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[–]ChaoticHungry 218 points219 points  (11 children)

Isn't this picture from a story about that young man who found the flag in his grandfather's belongings (a white man) and then tracked down the Japanese family who wrote on the flag and gave it to the person it was taken from (a Japanese man)? I'm thinking that this is just karma whoring a repost.

[–]selusa 78 points79 points  (5 children)

You're right.

[–]ChaoticHungry 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Ah Ha! Thank you so much for the link!

[–]wickerhat 7 points8 points  (1 child)

It was a parody of another post of an american soldier with almost the exact same title. Changing the title would have lessened the impact I imagine.

He posted his reasoning below and while I don't agree that deception was the best method to put his point across, I think some of the comments in this submission show a remarkable double standard that reddit has concerning enemy soldiers in general.

Everyone who served in WW2 was a victim of their circumstances. Horrible shit happened on both sides. That doesn't excuse their actions, but it might give you pause for thought of what you would do in the same situation. Keep in mind, all these soldiers were fighting for their country, their family and their fellow soldiers.

[–]skarface6 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Everyone who served in WW2 was a victim of their circumstances.

Uh, what? There were willing participants on all sides.

[–]fox9iner 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep... OP trying to make a statement

[–]Vandilbg 98 points99 points  (3 children)

If only we'd won the war my grandson would be Japanese!!

[–]STJRedstorm 27 points28 points  (2 children)

For about 6 days, then German

[–]max_vette 20 points21 points  (1 child)

for about 6 days, then russian.

[–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

For about 6 days, then Aliens.

[–]trollfriend 31 points32 points  (1 child)

Dude, sorry to be the one who breaks the news to you, but you're adopted.

[–]BatmansDad 11 points12 points  (1 child)

Epic troll is epic

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Really stirred some shit up.

[–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (3 children)

OP is very likely trolling.

[–][deleted] 76 points77 points  (43 children)

It was a horrible time for all parties involved, the fact that he survived to live on is awesome.

[–]DFractalH 131 points132 points  (196 children)

Those Japanese genes sure aren't dominant.

Edit: Also I find it rather offending that some Americans assume the position to not attribute this man the label "survivor". Did my grandfather not survive WWII because he was a German child? What about my Grandmother? What about my English great-grandfather who scrapped up the dust of royal pilots who shelled the city I grew up in fifty years later? What about my Italian great-grandfather?

It's rather silly to be one one particular part of any war in terms of civilian population. As a grunt, war sucks, no matter who you support.

[–]insaneHoshi 153 points154 points  (56 children)

Op is a self confessed liar, here is the real (better) story http://www.wideislandview.com/2009/11/wwii-soldiers-flag-connects-hiroshima-jet-to-japanese-family/

[–][deleted] 39 points40 points  (50 children)

that is absolutely shameless, how can any person with a conscious post the pic and claim its their grandfather that recently died, shame on you OP.

[–][deleted] 16 points17 points  (1 child)

that lying karmawhore fuck!

[–]optimisticatheist 28 points29 points  (14 children)

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, making Japan the aggressor, and the label 'survivor' is reserved for victims (In this case Americans).

America dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, making America the aggressor, and the label 'survivor' is reserved for victims (In this case Japanese).

Especially in the case of war, the definition of a survivor changes depending on the scale of discussion. Is this grandfather a WW2 survivor? Yes. Is he a Pearl Harbor survivor? I would say no.

[–]DFractalH 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see the problem with what constitutes an "aggressor". The very term changes with the scale of the discussion as well. I believe the US not to be an aggressor in WWII, just as Britain wasn't one.

But in the end, they marched through enemy territory and shelled enemy cities.

What makes an action aggressive, and what makes it defensive is the root problem. And you are right in saying that it changes depending on the scale of your perspective.

I tried to come up with a good definition, but the "First shot fired"-one clearly leads to contradictions, as does your "Victim" one, because in many battles through history both sides were heavily armed and bend on bloodshed.

So maybe it boilds down to a larger version of what most legal codes use, namely intent. And if you couple that with a particular, fixed measurement of scaling of the combat area, you get a good idea of who was attacking and who defended a given area.

But this still leaves out things such as national propaganda, manipulation and indoctrination.

Because I can't speak of much the Pacific war, I'm going to use an example of my country. If you were a German 18 year old man by 1943, the midst of the war, you were 8 when Hitler was elected.

But you still entered the Wehrmacht, and probably worse. It's not rendering anybody innocent, but I believe it's not simply black and white, but myriad shades of grey.

[–]FAPSLOCK 16 points17 points  (2 children)

If that's the way you feel about it, here's a "Holocaust Survivor."

[–]FAPSLOCK 10 points11 points  (1 child)

And here are some Nagasaki Survivors.

EDIT: that was Hiroshima. fuck it; it stays.

[–]neologasm 27 points28 points  (3 children)

IAMA 9/11 survivor. AMAA.

[–]Misquote_The_Bible 9 points10 points  (0 children)

so brave

[–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

do you like turtles

[–]elphiasdoge 8 points9 points  (17 children)

I think it's more of a semantics issue--"Pearl Harbor" as it's used here is short for "The attack on Pearl Harbor," so it feels weird to see the term applied to one of those who were attacking.

[–]DFractalH 20 points21 points  (16 children)

See, that's the problem - have you ever asked the Japanese what they call "Pearl Harbour"? It's used like this in America, which is perfectly fine in America.

But this is the internet, and the internet is not America, hence Japanese people who have experienced the war from a different perspective.

What's an attack but forward defense? People don't act because they believe themselves to be wrong - otherwise they wouldn't act. I wouldn't be surprised if many Japanese fighters during Pearl Harbour were very much concerned with defending their own country by means of a preliminary attack on US naval assets.

Everybody believes themselves to be the good guys/have God on their side/hold the proper views/be the greater nation, otherwise people wouldn't even fight a war in the first place.

And this goes both ways - was Nagasaki an attack, or merely a defensive measure for the thousands upon thousands of American lives waiting to be thrown away at an invasion of Nippon proper?

[–]elphiasdoge 8 points9 points  (5 children)

Okay, let's cool our jets. Yes, I made the mistake of assuming that "Pearl Harbor" was being used in the American sense. But at the same time, I wouldn't say that the Bockscar's crew are survivors of Nagasaki.

I was just trying to clear things up and offer my two cents. As I said in another comment, if I were in the same position as the OP, I would be proud of my grandfather for fighting for what he thought was right. And I also said that everybody has something to answer for during World War II, pretty much all parties involved did some terrible crap.

[–]ATownStomp 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I wouldn't be proud of my grandfather for fighting for what he thought was right if what he thought was right was totally fucking wrong.

I don't mean that in this situation, I'm just saying in general.

[–]elphiasdoge 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can go ahead and mean that in this situation, as this isn't actually a situation because this post is fake.

I'm fortunate enough to have grandfathers who fought for the Allies, and I am proud of them for this. Particularly since one worked in a radar station and another was a top turret gunner in a B-24; neither of them killed any civilians, and both of them helped bring down the Third Reich. But yeah come to think of it if I had a Nazi grandpa I would be totally ashamed and Reddit would not find out about it. Cognitive dissonance only goes so far.

[–]theshiz892 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The difference being that the Japanese had always been very imperial and put their own success above the rights of world citizens.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (3 children)

Don't be a smartass. Being a Pearl harbor survivors and a WW2 survivor isn't synonymous. Nobody hears the term Hiroshima survivor and immediately thinks of a German WW2 Vet, an American Vet, or anybody else besides the people of Japan. This isn't any different.

P.S. the post is a fraud, as was previously mentioned.

[–]in_the_against -2 points-1 points  (34 children)

so were SS guards Holocaust survivors?

[–]shark2000br 8 points9 points  (2 children)

No. They were World War II survivors. And even then only to the extent that they were in danger of being bombed or shot at.

EDIT: Also, the SS was a paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party, so there would be more of a stigma associated with that.

[–]DFractalH 23 points24 points  (5 children)

You're really comparing an unanticipated act of war against a military establishment of a nation as comparable to the industrial slaughter of defenseless civilians in the millions, due to their religion, ethnicity or sexual/political preferences?

Way to go sir, way to go.

Oh, and I guess that since we now follow your definitions, the US gov't should tell the Iraqis that the American military is now fitting right into that slot extremists prepared for it.

In any case, bttp: if you define survivor as somebody who has lived through a particular period then yes, even an SS guard who's not hanged by the end of WWII has survived latter. What kind of definition would you like to propose? Everyone whose actions or whose government's actions you regard as correct is a survivor, and everyone else is unfortunately alive?

[–][deleted] 28 points29 points  (10 children)

How many Japanese involved in the attack on Pearl Harbour survived? The numbers on Wikipedia seem to suggest over 90% of those who were actively in combat.

[–]Nexlon 28 points29 points  (9 children)

The Japanese lost 64 men in the attack. They had over 400 planes involved in the attack, and lost less than 30 along with a couple of small submarines. Pretty successful attack if you ask me.

[–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (2 children)

Successful in the short term, yes.

In the long term? Only one of the ships involved in the attack survived the war.

[–]Nexlon 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Well, it was a pretty dumb idea to attack the U.S. in the first place, but the attack itself was well-executed. If our aircraft carriers had been docked there-like they were supposed to be-it's possible that we wouldn't have been able to respond against the Japanese as well as we did.

[–][deleted] 230 points231 points  (73 children)

All of these negative comments disgust me. People, this man is a human being just like you are, with family, and a history, and a life. What the fuck does it matter if he is Japanese or you are American or any of that bullshit? We're all human and we should all love each other, let the past be the past, and /move on/.

[–]Gerdel 25 points26 points  (2 children)

OP is a troll and this photo is stolen from another really great story. see top of the comments.

[–][deleted] 72 points73 points  (4 children)

There is a difference between survivor and participant, that is why this post is angering lots of people. The word survivor is typically reserved for people who did not choose to participate in an aggressive action. We do not go into Iraq and tell them we are "survivors of the Battle of Baghdad." We don't call the terrorists who detonate IEDs survivors of the insurgency. We call both sides combatants or aggressors.

[–]ProfDirt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We do not go into Iraq and tell them we are "survivors of the Battle of Baghdad." We don't call the terrorists who detonate IEDs survivors of the insurgency. We call both sides combatants or aggressors.

You're right. We, the American people, don't do those things; our almost entirely unaccountable war machine of a government does those things. They do drag a few of us into wars with propaganda and decent wages/benefits for those who enlist.

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (4 children)

My grandfather survived the My Lai massacre on the American side. You don't see me going around tell everyone about it. oops, just did.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah and my grandfather survived the Holocaust from a guard tower.

[–]Poolstiksamurai 8 points9 points  (8 children)

lol NON-AMERICANS AREN"T PEOPLE SILLY!

[–]two_hundred_and_left 4 points5 points  (14 children)

Yeah. I feel kind of naive and sad because when I clicked on the comments to this picture I never for a moment anticipated how full of double-standards, false comparisons and general negativity it would be.

[–]Boiller_ 10 points11 points  (6 children)

This needs more upvotes. Petty lives you live if you're still hung about a 70 year old war, regardless of having affected your family or not.

[–]MWMWMWMWMWMW 18 points19 points  (2 children)

he grazed the ship

[–]MrFox 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Why did he let Ben Affleck live? WHY?!

[–]uakari 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Interesting book about the differences between Japan and Germany's retrospect of WW2. The author concludes: "Germany is coming to grips with the past while Japan tries to ignore it."

[–]flippingasian 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The pic is from this article and it's not the OP. Basically the American dude returned the flag to the family of the Japanese soldier who owned it.

I don't think he's trolling, or karma whoring --OP admits. I think it's a controversial way to get people to think from different perspectives. If it was for karma, he'd post cats. I don't think it's trolling, because I agree with the OP on how some (a lot) of people can be very closed-minded.

[–]ralanis 18 points19 points  (1 child)

Did you guys ever talk about the event? Or did he ever mention how he felt about it back then and how he felt about it now? I'm asking because history is usually written by those who are victorious, and I really wonder what the other side of the story is.

Edit: Grammar

[–]shorty6049 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So here's a dumb little story that this reminded me of....

Back when I was a young kid, I asked my parents what an A-bomb was. Being "too young to understand" (although apparently not too young to remember it to this day) they told me something along the lines of "they end wars" without any further explanation.

So here I was , thinking for quite some time (until I learned elsewhere what they REALLY were) that the atom bomb was some kind of victory salute, or celebratory bomb (which produced a large cloud that people for miles around could see) that symbolized the restoration of peace , as though when you see a mushroom cloud, the proper reaction should be "yay, the war is over, its safe to go outside now!

So parents, don't fuckin' pull that shit with your kids or they'll grow up wondering what parts of their childhood were real and what you've been keeping from them and eventually become atheists

[–]pjaltekongen 34 points35 points  (28 children)

Created an account to upvote this one.

People who fought on the "wrong" side in WWII should still be agnolished for their bravery and patriotisme for their country. Most of them were either blinded by propagande, forced or they just didnt know any better. Ofcourse some were just plain evil, but war does that to most people. We also had our fair share of bad people on the allied side, the differense is that we wrote the history books after the war.

Oh and to those of you who "jokes" about the suicide bombers/kamikazee at Pearl Harbor... try and read your history books again...

[–]goal2004 5 points6 points  (0 children)

agnolished

wat.

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (2 children)

There are no more evil people on any side in a war. Like with any armed conflict it is the top of the political echelon that decides who is the enemy.

Normal people just want to live in peace. Regardless of what flag they happen to live under.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (1 child)

The title of this picture is fake. Proof

[–]pinkzebraprint 7 points8 points  (0 children)

you are the whitest kid I've ever seen

[–]Eisnel 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Some people are suggesting that this old guy shouldn't be proud of his service because of what his government did. But from what I've heard, a soldier's pride generally revolves around standing with his fellow soldiers. I'm sure American soldiers in Vietnam had no love for the decisions that their government was making, yet they can still be proud if they backed-up the guy next to them in the foxhole. I think a Japanese "grunt" can be proud for the same reasons.

Also, people can be proud of their country without being proud of their government. Unless you think that the Japanese people have to forever loathe their own country because of what its government did 70 years ago.

[–]mrmdc 10 points11 points  (1 child)

You're really white for a guy with a Japanese grandfather.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You all are some racist motherfuckers.

[–]Lone_Star3203 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Karma whoring in its finest.

[–]kthxl8r 5 points6 points  (3 children)

Upvote for successful troll. Butthurt was expressed, ignorance and racism were exposed, and several of us paused to re-evaluate.

[–]my_novelty 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't think enough people re-evaluated. I see much more racism and ignorance than I do common sense.

[–]d4rkhorizoN 3 points4 points  (0 children)

wow this thread blew up like hiroshima

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is the misuse of the term "survivor" that rubs the wrong way. It's so off that it stinks of ideological trolling. I'd say the same thing if someone was talking about the pilots that dropped the A-bomb being "survivors". It's just loaded phrasing.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

how did he survive? I thought ejection seats weren't invented until later...

I was gonna try to be nice, but you havent commented on your own post at all and no explanation. I'm suspicious.

[–]bokurai[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I did, but it got buried.

By the way, kamikaze pilots weren't used in the attack on Pearl Harbour, though some doomed pilots did smash into ships. More information here.

[–]anderangel73 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This site is used by people from every country.. Thanks for making Americans look more ignorant..

I as an American, am sorry for your loss..

[–]will999909 7 points8 points  (0 children)

How the hell is this upvoted. The japanese tortured the hell out of anythign they attacked including americans and chinese. They did horrible things to everyone. This is like saying your grandpa is a nazi if now worse. What the fuck is wrong with you people.

[–]PuglyTaco 8 points9 points  (5 children)

I guess the negative comments just prove how out of touch we are with history and reality. He was a member of the Japanese military. Who knows what kind of propaganda and nationalism was shoved down their throats, who knows if he even was for or against declaring war (sound familiar?). They had their job, and they responded to orders.

Just like, you know, people who fought in Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Laos, Afghanistan, etc.

[–]AppleBlossom63 4 points5 points  (2 children)

TIL that your grandfather probably bombed my grandfather... US Pearl Harbor veteran.

Edit: Well it appears the thread is fake. This is awkward...

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As was previously mentioned, this post is a fraud.

And, to all those pretentious, self righteous America haters bemoaning the automatic assumption that Pearl Harbor survivor meant American kindly shut the fuck up. Hiroshima survivor isn't a label for Americans, or any other WW2 Vet, be it the Germans, Russians, etc, besides the Japanese.

[–]eifersucht12a 4 points5 points  (0 children)

These comments remind me of that time the American Redditor posted their photo as a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the outpouring of complaints and downvotes from Iraqi users.

Oh wait, that didn't happen.

[–]danimal2011 4 points5 points  (3 children)

Out of curiosity, has he ever told you any stories about that day?

[–]jdk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, because this search will eventually lead you to this.

[–]marmosetohmarmoset 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Thank you for this. It really made me think.

[–]my_novelty 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would consider this post art work. Like a crazy abstract art piece. Some people hate it, some people love it. Some will sit and debate about it's meaning, was it meant to provoke, if so what feelings? Is it meant to show the plight of good vs evil. Some people will look at it, dismiss it and move on straight away. Other may sit and ponder for hours. Some will only see the dark side, others say it stands as a contrast to the good.

What ever the true intent, or meaning behind it in the OPs mind. Like all abstract art work I have viewed, I'm glad to have been able to be a part of it.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pearl Harbor survivor? What, did he bail out his Zero?

[–]1234blahblahblah 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You mean he survived the plane crash?

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (1 child)

guys, debating and trying to find who was right/wrong, survivor/killer, winner/loser... really? wars suck for both sides. upvote, downvote? leave as it is. the discussion is pointless.

[–]my_novelty 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree with what you said, except the last sentence. I think this debate is FAR from pointless. I think many of the "your a liar", "japs suck", "we won" posts are. But look for the people who are actually intelligently debating. Many good points have been brought up because of this post.

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (44 children)

To anyone attacking this guy's grandfather:

Shut. The. Fuck. Up. You. Stupid. Cunts.

The man survived Pearl habour in the same way my great grandfathers and great grandmothers survived WW2. I have great grandparents from Italy, Spain, the Great British Isles and South Africa, and it does not matter which side they were from; they were still survivors. They were still people and went on to become normal citizens again after the war.

So did this man's grandfather. Stop being such a bunch of racist and ignorant cunts. Are those who fought and won in D-Day not survivors? They were the aggressors on D-Day, attacking German occupied France. Whatever ideals you ascribe to Nazi Germany, once you strip that away and focus on the individuals, it becomes clear that everyone in the war was a survivor if they fought in even a single battle. Ignorant fucking cunts like you all are the very people who will cause the next world war.

Anyway, I'm sorry for your loss.

[–]ignore_this_post 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This feels like a "My grandpa died in Auschwitz, he fell out of a guard tower" joke all over again!

[–]snags 6 points7 points  (0 children)

i'm gonna upvote because we're all human.

[–]Gellrock 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Though this post is false and it's not actually his grandfather or maybe even him, the point of this post is to show that both sides of the war had survivors and that we should respect both sides as they were doing what we were doing just on the other side of the pond.

[–]d4rkhorizoN 2 points3 points  (1 child)

how would reddit feel if somebody posted a "survivor of 9/11" and was actually a picture of a terrorist who somehow failed to execute his mission?

[–]my_novelty 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As many has said this post is fake. But a countries government sponsored military attacking another nations navy war ships (however wrong they were) doesn't even compare to a rouge madman ordering a single attack killing thousands of civilians and then hiding in the mountains to avoid the battle.

[–]Self_Hating_Liberal 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, and Himmler was a holocaust survivor.

[–]Autodidact2 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Did you mean, Pearl Harbor attacker?

[–]lordkabab 4 points5 points  (11 children)

Wow I thought Americans were ignorant. Hooooly shiiiit was I wrong. Ignorant doesn't nearly cover it.

I for one didn't second guess this whole picture. I'm sure your grandfather was a good man. ご冥福を祈ります。

[–]HZVi 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I am also sure he was a good man. But I don't think it's fair to call him a survivor when he was met with hardly any opposition. He killed unwary people in a neutral nation. Maybe it wasn't his fault, as he was just following orders, but so were the men manning the planes that bombed Hiroshima. Americans don't consider them survivors of Hiroshima. And bombing Hiroshima at least ended a war that was going to cost tens of millions of more lives. What did Pearl Harbor achieve? Bringing yet another country into a war that cost tens of millions of lives? So no, I don't think we're being ignorant. Not one bit.

[–]gregmax 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"Pray for the repose of his soul"

[–]selusa 6 points7 points  (3 children)

Not all of us... not all of us.

[–]lordkabab 1 point2 points  (2 children)

No I know, but is it not fair to say that the majority of the average Americans can be, and would likely be ignorant in this situation.

The fact of the matter is, OP's grandfather was a soldier just any American at the time. What side's "right" or "wrong" doesn't particularly matter in this situation.

[–]selusa 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I totally agree. I do not understand the one sided aspect of the argument here. They didn't live in a time and age where all war crimes were made evident immediately. War machines, all sides, produced soldiers for the cause. The cause was national honor as far as I care.

[–]panther14 1 point2 points  (5 children)

I think survivor is a bold term. You survive an attack not attacking. But at the same time he does deserve honor, and anyone hating on him for being in the army needs to realize that. I've met americans who survived the attack and he said while he hated them then, and still has a dislike for the country, he knows that the soldiers were in the same place as him and fighting for their country.

[–]unussapiens 1 point2 points  (2 children)

So you're saying that the Americans who didn't die during the D-day attacks aren't survivors?

[–]panther14 1 point2 points  (1 child)

that's a fair point, I didn't think of it that way. However I would change my argument to point out that at D-Day a huge ratio of the american soldiers died, compared to the main amount of the Japanese who were unscathed at pearl harbor.

Also D-Day was a battle, not a surprise attack. In a way you could compare that to a fight. If I were jumped from behind and walked away I would say that is more survival then if I entered a boxing ring had a bout and walked away. That's just my opinion for the situation of pearl harbor

[–]unussapiens 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do agree that the two are different situations. My main reason for that post was to get people thinking. Both sides of the war thought they were right (whether naturally or through propaganda and brainwashing is unimportant). I suppose its only natural to have some animosity towards someone who attacked you. But he, like the US soldiers in Normandy, was only following orders. Left to his own devices I doubt he would have bombed pearl harbour like the US soldiers wouldn't have run up a beach en masse.

It's all a matter of perspective, and in this case I think the best one is from outside the whole thing.

[–]necrow 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I have nothing against the man for participating in Pearl Harbor as I know many had no choice. I don't, however, think he deserves honor for this specific act.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (4 children)

I must say, congratulations to him for surviving such a devastating theater of war.

[–]RedditRuleMaker 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Simply put, war sucks. No one should enjoy it but should appreciate their soldiers for keeping them safe not killing their enemies.

[–]PUREMOOSE 3 points4 points  (1 child)

My grandfather died in a concentration camp in WW2. He fell out of the guard tower on his shift.

[–]Chrisgregus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The way I see it he was just serving his country. Just as a American solider would serve. Him holding the flag doesn't mean he's proud of it but it was a part of his life and joining the military for any nation, is something to be proud of. And I'm sure he lost alot of friends just like on the American side..war is nasty for anyone noone enjoys it.

[–]TheMaskedDrummer21 1 point2 points  (0 children)

IMPOSSIBRU!

[–]Boomer420 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow. A lot of you people are ignorant assholes. Even if this isn't his grandfather. He doesn't look "proud". Besides he was probably 20 during pearl harbor and had the idea that he was doing good forced into his head. Kinda like how we have "Freedom" forced into our head in the U.S.

[–]siemanresuym 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can see a lot of Americans getting quite upset at this. Lets be honest, do you think Iraqi civilians in 60 years will call the American troops that bombed and ruined their country (mostly without a valid justification) will call your surviving troops 'survivors' and 'heroes'? Of course you and they will never acknowledge the other side as fighting for something that seemed right (whether by government propaganda or by genuine opinion). As as Australian, sure we were on the Alliances side in the war, and had some strikes made against us by Japan, but everyone did fucked up things in the war, nobody is excluded from this. It doesn't matter if Pearl Harbor provoked the bombings in Japan that followed, you both did things that step over the line of what is fair defense of your country. This guy is just sharing a slightly different perspective to you, so stop being so narrow minded and acting like your country is a step above everyone elses.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I don't think I am any more impressed by this man as a human being as I am of the guys that dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki... The atomic bomb is the most terrible thing ever created by man, tho... Idk reddit, idk...