when did the US occupation of Japan begin

[PLATO]

Originally posted by lord of the mark


My Dad was also in the occupation but only for a few days, IIUC, before his destroyer was sent back to SF (or San Diego?)for mothballing.

Dad was part of the 2nd Marine Division. They were scheduled to be in the first wave of the invasion...pretty much a death sentence the way Japan had their defenses in place. When the war ended, his unit landed at Nagasaki. They installed a plaque in the ground at ground zero (or as close as they could get it) and used it for home plate in a softball game.

Dad described very intricate defenses that the Japanese had in place, including whole cliff sides on tracks that would role back to reveal large shore batteries. He was standing next to General Smith when he made his comment about the Japanese defenses would have been the end of The Marine Corp.

Dad died almost 32 years after that softball game on ground zero of a rare form of pancreatic cancer. Over 80% of his unit died of one type of cancer or another. There are currently 3 living members left that my mother still stays in touch with.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by PLATO


Dad was part of the 2nd Marine Division. They were scheduled to be in the first wave of the invasion...pretty much a death sentence the way Japan had their defenses in place.

My dad was designated as a forward Naval Gunnery controller, in the event of an invasion. He would have been landed BEFORE your dad (from the way he described his mission) Likelihood of survival, near zero. Suckered into signing up for that specialty, he didnt expect to survive.

He always said, that, when the bomb was dropped, it was like he'd been given a second life.

[PLATO]

Wow! That is uncanny. Dad was a forward observer for the Marines artillery. Had there been an invasion, they may actually have worked together.

Weird how life is.

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
Note this is not the occupied/disputed debate, but a seperate debate occupied/no longer occupied.

Wouldn't the relevant question then become "when did the US occupation of Japan end"?

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by PLATO
Wow! That is uncanny. Dad was a forward observer for the Marines artillery. Had there been an invasion, they may actually have worked together.

Weird how life is.

Indeed.

My dad's regular job (at sea) was as gunnery officer on his destroyer.

[Cyclotron]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
Of course, but the level of responsibility is far lower than for an occupier.

When I drop my bombs, I should TRY to avoid hitting civilians, versus I should arrest people instead of dropping bombs.

Or when I blockade, at sea, I should give sailors on civilian ships time to get off the ship, versus I should not blockade at all because Im responsible for economic well being.

Firstly, your statement is disingenuous, because Israel doesn't behave as an occupier even in territories it does occupy. It's not as if anything has changed now that Israel has removed its standing forces. In the West Bank and in Gaza before 2005, Israel attacked targets in a way indicating belligerency rather than legal occupation; the preference seems to be for helicopter strikes rather than arrests. It's hard to take your argument seriously when Israel has shunned taking responsibility from the very beginning of the occupation.

Secondly, Israel is responsible for Gaza's economic well-being despite the withdrawal, because Gaza is not a sovereign state and Gaza's standard of living depends almost entirely on Israeli policy. It is a strip of land surrounded on three sides by Israel (if you include your previously mentioned sea blockade), with its closest economic ties to Israel and the West Bank (the road to which lies through Israel). Such responsibility is unprecedented in scope.

Thirdly, I am now intrigued as to what exactly you believe the Gaza Strip to be if not occupied. It isn't a state, and Israeli forces nearly surround it, maintaining the ability to strike anywhere within it. The end of the occupation would seem to be a technicality ("look, we're on this side of the line now"). If Israel does not have responsibility for Gaza, who does? If Gaza isn't occupied, by what right does Israel bomb/blockade, etc., at all?