observer Posted November 17, 2009 Report Share Posted November 17, 2009 Watched two films (back to back), produced and diredted by Clint Eastwood: "Flags of our fathers" from the US perspective and "Letter from Iwo Jima" from the Jap perspective. The former dealt with the story of the Marines who were photagraphed raising the US flag on Mount Surabachi - making the point that the press and the public create "heros" out of some need; the guys actually involved fight, not for King and Country, but for each other in whatever hell hole they're sent to. The Jap film examined the conflict between the brainwashing culture of "bushido" and the unatural desire to "die" for the Emperor and the inate human desire to survive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Posted December 1, 2009 Report Share Posted December 1, 2009 I saw both of these films and respected Eastwood's efforts. My wife's favorite uncle died on Iwo Jima (a Japanese officer) so it was a bit more personal than usual. She has a photo of him in uniform and sword, young and brave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted December 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2009 According to the film, there was a stash of letters home found in a cave, hence the film's title - perhaps there was one from her Uncle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 Yes, that's possible. I don't know what year those letters were found but in any case they wouldn't have gotten to her. She was living in Kyushu countryside to escape Tokyo bombing. She maintained connections with her ancestral hometown and registered our son's birth with their ministry -- I suppose in case he might choose to live in Japan. Some years ago I read a story in The New Yorker about caches of letters from German soldiers at Stalingrad -- they had been buried en masse by bulldozers and after 50 years the rains uncovered a lot of bodies and mail boxes. They got delivered!!! Many German families heard from their fathers, brothers or uncles 50 years later!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted December 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 Likewise, I think the letters were discovered some time after the war. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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