Oral History Interviews with John Plath Green, 1974 Page: 44
[1] 173, [130] p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Green
44Marcello:
Green:I think it's important that we get this in the record
because to some extent it's going to determine, I
think, the plans that were taken a little bit later
on when you actually went into Japan. Certainly it
colored your attitude tremendously.
Oh, yes, yes. Actually in combat, in contact with
them, on their infiltration to us, they trained
themselves, they disciplined themselves, and actually
they had been taught that if they were to die for
their country, they would be in the Japanese equivalent
of heaven from there on after, but that anybody who
surrendered, any Japanese soldier that surrendered, by
his own people was considered dead and don't come home.
You're gone. So they were fanatics in the sense that
they would not let you get hold of them. We had to
send our soldiers out to capture some of these people
and not kill them. For their own self-protection,
they'd rather kill them. But we needed to get as
much information because once you caught a Japanese
and brought him in and kept him alive, he would just
talk. He was never taught to give only his name,
rank and serial number. He was never taught that
because he was not to be captured. So why train them?
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Marcello, Ronald E. & Green, John Plath. Oral History Interviews with John Plath Green, 1974, book, {1976-02-06,1976-03-01}; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1944578/m1/45/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Oral History Program.