanese in World War II. (“Guadalcanal” in Books & Culture, January/February 2007, pages 44-46). If you have any interest in military history in general or World War II in particular, you should read this article. Yerxa covers all of the major events in the war in a brief but comprehensive survey that explains the tactical decisions of both sides.

In his conclusion, Yerxa discusses the brutality of the war and looks for an adequate explanation for why American Marines hated the Japanese so much. The most likely explanation, he says, is not racism but the savagery and fanatical disregard for life of the Japanese soldiers who butchered injured Marines, attacked with unprecedented ferocity, and committed suicide rather than be captured. Here is the concluding paragraph from the article:

According to Bergerud, the only explanation for this visceral hatred and lack of restraint on the battlefield is fear mingled with a lust for revenge. Early on, the Marines perceived that the Japanese were uniquely cruel fighters who preferred death to surrender, even when there was no clear military purpose involved. The fate of Goettge's patrol and Ichiki's suicidal attack at the Tenaru confirmed this. Every encounter with the Japanese generated an intense sense of danger and fear. Since the Japanese would do anything to kill Americans, the Marines took no chances. The "savage physical environment" of Guadalcanal only intensified the fear. Visibility was often limited to a few yards in a jungle filled with strange and threatening sounds. Without dismissing the ferocity of American combat practices, Bergerud points the finger at the Japanese military government for indoctrinating soldiers "to find meaning in oblivion, and to accept the frightening idea that spiritual purification comes through purposeful death."


You can read the article at: http://www.ctlibrary.com/40832