Yuck. This was pure propaganda. More BS to make us think that war is a good thing and WW2 was just wonderful. Truth is all wars are profiteer wars meant to enrich the defense contractors and the oil companies and the bankers.
And your post ISN'T propaganda? At least theirs was the sort that boosts morale and allows the viewer to feel a sense of pride in their heritage. Regardless of whether or not the viewer wants to accept it, and knowing the general public these days, they dislike such things.
"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you." -Gandalf
Get a life. It's people like you that are going to bring about the downfall to all freedom loving people of the world. If we turned back the clock 60 years, you would be bowing down to Hitler and his Axis power goons.
I received my History doctorate from Yale last year, and I specialized in East Asian history, and I can assure you America was never in any threat of being taken over by either Japan or Germany. That idea is merely a left over of WWII propaganda. It would do you well to study some history.
Big important person you are? Just a note, your "History doctorate from Yale" doesn't mean squat here, because Yale is a school run by the elites. I'm sure you learnt a "selective history" as well as these goons who love WW2.
"Without mercy, a man is not a human being." Sansho the Bailiff, 1954
"I received my History doctorate from Yale last year, and I specialized in East Asian history, and I can assure you America was never in any threat of being taken over by either Japan or Germany. That idea is merely a left over of WWII propaganda. It would do you well to study some history."
Since when is Hawaii not part of the US. Granted it wasn't a state then and is wasn't attached to the other 48 but it was still American soil. And as I recall Germany declared war on the states not the oppisite. And if Hitler took over Europe it wouldn't be too long before the technology was developed to take over the US. Hitler had a plan for his successor to take over the US by 1980 which was quite plausible considering the technologies available but I didn't go to Yale so I guess my opinion doesn't matter.
60 years after the war,who cares? You Americans are so funny with this kind of threads,they are alway a pleasure to read. btw. Hitler had to declare war against the USA,because of the fact that Germany was allied to the Japanese. But please go on with your read,its a real funny one.
Ah, a PhD in revisionist history from Yale. Great. They may not have been able to "overrun" the US, but think about this country with an Imperial Japan and a Nazi Europe as antagonists.
"I received my History doctorate from Yale last year, and I specialized in East Asian history, and I can assure you America was never in any threat of being taken over by either Japan or Germany. That idea is merely a left over of WWII propaganda. It would do you well to study some history."
So of course it would have been just dandy if we stayed out of WWII altogether.
What are a few million Jewish and Chinese people, to actually getting the US's hands dirty engaging in a war?
re: "I received my History doctorate from Yale last year, and I specialized in East Asian history, and I can assure you America was never in any threat of being taken over by either Japan or Germany."
Japan occupied the Aleutian islands during WWII...you know, those chain of islands off the coast of Alaska. Japan had submarines patrolling off the West coast of the US mainland. If the US hadn't cracked the Japanese code & won at Midway, the US would have been in a world of hurt. You can read the memoirs of people about whom this film was made. The Japanese people they met certainly were of the opinion that Japan was going to take over Washington DC.
The US mainland was never a major target for the Japanese. Had they managed to defeat the US Navy, Japan would have turned its attentions back to the Asian mainland, moving south into Indochina for oil.
Also, the logistics of a mainland US invasion would have been a nightmare. The Japanese would have been limited to small planes. Large bombers would not have worked due to there being no islands near enough the mainland to use as bases. Similarly, the Japanese would not have had anywhere to use as a base of operations unless they managed to get a foothold on the mainland. The US was able to put itself in a position to invade Japan because island hopping allowed the establishment of forward Marine bases and airbases.
Yuck. This was pure propaganda. More BS to make us think that war is a good thing and WW2 was just wonderful. Truth is all wars are profiteer wars meant to enrich the defense contractors and the oil companies and the bankers.
Seeing as the raid actually happened as depicted in the movie, calling it propaganda is wrong.
Technically Japan didn't want to invade or take over the US, they just wanted us out of the way so that they could do what they wanted in Asia. They just thought that we were all fat and lazy and wouldn't fight back. But on the movie, the movie was surprisingly accurate. I'm not saying it's a documentary, but it was very accurate for a Hollywood movie. But it's not propaganda, the Japanese were really that cruel, just do a little research about the Bataan Death March. If anything, the movie toned down Japanese cruelty. Actually Cabanatuan was one of the nicer camps to be sent to. And I'm pretty sure this thread was started by a troll.
The Japanese did take US possessions at the time in Guam,the Phillipines, and Wake Island. They also managed to get a foothold in the Aleutian Islands and had to be kicked out. I would say they were a threat, especially after our Pacific Fleet was decimated at Pearl Harbor. As for the movie it was suprising accurate(Except the love story) for a Hollywood war film.
Because the Americans were stalwart and squared-jawed. The Japanese were wicked, evil and nasty. They died in the hundreds and only two Americans died. Never mind that's how it occurred and that the Imperial Japanese Army could have given the Nazi's a run for their money on ruthlessness against helpless people, any movie that actually depicts cold truths that sometimes America and Americans are in the right must be propaganda. Right?
None of the people thumping their chests and saying how heroic the US was in WW2 were THERE. Just wait, 50 years from now we'll be watching movies about how America liberated Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq from the evil terrorists and dictators. THEN you can talk about whether these types of movies are propaganda or not.
Oh, and I love how the one guy who actually has some qualifications in the period is slammed for giving the facts. Don't know about you, but I'd rather believe the guy with a PhD over the guy whos only qualifications are '20 years of watching US made war movies' or 'I watched Band of Brothers, it's so COOL' or 'once I read a book and it said America is GREAT'.
At least go and read wikipedia or something. Find out why WW2 started in the first place, or why Japan joined the Axis. Don't just blindly believe 'my country is always right'. You can never say that countries act the way they do because they're 'just evil'. That's Hollywood talking. Try and empaphise a little.
Well, let me put it to you this way. I had enough relatives, two grandfathers, a stepfather, a great uncle and several other family friends who were there and listened to their stories. I also interviewed close to a couple of hundred vets from that war as a freelance writer. I'll take the actual experience in combat by people who were there over a guy who was not there with a PhD. I also worked with a lady who's grandfather was murdered during the Bataan Death March and another grandfather was a Phillipino Guerrilla fighting the Japanese. we're not saying our country is always right no matter what, but in this case we were. Or are you one of those idiots who thinks we started the war because we stopped selling Japan scrap metal and oil?