Looking Ahead By Looking Behind.

We’ve all had that semi-otherworldly sense, ‘that I’ve been here before’. I’ve had it strongly enough on a couple of occasions where it literally raised the hair at the back of my head. One such occurrence was when I saw a series of reports about China’s belligerence towards Japan and, most recently, the Philippines. Those of you who still remember history as it used to be taught… actual, factual, times, places and events, are beginning to stand out as China continues its headlong rush to confrontation with the west.

American and Filipino Marines carry out military exercises in the Philippines.

The Japanese, prior to WW2, were flushed from two victories over the Russians and the Chinese. Japanese militarists were flexing their muscles through officially banned, but nonetheless politically influential, Samurai ‘Secret Societies’. His Imperial Majesty the Japanese Emperor, Hirohito, had plenty of extra-territorial aims of his own. The Japanese saw westerners as hairy, uncultured and smelly barbarians, who just happened to be in possession of some remarkable technology which had given the west a decided (although temporary as far as the Japanese were concerned) lead over the unbelievably courageous, but hopelessly medieval, Japanese military.

We should have paid much more attention to the unbelievable speed with which Japan became a first-rate military and real and present danger to US interests in the Pacific and elsewhere. There were such courageous people in our military who were clear-eyed and whose vision for the future was equally clear. These men were often marginalized, their careers sidelined.

Weak and fearful politicians were determined to keep America out of any further ‘foreign adventurism’. This ‘blinders-on attitude’ prevailed right through to the day Pearl Harbor was attacked and, truth to say, not a few of my own beloved Marine Corps were guilty of the same thing. Smugly pigeon-holing the Japanese as comic characterizations of buck-toothed toy soldiers with bad eyesight.

By now you know exactly where I’m going with this. The Chinese are adventuresome and extremely bellicose. They are challenging our dominion over the Pacific. Two of our strongest allies, Japan and the Philippines are being directly challenged by the Chinese military.

China is now attempting to claim possession of the Island of Okinawa… one of the Japanese home islands. The ground on Okinawa has been consecrated by the blood of American and Japanese boys and the men who led them.

As I said in a previous article… I’ve walked many of the Okinawan hills and the sharply steep volcanic ridges where these battles took place.
We need to tell the dufoids in Washington… never again!

Semper Vigilans, Semper Fidelis

© Skip MacLure 2011