Posted on Feb 28, 2023
This Day in History: Two Heroes at Iwo Jima
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Twenty-seven Medals of Honor were awarded at the conclusion of the battle. The fact that Marines were forced to kill the Japanese virtually to the last man is a testament to the iron grip that Japan’s military indoctrination had on its servicemen. Even Kuribayashi refused to surrender in the end, by some accounts preferring to commit seppuku rather than fall into American hands alive. Those few Japanese soldiers who survived were often ostracized at home because of their failure to defend the homeland with their lives.
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MAJ Hugh Blanchard
Madness. The ideology of Bushido led millions of Japanese to death, either in battle or by their own hands via seppuku. I admire many things about Japan and the Japanese but the devotion to the Emperor and their willingness to die rather than surrender troubles me.
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