Guam WWII Reparations

Pueo- I was a very little child during WWII, and had no idea of these events. What I would like to know is why did the US let the Japanese off the hook? Anyhow, I certainly think that the people who are still alive deserve reparations for what happened to them.

Phoenix, I wasn't aware of this situation until I moved here. It's a source of frustration for the Chamorro people, especially the elderly. It's interesting though, that a majority of the older people who speak on this subject don't really care about any monetary compensation. What they really want is recognition from the U.S. government.

Pueo
I'm with Phoenix. I'm only 39, so I wasn't around for that war and it's so sad to hear what went on. One of my uncles was is WWII. He was a Canadian fighting with the US and was killed by the US in their so called friendly fire. I have issues with the US that I won't get into here, but Guam among many others should be compinsated for many things.

Aloha gezzy, the term "friendly fire" has to be the most ironic of all oxymorons.

Right on the button Pueo! The term "friendly fire" just makes me cringe!

mistake

something new:

http://www.guampdn.com/news/stories/20030112/opinion/756079.html

Folks dislike the term Friendly Fire, what would you prefer it being called? The result of accident and mistake remains the same no matter what term is used. The term Friendly Fire has been around for a long time and military specialists both in and out of uniform know what is meant by the term.

The battlefield is a dangerous place; always has been, always will be. Often soldiers don't know where they are, much less where their allies are. They are usually frightened with good cause, and that clouds their judgement and ability to rationally work through a problem. Radio reports can be garbled for any number of reasons, and mistakes are made by both the sender and receiver. People take the wrong turn in the road, misjudge distances, fail to look before they leap. Tanks roll over trenches to engage enemy armor and inadvertently crush a soldier. When the bullets fly, they come to earth somewhere. When opposing forces are in close contact it's impossible to tell whose bullet was it that killed any particular soldier.

From the air it is not possible to distinguish one uniform from another. Tanks, trucks and personnel carriers are similar in function and they are often easily confused when seen from a few thousand feet in the air going 800 mph.

Field Grade officers are not much better off. Where is the enemy? Why hasn't a regiment been heard from for the last two hours, two days? Has the enemy gotten on to the flanks, or broken through somewhere? In an effort to avoid casualties units are sent to negotiate terrain that is itself dangerous, and men are lost. They fall climbing mountains, and drown when caught in a rip-tide while carrying heavy loads.

Perception, on another thread at this site provided some revealing statistics of FF incidents compared to deaths from common accidents in the civilian world that is seldom as risky as combat. I'll try to find it and post the link here. The number of Friendly Fire incidents has always been high, and Setanta has given a brief list of examples. The percentage of FF casualties has increased as the military effectiveness and efficiency of the American Way of War has developed. That is because the total number of allied casualties has steadily decreased from enemy fires.

No one likes, or wants Friendly Fire casualties. Calling FF something else wouldn't change a thing, and most likely would confuse efforts to reduce further the incidence of Friendly Fire.

I don't know how to get you over to the thread referenced above. It is in the International News Topic, on pages 37-38 (Jan08,03) of the "The Iraq Questions" thread. There were a number of posts on the subject there and then you might want to review.

aloha asherman,

thanks for your post. i like the way you compose your thoughts and your scope of knowledge. like you, i was also a member of the u.s. military. i know all about "friendly fire" and all the periphrial aspects of it that you described above.

i still believe that friendly fire is an ironic term. is there anything better? probably not. but friendly fire has a very odd flavor to it. you end up wounded or dead in any case, friendly or not.

since as i mentioned i admire your scope of knowledge, do you have anything to add regarding the topic in question. guam and ww11 reparations?

i'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this matter.

Pueo I have heard this story once from my Uncle who fought with the Marines on Guam and then from a friend who lived on Guam with her parents. So sad - war is so sad and I cannot believe we are about to do it again.

Pueo,

As a general rule, I'm against reparations for civilian loss and suffering during times of war. War is destructive by its very nature, and no amount of money paid to those who suffer is likely to be enough to restore what has been lost. Who should pay reparations if they are levied? Presumably those responsible, but that is hard to determine. Few wars are waged without some justification, the calculation that all of the blood, suffering and loss is acceptable/required to meet the nation's goal. The more nearly the nation reckons it's security and survival at risk, generally the more willing it is to take casualties, and inflict death and destruction upon others.

After WWI the allies punished Germany with a huge reparations demand. Those reparations intended to recompense victims (Ha), and prevent Germany from ever waging war again, failed miserably. Reparations were instrumental in causing inflation and destabilizing the German economy, a condition that spread throughout Europe and helped bring the Nazi's to power. This example is extreme, and I don't want to suggest that reparations for the citizens of Guam are likely to cause economic dislocation, or a new world war. LOL.

In fact, I do believe there are some exceptions where reparations may be justified. The best example I have was the imprisonment of American citizens during WWII. In that case the Federal Government seized the property of citizens and imprisoned them solely on account of their ethnic origins. Those acts were, I believe, unconstitutional and illegal. The victims of the illegal acts could be easily identified, their claims of loss documented, and the actual victims were still alive and suffering from the governments intentional illegal acts. Guam may fall within the bounds of what I consider worthy of reparations from the United States Government, on the basis that the Government "promised" reparations at the time it excused the Japanese from liability.

There is a Commission presumably looking into the matter, we should wait to see what they recommend. I expect that the President will follow the recommendation.

thanks asherman for your response,

i'll respond more when i have a little more time.

btw, looked at your art work. very nice. still keeping at it?

Oh, yes. Painting is currently on the backburner, as I focus on writing and other things. However, I need to get back into the studio soon. There are several showings here in the spring, and if I don't get to work soon I won't have much ready. On the other hand, the heater in the studio needs fixing and it's too cold for me. The weatherman tells us that Albuquerque is warmer than usual for this time of year, but we are more used to the endless summer of Southern California.

Reparations

i thought this story interesting but didn't want to start a new thread about it, so here it is.

an article related to the title of this thread here

Sad

a sixty year anniversary massacre

Hey does anyone know what the punishment for the american pilot was in the recent ff Incident. Also friendly fire between ground troops i can understand and even naval but when it happens from an airplane well....thats either pure stupidity or bad equipment.






-Hans