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FrankenMauser · March 11, 2020, 10:29 AM

I mean no disrespect to the memory of your father, but that is ridiculous.
Japanese soldiers, especially new recruits, would not be casting aside standard equipment en masse. Nor do historical records support the claim.

To me, that story is on par with my grandfather saving the Yorktown (CV-10) by using his shoulder to deflect a Zero's 20mm projectile away from a torpedo on an SBD that was awaiting take off.
Sure, he was there. Sure, he was injured. Yes, he has one hell of a scar to prove it. Yes, most of the crew thought he was dead and didn't see him again until decades later. (Even though my grandfather spent another 16 years in the Navy.)
But the truth behind the story is that he was pinched in the unfolding wing of an F6F.

They're good stories, but the only reason they've survived this long is because they both play upon the stereotype of the Japanese fielding inferior equipment - and, in the case of the dust covers being tossed aside, also the stereotype of the soldiers being undisciplined and untrained.

March 11, 2020, 10:29 AM	#16
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,424	I mean no disrespect to the memory of your father, but that is ridiculous. Japanese soldiers, especially new recruits, would not be casting aside standard equipment en masse. Nor do historical records support the claim. To me, that story is on par with my grandfather saving the Yorktown (CV-10) by using his shoulder to deflect a Zero's 20mm projectile away from a torpedo on an SBD that was awaiting take off. Sure, he was there. Sure, he was injured. Yes, he has one hell of a scar to prove it. Yes, most of the crew thought he was dead and didn't see him again until decades later. (Even though my grandfather spent another 16 years in the Navy.) But the truth behind the story is that he was pinched in the unfolding wing of an F6F. They're good stories, but the only reason they've survived this long is because they both play upon the stereotype of the Japanese fielding inferior equipment - and, in the case of the dust covers being tossed aside, also the stereotype of the soldiers being undisciplined and untrained. __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.