If we needed an example of the difference between our side and theirs, the Japanese leadership had ordered the kill-all policy. When the war ended and suddenly the power was in the hands of the POWs, the highest ranking officer left in the camp gathered the tortured, brutalized Allied prisoners together and told them that under no circumstances was anyone to exact revenge; they must remember that they were "officers and gentlemen". We may not always live up to our principles, but we have them, and that means something.
"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."
- II Timothy 4:7
I can't say that I enjoyed Laura Hillenbrand's book, exactly- it was an extremely difficult one to read- but it was also an important one. It brings to light the brutal abuses suffered by Allied soldiers who were captured by the Japanese army, and gives a new understanding of- and hopefully, an appreciation for- how much those who went to war sacrificed for the freedom which we so often take for granted.