Monday, September 17, 2007
Charles W. Sweeney 将军国会演讲的英文稿
Gen. Charles W. Sweeney:
Born in Lowell, Mass., in 1919, Retired Dec. 27, 1979. Died July 15, 2004.
Fulltext of Charles W. Sweeney's Hearing Before the Committee (May 11,1995):
I am Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, United States Air Force, Retired. I am the only pilot to have flown on both atomic missions. I flew the instrument plane on the right wing of General Paul Tibbets on the Hiroshima mission and 3 days later, on August 9, 1945, commanded the second atomic mission over Nagasaki. Six days after Nagasaki the Japanese military surrendered and the Second World War came to an end.The soul of a nation, its essence, is its history. It is that collective memory which defines what each generation thinks and believes about itself and its country.
In a free society, such as ours, there is always an ongoing debate about who we are and what we stand for. This open debate is in fact essential to our freedom. But to have such a debate we as a society must have the courage to consider all of the facts available to us. We must have the courage to stand up and demand that before any conclusions are reached, those facts which are beyond question are accepted as part of the debate.As the 50th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki missions approaches, now is an appropriate time to consider the reasons for Harry Truman's order that these missions be flown. We may disagree on the conclusion, but let us at least be honest enough to agree on basic facts of the time, the facts that President Truman had to consider in making a difficult and momentous decision.
As the only pilot to have flown both missions, and having commanded the Nagasaki mission, I bring to this debate my own eyewitness account of the times. I underscore what I believe are irrefutable facts, with full knowledge that some opinion makers may cavalierly dismiss them because they are so obvious - because they interfere with their preconceived version of the truth, and the meaning which they strive to impose on the missions.
This evening, I want to offer my thoughts, observations, and conclusions as someone who lived this history, and who believes that President Truman's decision was not only justified by the circumstances of his time, but was a moral imperative that precluded any other option.
Like the overwhelming majority of my generation the last thing I wanted was a war. We as a nation are not warriors. We are not hell-bent on glory. There is no warrior class - no
Samurai - no master race.
This is true today, and it was true 50 years ago.
While our country was struggling through the great depression, the Japanese were embarking on the conquest of its neighbors - the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It seems fascism always seeks some innocuous slogan to cover the most hideous plans.
This Co-Prosperity was achieved by waging total and merciless war against China and Manchuria. The Japanese, as a nation, saw itself as destined to rule Asia and thereby possess its natural resources and open lands. Without the slightest remorse or hesitation, the Japanese Army slaughtered innocent men, women and children. In the infamous Rape of Nanking up to 300,000 unarmed civilians were butchered. These were criminal acts.
THESE ARE FACTS.
In order to fulfill its divine destiny in Asia, Japan determined that the only real impediment to this goal was the United States. It launched a carefully conceived sneak attack on our Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. Timed for a Sunday morning it was intended to deal a death blow to the fleet by inflicting the maximum loss of ships and human life.1,700 sailors are still entombed in the hull of the U.S.S. Arizona that sits on the bottom of Pearl Harbor. Many if not all, died without ever knowing why. Thus was the war thrust upon us.
The fall of Corregidor and the resulting treatment of Allied prisoners of war dispelled any remaining doubt about the inhumanness of the Japanese Army, even in the context of war. The Bataan Death March was horror in its fullest dimension. The Japanese considered surrender to be dishonorable to oneself, one's family, one's country and one's god. They showed no mercy. Seven thousand American and Filipino POW's were beaten, shot, bayoneted or left to die of disease or exhaustion.
THESE ARE FACTS.
As the United States made its slow, arduous, and costly march across the vast expanse of the Pacific, the Japanese proved to be ruthless and intractable killing machine. No matter how futile, no matter how hopeless the odds, no matter how certain the outcome, the Japanese fought to the death. And to achieve a greater glory, the strove to kill as many Americans as possible.
The closer the United States came to the Japanese mainland, the more fanatical their actions became.
Saipan - 3,100 Americans killed, 1,500 in the first few hours of the invasion
Iwa Jima - 6,700 Americans killed, 25,000 wounded
Okinawa - 12,500 Americans killed, total casualties, 35,000
These are facts reported by simple white grave markets.
Kamikazes. The literal translation is DIVINE WIND. To willingly dive a plane loaded with bombs into an American ship was a glorious transformation to godliness - there was no higher honor on heaven or earth. The suicidal assaults of the Kamikazes took 5,000 American Navy men to their deaths.
The Japanese vowed that, with the first American to step foot on the mainland, they would execute every Allied prisoner. In preparation they forced the POW's to dig their own graves in the event of mass executions. Even after their surrender, they executed some American POW's.
THESE ARE FACTS.
The Potsdam Declaration had called for unconditional surrender of the Japanese Armed Forces. The Japanese termed it ridiculous and not worthy of consideration. We know from our intercepts of their coded messages, that they wanted to stall for time to force a negotiated surrender on terms acceptable to them.
For months prior to August 6, American aircraft began dropping fire bombs upon the Japanese mainland. The wind created by the firestorm from the bombs incinerated whole cities. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese died. Still the Japanese military vowed never to surrender. They were prepared to sacrifice their own people to achieve their visions of glory and honor - no matter how many more people died.
They refused to evacuate civilians ever though our pilots dropped leaflets warning of the possible bombings. In one 3-day period, 34 square miles of Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe and Osaka were reduced to rubble.
THESE ARE FACTS.
And even after the bombing of Hiroshima, Tojo, his successor Suzuki, and the military clique in control believed the United States had but one bomb, and that Japan could go on. They had 3 days to surrender after August 6, but they did not surrender. The debate in their cabinet at times became violent.
Only after the Nagasaki drop did the Emperor finally demand surrender.And even then, the military argued they could and should fight on. A group of Army officers staged a coup and tried to seize and destroy the Emperor's recorded message to his people announcing the surrender.
THESE ARE FACTS.
These facts help illuminate the nature of the enemy we faced. They help put into context the process by which Truman considered the options available to him. And they help to add meaning to why the missions were necessary.
President Truman understood these facts as did every service man and woman. Casualties were not some abstraction, but a sobering reality.
Did the atomic missions end the war? Yes...they...did.
Were they necessary? Well that's where the rub comes.
With the fog of 50 years drifting over the memory of our country, to some, the Japanese are now the victims. America was the insatiable, vindictive aggressor seeking revenge and conquest. Our use of these weapons was the unjustified and immoral starting point for the nuclear age with all of its horrors. Of course, to support such distortion, one must conveniently ignore the real facts of fabricate new realities to fit the theories. It is no less egregious than those who today deny the Holocaust occurred.How could this have happened?
The answer may lie in examining some recent events.
The current debate about why President Truman ordered these missions, in some cases, has devolved to a numbers game. The Smithsonian in its proposed exhibit of the Enola Gay revealed the creeping revisionism which seems the rage in certain historical circles.That exhibit wanted to memorialize the fiction that the Japanese were the victims - we the evil aggressor. Imagine taking your children and grandchildren to this exhibit.
What message would they have left with?
What truth would they retain?
What would they think their country stood for?
And all of this would have occurred in an American institution whose very name and charter are supposed to stand for the impartial preservation of significant American artifacts.
By canceling the proposed exhibit and simply displaying the Enola Gay, has truth won out?
Maybe not.
In one nationally televised discussion, I heard a so-called prominent historian argue that the bombs were nor necessary. That President Truman was intent on intimidating the Russians. That the Japanese were ready to surrender.
The Japanese were ready to surrender? Based on what?
Some point to statements by General Eisenhower years after the war that Japan was about to fall. Well, based on that same outlook Eisenhower seriously underestimated Germany's will to fight on and concluded in December, 1944 that Germany no longer had the capability to wage offensive war.
That was a tragic miscalculation. The result was the Battle of the Bulge, which resulted in tens of thousands of needless Allied casualties and potentially allowed Germany to prolong the war and force negotiations.
Thus the assessment that Japan was vanquished may have the benefit of hindsight rather than foresight.
It is certainly fair to conclude that the Japanese could have been reasonably expected to be even more fanatical than the Germans base on the history of the war in the Pacific.And, finally, a present-day theory making the rounds espouses that even if an invasion had taken place, our casualties would not have been a million, as many believed, but realistically only 46,000 dead.
ONLY 46,000!
Can you imagine the callousness of this line of argument? ONLY 46,000- as if this were some insignificant number of American lives.
Perhaps these so-called historians want to sell books.
Perhaps they really believe it.
Or perhaps it reflects some self-loathing occasioned by the fact that we won the war.
Whatever the reason, the argument is flawed. It dissects and recalculates events ideologically, grasping at selective straws.
Let me admit right here, today, that I don't know how many more Americans would have died in an invasion - AND NEITHER DOES ANYONE ELSE!
What I do know is that based on the Japanese conduct during the war, it is fair and reasonable to assume that an invasion of the mainland would have been a prolonged and bloody affair. Based on what we know - not what someone surmises - the Japanese were not about to unconditionally surrender.
In taking Iwo Jima, a tiny 8 square mile lump of rock in the ocean, 6,700 marines died - total casualties over 30,000.
But even assuming that those who now KNOW our casualties would have been ONLY 46,000 I ask -
Which 46,000 were to die?
Whose father?
Whose brother?
Whose husband?
And, yes, I am focusing on American lives.
The Japanese had their fate in their own hands, we did not. Hundreds of thousands of American troops anxiously waited at staging areas in the Pacific dreading the coming invasion, their fate resting on what Japanese would do next. The Japanese could have ended it at any time. They chose to wait.
And while the Japanese stalled, an average of 900 more Americans were killed or wounded each day the war continued.
I've heard another line of argument that we should have accepted a negotiated peace with the Japanese on terms they would have found acceptable. I have never heard anyone suggest that we should have negotiated a peace with Nazi Germany. Such an idea is so outrageous, that no rational human being would utter the words. To negotiate with such evil fascism was to allow it even in defeat a measure of legitimacy. This is not just some empty philosophical principal of the time - it was essential that these forces of evil be clearly and irrevocably defeated - their demise unequivocal. Their leadership had forfeited any expectation of diplomatic niceties. How it is, then, the history of the war in the Pacific can be so soon forgotten?
The reason may lie in the advancing erosion of our history, of our collective memory.Fifty years after their defeat, Japanese officials have the temerity to claim they were the victims. That Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the equivalent of the Holocaust.And, believe it or not, there are actually some American academics who support this analogy, thus aiding and giving comfort to a 50-year attempt by the Japanese to rewrite their own history, and ours in the process.
There is an entire generation of Japanese who do not know the full extent of their country's conduct during World War II.
This explains why they do not comprehend why they must apologize-
•for the Korean comfort women.
•for the Medical experimentation on POW's which match the horror of those conducted by the Nazi's.
•for the plane to use biological weapons against the United States by infecting civilian populations on the West Coast.
•for the methodical slaughter of civilians.
•and for much more.In a perverse inversion, by forgetting our own history, we contribute to the Japanese amnesia, to the detriment of both our nations.
Unlike the Germans who acknowledged their guilt, the Japanese persist in the fiction that they did nothing wrong, that they were trapped by circumstances. This only forecloses any genuine prospect that the deep wounds suffered by both nations can be closed and healed.
One can only forgive by remembering. And to forget, is to risk repeating history.The Japanese in a well orchestrated political and public relations campaign have now proposed that the use of the term "V-J Day" be replaced by the more benign "Victory in the Pacific Day". How convenient.
This they claim will make the commemoration of the end of the war in the Pacific less "Japan specific".
An op-ed piece written by Dorothy Rabinowitz appearing in the April 5 Wall Street Journal accurately sums up this outrage:
The reason it appears, is that some Japanese find the reference disturbing - and one can see why. The term, especially the "J" part, does serve to remind the world of the identity of the nation whose defeat millions celebrated in August 1945. in further deference to Japanese sensitivities, a U.S. official (who wisely chose to remain unidentified) also announced, with reference to the planned ceremonies, that "our whole effort in this thing is to commemorate an event, not celebrate a victory."
Some might argue so what's in a word - Victory over Japan, Victory in the Pacific - Let's celebrate an event, not a victory.
A say everything is in a word. Celebrate an EVENT!
Kind of like celebrating th opening of a shopping mall rather than the end of a war that engulfed the entire Earth - which left countless millions dead and countless millions more physically or mentally wounded and countless more millions displaced.This assault on the use of language is Orwellian and is the tool by which history and memory are blurred. Words can be just as destructive as any weapon.
Up is down.
Slavery is freedom.
Aggression is peace.
In some ways this assault on our language and history by the elimination of accurate and deive words is far more insidious than the actual aggression carried out by the Japanese 50 years ago. At least then the threat was clear, the enemy well defined.Today the Japanese justify their conduct by artfully playing the race card. They were not engaged in a criminal enterprise of aggression. No, Japan was simply liberating the oppressed masses of Asia from WHITE Imperialism.
Liberation!! Yes, they liberated over 20 million innocent Asians by killing them. I'm sure those 20 million, their families and the generations never to be, appreciate the noble effort of the Japanese.
I am often asked was the bomb dropped for vengeance, as was suggested by one draft of the Smithsonian exhibit. That we sought to destroy an ancient and honorable culture.Here are some more inconvenient facts.
One, on the original target list for the atomic missions Kyoto was included. Although this would have been a legitimate target, one that had not been bombed previously, Secretary of State Henry Stimson removed it from the list because it was the ancient capital of Japan and was also the religious center of Japanese culture.Two, we were under strict orders during the war that under no circumstances were we to ever bomb the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, even though we could have easily leveled it and possibly killed the Emperor. So much for vengeance.
I often wonder if Japan would have been shown such restraint if they had the opportunity to bomb the White House. I think not.
At this point let me dispel one of many longstanding myths that our targets were intended to be civilian populations. Each target for the missions had significant military importance - Hiroshima was the headquarters for the southern command responsible for the defense of Honshu in the event of an invasion and it garrisoned seasoned troops who would mount the initial defense.
Nagasaki was an industrial center with the two large Mitsubishi armaments factories. In both Hiroshima and Nagasaki the Japanese had integrated these industries and troops right in the heart of each city.
As in any war our goal was, as it should be, to win. The stakes were too high to equivocate.
I am often asked if I ever think of the Japanese who died at Hiroshima and Nagasaki?I do not revel in the idea that so many on both sides died, not only at those two places but around the world in that horrible conflict. I take no pride or pleasure in the brutality of war whether suffered by my people or those of another nation. Every life is precious.But it does seem to me such a question is more appropriately directed to the Japanese war lords who so willingly offered up their people to achieve their visions of greatness. They who started the war and then stubbornly refused to stop it must be called to account. Don't they have the ultimate responsibility for all the deaths of their countrymen?
Perhaps if the Japanese came to grips with their past and their true part in the war they would hold those Japanese military leaders accountable. The Japanese people deserve an answer from those that brought such misery to the nations of the Far East and ultimately to their own people. Of course this can never happen of we collaborate with the Japanese in wiping away the truth.
How can Japan ever reconcile with itself and the United States if they do not demand and accept the truth?My crew and I flew these missions with the belief that they would bring the war to an end. There was no sense of joy. There was a sense of duty and commitment that we wanted to get back to our families and loved ones.
Today millions of people in America an in southeast Asia are alive because the war ended when it did.
I do not stand here celebrating the use of nuclear weapons. Quite the contrary.I hope that my mission is the last such mission ever flown.We as a nation can abhor the existence of nuclear weapons.
I certainly do.
But that does not then mean that, back in August of 1945, given the events of the war and the recalcitrance of our enemy, President Truman was not obliged to use all the weapons at his disposal to end the war.
I agreed with Harry Truman then, and I still do today.Years after the war Truman was asked if he had any second thoughts. He said emphatically, "No." He then asked the questioner to remember the men who died at Pearl Harbor who did not have the benefit of second thoughts.
In war the stakes are high. As Robert E. Lee said, "it is good that war is so horrible, or we might grow to like it."
I thank God that it was we who had this weapon and not the Japanese or the Germans. The science was there. Eventually someone would have developed this weapon. Science can never be denied. It finds a way to self-fulfillment.
The question of whether it was wise to develop such a weapon would have eventually been overcome by the fact that it could be done. The Soviets would have certainly proceeded to develop their own bomb. Let us not forget that Joseph Stalin was no less evil than Tojo or his former ally Adolf Hitler. At last count, Stalin committed genocide on at least 20 million of his own citizens.
The world is a better place because German and Japanese fascism failed to conquer the world.
Japan and Germany are better places because we were benevolent in our victory.The youth of Japan and the United States, spared from further needless slaughter, went on to live and have families and grow old.
As the father of ten children and the grandfather of 21, I can state that I am certainly grateful that the war ended when it did.
I do not speak for all veterans of that war. But I believe that my sense of pride in having served my country in that great conflict is shared by all veterans. This is why the truth about that war must be preserved. We veterans are not shrinking violets. Our sensibilities will not be shattered in intelligent and controversial debate. We can handle ourselves.But we will not, we cannot allow armchair second guessers to frame the debate by hiding facts from the American public and the world.
I have great faith in the good sense and fairness of the American people to consider all of the facts and make an informed judgment about the war's end.
This is an important debate. The soul of our nation, its essence, its history, is at stake.
Born in Lowell, Mass., in 1919, Retired Dec. 27, 1979. Died July 15, 2004.
Fulltext of Charles W. Sweeney's Hearing Before the Committee (May 11,1995):
I am Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, United States Air Force, Retired. I am the only pilot to have flown on both atomic missions. I flew the instrument plane on the right wing of General Paul Tibbets on the Hiroshima mission and 3 days later, on August 9, 1945, commanded the second atomic mission over Nagasaki. Six days after Nagasaki the Japanese military surrendered and the Second World War came to an end.The soul of a nation, its essence, is its history. It is that collective memory which defines what each generation thinks and believes about itself and its country.
In a free society, such as ours, there is always an ongoing debate about who we are and what we stand for. This open debate is in fact essential to our freedom. But to have such a debate we as a society must have the courage to consider all of the facts available to us. We must have the courage to stand up and demand that before any conclusions are reached, those facts which are beyond question are accepted as part of the debate.As the 50th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki missions approaches, now is an appropriate time to consider the reasons for Harry Truman's order that these missions be flown. We may disagree on the conclusion, but let us at least be honest enough to agree on basic facts of the time, the facts that President Truman had to consider in making a difficult and momentous decision.
As the only pilot to have flown both missions, and having commanded the Nagasaki mission, I bring to this debate my own eyewitness account of the times. I underscore what I believe are irrefutable facts, with full knowledge that some opinion makers may cavalierly dismiss them because they are so obvious - because they interfere with their preconceived version of the truth, and the meaning which they strive to impose on the missions.
This evening, I want to offer my thoughts, observations, and conclusions as someone who lived this history, and who believes that President Truman's decision was not only justified by the circumstances of his time, but was a moral imperative that precluded any other option.
Like the overwhelming majority of my generation the last thing I wanted was a war. We as a nation are not warriors. We are not hell-bent on glory. There is no warrior class - no
Samurai - no master race.
This is true today, and it was true 50 years ago.
While our country was struggling through the great depression, the Japanese were embarking on the conquest of its neighbors - the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It seems fascism always seeks some innocuous slogan to cover the most hideous plans.
This Co-Prosperity was achieved by waging total and merciless war against China and Manchuria. The Japanese, as a nation, saw itself as destined to rule Asia and thereby possess its natural resources and open lands. Without the slightest remorse or hesitation, the Japanese Army slaughtered innocent men, women and children. In the infamous Rape of Nanking up to 300,000 unarmed civilians were butchered. These were criminal acts.
THESE ARE FACTS.
In order to fulfill its divine destiny in Asia, Japan determined that the only real impediment to this goal was the United States. It launched a carefully conceived sneak attack on our Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. Timed for a Sunday morning it was intended to deal a death blow to the fleet by inflicting the maximum loss of ships and human life.1,700 sailors are still entombed in the hull of the U.S.S. Arizona that sits on the bottom of Pearl Harbor. Many if not all, died without ever knowing why. Thus was the war thrust upon us.
The fall of Corregidor and the resulting treatment of Allied prisoners of war dispelled any remaining doubt about the inhumanness of the Japanese Army, even in the context of war. The Bataan Death March was horror in its fullest dimension. The Japanese considered surrender to be dishonorable to oneself, one's family, one's country and one's god. They showed no mercy. Seven thousand American and Filipino POW's were beaten, shot, bayoneted or left to die of disease or exhaustion.
THESE ARE FACTS.
As the United States made its slow, arduous, and costly march across the vast expanse of the Pacific, the Japanese proved to be ruthless and intractable killing machine. No matter how futile, no matter how hopeless the odds, no matter how certain the outcome, the Japanese fought to the death. And to achieve a greater glory, the strove to kill as many Americans as possible.
The closer the United States came to the Japanese mainland, the more fanatical their actions became.
Saipan - 3,100 Americans killed, 1,500 in the first few hours of the invasion
Iwa Jima - 6,700 Americans killed, 25,000 wounded
Okinawa - 12,500 Americans killed, total casualties, 35,000
These are facts reported by simple white grave markets.
Kamikazes. The literal translation is DIVINE WIND. To willingly dive a plane loaded with bombs into an American ship was a glorious transformation to godliness - there was no higher honor on heaven or earth. The suicidal assaults of the Kamikazes took 5,000 American Navy men to their deaths.
The Japanese vowed that, with the first American to step foot on the mainland, they would execute every Allied prisoner. In preparation they forced the POW's to dig their own graves in the event of mass executions. Even after their surrender, they executed some American POW's.
THESE ARE FACTS.
The Potsdam Declaration had called for unconditional surrender of the Japanese Armed Forces. The Japanese termed it ridiculous and not worthy of consideration. We know from our intercepts of their coded messages, that they wanted to stall for time to force a negotiated surrender on terms acceptable to them.
For months prior to August 6, American aircraft began dropping fire bombs upon the Japanese mainland. The wind created by the firestorm from the bombs incinerated whole cities. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese died. Still the Japanese military vowed never to surrender. They were prepared to sacrifice their own people to achieve their visions of glory and honor - no matter how many more people died.
They refused to evacuate civilians ever though our pilots dropped leaflets warning of the possible bombings. In one 3-day period, 34 square miles of Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe and Osaka were reduced to rubble.
THESE ARE FACTS.
And even after the bombing of Hiroshima, Tojo, his successor Suzuki, and the military clique in control believed the United States had but one bomb, and that Japan could go on. They had 3 days to surrender after August 6, but they did not surrender. The debate in their cabinet at times became violent.
Only after the Nagasaki drop did the Emperor finally demand surrender.And even then, the military argued they could and should fight on. A group of Army officers staged a coup and tried to seize and destroy the Emperor's recorded message to his people announcing the surrender.
THESE ARE FACTS.
These facts help illuminate the nature of the enemy we faced. They help put into context the process by which Truman considered the options available to him. And they help to add meaning to why the missions were necessary.
President Truman understood these facts as did every service man and woman. Casualties were not some abstraction, but a sobering reality.
Did the atomic missions end the war? Yes...they...did.
Were they necessary? Well that's where the rub comes.
With the fog of 50 years drifting over the memory of our country, to some, the Japanese are now the victims. America was the insatiable, vindictive aggressor seeking revenge and conquest. Our use of these weapons was the unjustified and immoral starting point for the nuclear age with all of its horrors. Of course, to support such distortion, one must conveniently ignore the real facts of fabricate new realities to fit the theories. It is no less egregious than those who today deny the Holocaust occurred.How could this have happened?
The answer may lie in examining some recent events.
The current debate about why President Truman ordered these missions, in some cases, has devolved to a numbers game. The Smithsonian in its proposed exhibit of the Enola Gay revealed the creeping revisionism which seems the rage in certain historical circles.That exhibit wanted to memorialize the fiction that the Japanese were the victims - we the evil aggressor. Imagine taking your children and grandchildren to this exhibit.
What message would they have left with?
What truth would they retain?
What would they think their country stood for?
And all of this would have occurred in an American institution whose very name and charter are supposed to stand for the impartial preservation of significant American artifacts.
By canceling the proposed exhibit and simply displaying the Enola Gay, has truth won out?
Maybe not.
In one nationally televised discussion, I heard a so-called prominent historian argue that the bombs were nor necessary. That President Truman was intent on intimidating the Russians. That the Japanese were ready to surrender.
The Japanese were ready to surrender? Based on what?
Some point to statements by General Eisenhower years after the war that Japan was about to fall. Well, based on that same outlook Eisenhower seriously underestimated Germany's will to fight on and concluded in December, 1944 that Germany no longer had the capability to wage offensive war.
That was a tragic miscalculation. The result was the Battle of the Bulge, which resulted in tens of thousands of needless Allied casualties and potentially allowed Germany to prolong the war and force negotiations.
Thus the assessment that Japan was vanquished may have the benefit of hindsight rather than foresight.
It is certainly fair to conclude that the Japanese could have been reasonably expected to be even more fanatical than the Germans base on the history of the war in the Pacific.And, finally, a present-day theory making the rounds espouses that even if an invasion had taken place, our casualties would not have been a million, as many believed, but realistically only 46,000 dead.
ONLY 46,000!
Can you imagine the callousness of this line of argument? ONLY 46,000- as if this were some insignificant number of American lives.
Perhaps these so-called historians want to sell books.
Perhaps they really believe it.
Or perhaps it reflects some self-loathing occasioned by the fact that we won the war.
Whatever the reason, the argument is flawed. It dissects and recalculates events ideologically, grasping at selective straws.
Let me admit right here, today, that I don't know how many more Americans would have died in an invasion - AND NEITHER DOES ANYONE ELSE!
What I do know is that based on the Japanese conduct during the war, it is fair and reasonable to assume that an invasion of the mainland would have been a prolonged and bloody affair. Based on what we know - not what someone surmises - the Japanese were not about to unconditionally surrender.
In taking Iwo Jima, a tiny 8 square mile lump of rock in the ocean, 6,700 marines died - total casualties over 30,000.
But even assuming that those who now KNOW our casualties would have been ONLY 46,000 I ask -
Which 46,000 were to die?
Whose father?
Whose brother?
Whose husband?
And, yes, I am focusing on American lives.
The Japanese had their fate in their own hands, we did not. Hundreds of thousands of American troops anxiously waited at staging areas in the Pacific dreading the coming invasion, their fate resting on what Japanese would do next. The Japanese could have ended it at any time. They chose to wait.
And while the Japanese stalled, an average of 900 more Americans were killed or wounded each day the war continued.
I've heard another line of argument that we should have accepted a negotiated peace with the Japanese on terms they would have found acceptable. I have never heard anyone suggest that we should have negotiated a peace with Nazi Germany. Such an idea is so outrageous, that no rational human being would utter the words. To negotiate with such evil fascism was to allow it even in defeat a measure of legitimacy. This is not just some empty philosophical principal of the time - it was essential that these forces of evil be clearly and irrevocably defeated - their demise unequivocal. Their leadership had forfeited any expectation of diplomatic niceties. How it is, then, the history of the war in the Pacific can be so soon forgotten?
The reason may lie in the advancing erosion of our history, of our collective memory.Fifty years after their defeat, Japanese officials have the temerity to claim they were the victims. That Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the equivalent of the Holocaust.And, believe it or not, there are actually some American academics who support this analogy, thus aiding and giving comfort to a 50-year attempt by the Japanese to rewrite their own history, and ours in the process.
There is an entire generation of Japanese who do not know the full extent of their country's conduct during World War II.
This explains why they do not comprehend why they must apologize-
•for the Korean comfort women.
•for the Medical experimentation on POW's which match the horror of those conducted by the Nazi's.
•for the plane to use biological weapons against the United States by infecting civilian populations on the West Coast.
•for the methodical slaughter of civilians.
•and for much more.In a perverse inversion, by forgetting our own history, we contribute to the Japanese amnesia, to the detriment of both our nations.
Unlike the Germans who acknowledged their guilt, the Japanese persist in the fiction that they did nothing wrong, that they were trapped by circumstances. This only forecloses any genuine prospect that the deep wounds suffered by both nations can be closed and healed.
One can only forgive by remembering. And to forget, is to risk repeating history.The Japanese in a well orchestrated political and public relations campaign have now proposed that the use of the term "V-J Day" be replaced by the more benign "Victory in the Pacific Day". How convenient.
This they claim will make the commemoration of the end of the war in the Pacific less "Japan specific".
An op-ed piece written by Dorothy Rabinowitz appearing in the April 5 Wall Street Journal accurately sums up this outrage:
The reason it appears, is that some Japanese find the reference disturbing - and one can see why. The term, especially the "J" part, does serve to remind the world of the identity of the nation whose defeat millions celebrated in August 1945. in further deference to Japanese sensitivities, a U.S. official (who wisely chose to remain unidentified) also announced, with reference to the planned ceremonies, that "our whole effort in this thing is to commemorate an event, not celebrate a victory."
Some might argue so what's in a word - Victory over Japan, Victory in the Pacific - Let's celebrate an event, not a victory.
A say everything is in a word. Celebrate an EVENT!
Kind of like celebrating th opening of a shopping mall rather than the end of a war that engulfed the entire Earth - which left countless millions dead and countless millions more physically or mentally wounded and countless more millions displaced.This assault on the use of language is Orwellian and is the tool by which history and memory are blurred. Words can be just as destructive as any weapon.
Up is down.
Slavery is freedom.
Aggression is peace.
In some ways this assault on our language and history by the elimination of accurate and deive words is far more insidious than the actual aggression carried out by the Japanese 50 years ago. At least then the threat was clear, the enemy well defined.Today the Japanese justify their conduct by artfully playing the race card. They were not engaged in a criminal enterprise of aggression. No, Japan was simply liberating the oppressed masses of Asia from WHITE Imperialism.
Liberation!! Yes, they liberated over 20 million innocent Asians by killing them. I'm sure those 20 million, their families and the generations never to be, appreciate the noble effort of the Japanese.
I am often asked was the bomb dropped for vengeance, as was suggested by one draft of the Smithsonian exhibit. That we sought to destroy an ancient and honorable culture.Here are some more inconvenient facts.
One, on the original target list for the atomic missions Kyoto was included. Although this would have been a legitimate target, one that had not been bombed previously, Secretary of State Henry Stimson removed it from the list because it was the ancient capital of Japan and was also the religious center of Japanese culture.Two, we were under strict orders during the war that under no circumstances were we to ever bomb the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, even though we could have easily leveled it and possibly killed the Emperor. So much for vengeance.
I often wonder if Japan would have been shown such restraint if they had the opportunity to bomb the White House. I think not.
At this point let me dispel one of many longstanding myths that our targets were intended to be civilian populations. Each target for the missions had significant military importance - Hiroshima was the headquarters for the southern command responsible for the defense of Honshu in the event of an invasion and it garrisoned seasoned troops who would mount the initial defense.
Nagasaki was an industrial center with the two large Mitsubishi armaments factories. In both Hiroshima and Nagasaki the Japanese had integrated these industries and troops right in the heart of each city.
As in any war our goal was, as it should be, to win. The stakes were too high to equivocate.
I am often asked if I ever think of the Japanese who died at Hiroshima and Nagasaki?I do not revel in the idea that so many on both sides died, not only at those two places but around the world in that horrible conflict. I take no pride or pleasure in the brutality of war whether suffered by my people or those of another nation. Every life is precious.But it does seem to me such a question is more appropriately directed to the Japanese war lords who so willingly offered up their people to achieve their visions of greatness. They who started the war and then stubbornly refused to stop it must be called to account. Don't they have the ultimate responsibility for all the deaths of their countrymen?
Perhaps if the Japanese came to grips with their past and their true part in the war they would hold those Japanese military leaders accountable. The Japanese people deserve an answer from those that brought such misery to the nations of the Far East and ultimately to their own people. Of course this can never happen of we collaborate with the Japanese in wiping away the truth.
How can Japan ever reconcile with itself and the United States if they do not demand and accept the truth?My crew and I flew these missions with the belief that they would bring the war to an end. There was no sense of joy. There was a sense of duty and commitment that we wanted to get back to our families and loved ones.
Today millions of people in America an in southeast Asia are alive because the war ended when it did.
I do not stand here celebrating the use of nuclear weapons. Quite the contrary.I hope that my mission is the last such mission ever flown.We as a nation can abhor the existence of nuclear weapons.
I certainly do.
But that does not then mean that, back in August of 1945, given the events of the war and the recalcitrance of our enemy, President Truman was not obliged to use all the weapons at his disposal to end the war.
I agreed with Harry Truman then, and I still do today.Years after the war Truman was asked if he had any second thoughts. He said emphatically, "No." He then asked the questioner to remember the men who died at Pearl Harbor who did not have the benefit of second thoughts.
In war the stakes are high. As Robert E. Lee said, "it is good that war is so horrible, or we might grow to like it."
I thank God that it was we who had this weapon and not the Japanese or the Germans. The science was there. Eventually someone would have developed this weapon. Science can never be denied. It finds a way to self-fulfillment.
The question of whether it was wise to develop such a weapon would have eventually been overcome by the fact that it could be done. The Soviets would have certainly proceeded to develop their own bomb. Let us not forget that Joseph Stalin was no less evil than Tojo or his former ally Adolf Hitler. At last count, Stalin committed genocide on at least 20 million of his own citizens.
The world is a better place because German and Japanese fascism failed to conquer the world.
Japan and Germany are better places because we were benevolent in our victory.The youth of Japan and the United States, spared from further needless slaughter, went on to live and have families and grow old.
As the father of ten children and the grandfather of 21, I can state that I am certainly grateful that the war ended when it did.
I do not speak for all veterans of that war. But I believe that my sense of pride in having served my country in that great conflict is shared by all veterans. This is why the truth about that war must be preserved. We veterans are not shrinking violets. Our sensibilities will not be shattered in intelligent and controversial debate. We can handle ourselves.But we will not, we cannot allow armchair second guessers to frame the debate by hiding facts from the American public and the world.
I have great faith in the good sense and fairness of the American people to consider all of the facts and make an informed judgment about the war's end.
This is an important debate. The soul of our nation, its essence, its history, is at stake.
西北军惨烈中条山的几个历史场面
前言
中条山,侵华日军称为“盲肠”。日军倾十余万兵力,苦战三年,竟未能越过中条山一步。这在抗战初期确属罕见。
抗战八年,日军占据了东、南、北大片领土,却一直无力西进,这一切都得之于中条山战役的伟大胜利。 然而,因为参战部队是“西安事变”的杨虎城部队,既不是国民党军队也不是共产党军队, 没有一方大力宣传。 中条山战役随后一直鲜为人知。
谨以此文献给中条山战役中牺牲的先烈们。
西北军惨烈中条山
杨虎城因“西安事变”被迫出国,将西北军(17路军)交给了结拜兄弟孙蔚如,并告诫:要牢记“兵谏”之初衷,一切以抗日大局为重……
1938年7月,一支由三万多名“陕西冷娃”组成的队伍夜渡黄河,开进中条山, 开始了惊天地泣鬼神的中条山战役。
战例1:
血战永济独立46旅(旅长孔从洲)和警备一旅张剑平团守永济城。
1938年8月8日,日军牛岛师团出动装甲部队,十几门大炮,9架飞机猛攻中国军队20多里的防线,永济岌岌可危!孔从洲叫来102团团副杨法震,说:“正面阵地压力太大,你速带一个营绕到敌人背后敲他一下!”杨法震冲在队伍的最前列,率领三百名壮士一路冲杀,在黑水村灭了敌警戒哨,在唐家营端了敌预备队;在北古城炸毁了日军增援的汽车队……8月15日清晨,日军调集1200多人,向杨法震设防的上高市猛扑过来。杨法震在指挥士兵们打退了敌人的4次进攻,自己亲手击毙了13名鬼子后,与三百名弟兄们一起战死上高市……
当晚,日军又迂回偷袭,占领了东南方向的西姚温、解家坟、万古寺,兵临永济城下。有“铁军”之称的教导团三营营长张希文一马当先,在收复了万古寺后又逆袭西姚温。由于通讯中断,三营被日军困在了西姚温……,孙蔚如将军写道:“敌旅将我西姚温阵地突破,我张希文营向该处逆袭、肉搏一昼夜,该营全部殉国,我主力及炮兵得以安全转移、厥功甚伟。”
8月17日,日军从东、南、北三面(西面是黄河)包围了永济城。下午5时许,攻破永济城。张剑平团长带领官兵在城内展开巷战,连炊事员也抡着菜刀杀入敌群……6时许,永济失陷,中国军队500名官兵壮烈殉国……8月26日,蒋介石发来电报:“自张团长以此牺牲壮烈,特电慰勉。”
永济失陷后,教导团团长李振西在韩阳镇筑起第二道防线,阻击日军半月之久。团副魏鸿纪带一支队插入敌后,奇袭敌营,搅得日军一时风声鹤唳……在一次奇袭完成后,撤退途中,年仅25岁的魏团副阵亡。
永济-韩阳作战,为中国军队争取到了时间和空间。孙蔚如渡河作战之初,三百里中条山的防务没有部署停当。永济战后,中国军队各部已集结到位,中条山防务也基本就绪。
战例2:
“六六战役”茅津渡是三门峡左侧、平陆境内、黄河北岸一个古老的渡口,它与潼关以北的风陵渡一样,历来为兵家必争之地。人们形容茅津渡是“一锁扣三省”,一锁既开,三省门户皆开。
1939年6月6日凌晨,下了生死赌注的日军一改常规,用他们最不习惯的夜战发起了扫荡攻势,兵分九路一齐杀来茅津渡。
日军进攻的重点是陌南镇我96军之主力陈硕儒的177师。虽然早已料到了日军会先攻陌南,但日军攻打陌南兵力之众多,火力之集中还是让中国军队一开始就非常被动。日军的十几辆坦克摧毁了防御工事,陈硕儒顽强阻击敌人,等待增援,但38军在驰援途中又遭到日军的封锁,而177师的47旅又被日军包围在中条山南麓的茨林沟无法脱身。陈硕儒苦苦支撑,战至下午4时许,陌南镇失守,177师被日军逼到了黄河岸边。
面对着日军愈来愈小的包围圈,年近半百身材瘦削的陈硕儒师长一声令下,40名陕西冷娃甩掉血渍斑斑的军衣,端起机枪杀向敌阵。 自以为胜券在握的日军万万没有想到陈硕儒会杀个回马枪,一时乱了阵脚……177师杀出重围,有人问:“师长,往哪里打!”陈硕儒大手一挥:“回陌南镇!”陈硕儒回马第一枪冲出黄河滩;回马第二枪又杀回陌南镇,越过陌南,穿插至中条山腹地休整数日,收拢散兵后陈师长回马三枪,复夺陌南。此举成为“六六战役”中的一段“神话”。
但是,177师杀出黄河滩后,有两支队伍没能跟上,他们是新兵团和工兵营。这两支队伍分别被困在了黄河岸边的许八坡和马家崖。 新兵团有一千多人,都是些十七岁左右的新兵。小战士们在黄河滩上与日军舍命拼杀,在牺牲了二百多名弟兄后,八百多人被逼上了河岸边一百八十多米高的悬崖。伤痕累累战士们向着家乡跪拜之后,一起跳进奔腾的黄河……
800壮士集体投河的这一幕,被山里的村民看见了。据一位村民讲,他至今还记得最后一名士兵跳河的情景。那是一位旗手,他的双手紧紧攥着他部队的军旗。他在跳河前吼唱了几句秦腔,好像是《金沙滩》中杨继业的两句——
两狼山战胡儿啊天摇地动,好男儿为国家何惧死生啊
后来,人们打捞这杆军旗时,拖出两具尸首来。旗杆从一个鬼子兵的后背戳进去,穿透前胸。那个吼秦腔的旗手还紧紧攥着旗杆。
几乎同时,在相距十余里的马家崖,我177师工兵营二百多位士兵也为捍卫中国军人的尊严而集体扑进黄河…… 三天后,孙蔚如总司令在黄河滩召开公祭大会。将士一律臂挽黑纱,孙司令面对黄河,眼含热泪,攥拳起誓:此仇不报,我孙某自当引颈自戮,以谢国人!
6月11日,李兴中、陈硕儒率96军主力177师杀回陌南镇,击溃了日军;孔从洲的46旅从夏县折回,封锁了平陆境内的南北要道——张(店)茅(津渡)大道;第一战区司令长官卫立煌将军应孙蔚如之请求,用炮火封锁了黄河河道:骄狂一时的日军终于被中国军队四面围住。6月12日,中国军队从东、西、北三面向被日军占领的茅津渡(茅津渡由古王、计王两个渡口组成)发起全面攻势。战至黄昏,日军全线崩溃,我38军、96军胜利会师,中条山保卫战取得胜利!
“六六战役”中国军队付出了惨重的代价,近万名官兵壮烈殉国。但日军死亡人数亦不在中国军队之下。战后,日军在运城召开追悼阵亡将士大会,会场上,仅阵亡军官的骨灰罐就摆了1700多个……
1940年10月,孙蔚如接到蒋介石的调防命令,率部离开了浴血苦战将近三年的中条山,到中原战场参战。晋南百姓含泪送行……
1945年7月,孙蔚如调任第六战区司令长官,授上将衔。日寇投降时,他为第六战区受降主官,在武汉接受日本第六方面军投降并全权处理六战区受降事宜。 武汉中山公园内至今还有一座受降碑,碑上镌刻的草书铭文是孙蔚如将军亲自撰写的:“中华民国三四年九月十八日,蔚如奉命接受日本第六方面军司令官冈部直三郎大将率二十一万人签降于此。第六战区司令长官孙蔚如题。”
1946年春,第六战区改组为武汉行营,程潜为主任,孙蔚如为副主任。
解放后,孙蔚如曾任民革中央常委,陕西省副省长,中央国防委员会委员等职。1979年,84岁的孙蔚如将军病逝于西安。
中条山,侵华日军称为“盲肠”。日军倾十余万兵力,苦战三年,竟未能越过中条山一步。这在抗战初期确属罕见。
抗战八年,日军占据了东、南、北大片领土,却一直无力西进,这一切都得之于中条山战役的伟大胜利。 然而,因为参战部队是“西安事变”的杨虎城部队,既不是国民党军队也不是共产党军队, 没有一方大力宣传。 中条山战役随后一直鲜为人知。
谨以此文献给中条山战役中牺牲的先烈们。
西北军惨烈中条山
杨虎城因“西安事变”被迫出国,将西北军(17路军)交给了结拜兄弟孙蔚如,并告诫:要牢记“兵谏”之初衷,一切以抗日大局为重……
1938年7月,一支由三万多名“陕西冷娃”组成的队伍夜渡黄河,开进中条山, 开始了惊天地泣鬼神的中条山战役。
战例1:
血战永济独立46旅(旅长孔从洲)和警备一旅张剑平团守永济城。
1938年8月8日,日军牛岛师团出动装甲部队,十几门大炮,9架飞机猛攻中国军队20多里的防线,永济岌岌可危!孔从洲叫来102团团副杨法震,说:“正面阵地压力太大,你速带一个营绕到敌人背后敲他一下!”杨法震冲在队伍的最前列,率领三百名壮士一路冲杀,在黑水村灭了敌警戒哨,在唐家营端了敌预备队;在北古城炸毁了日军增援的汽车队……8月15日清晨,日军调集1200多人,向杨法震设防的上高市猛扑过来。杨法震在指挥士兵们打退了敌人的4次进攻,自己亲手击毙了13名鬼子后,与三百名弟兄们一起战死上高市……
当晚,日军又迂回偷袭,占领了东南方向的西姚温、解家坟、万古寺,兵临永济城下。有“铁军”之称的教导团三营营长张希文一马当先,在收复了万古寺后又逆袭西姚温。由于通讯中断,三营被日军困在了西姚温……,孙蔚如将军写道:“敌旅将我西姚温阵地突破,我张希文营向该处逆袭、肉搏一昼夜,该营全部殉国,我主力及炮兵得以安全转移、厥功甚伟。”
8月17日,日军从东、南、北三面(西面是黄河)包围了永济城。下午5时许,攻破永济城。张剑平团长带领官兵在城内展开巷战,连炊事员也抡着菜刀杀入敌群……6时许,永济失陷,中国军队500名官兵壮烈殉国……8月26日,蒋介石发来电报:“自张团长以此牺牲壮烈,特电慰勉。”
永济失陷后,教导团团长李振西在韩阳镇筑起第二道防线,阻击日军半月之久。团副魏鸿纪带一支队插入敌后,奇袭敌营,搅得日军一时风声鹤唳……在一次奇袭完成后,撤退途中,年仅25岁的魏团副阵亡。
永济-韩阳作战,为中国军队争取到了时间和空间。孙蔚如渡河作战之初,三百里中条山的防务没有部署停当。永济战后,中国军队各部已集结到位,中条山防务也基本就绪。
战例2:
“六六战役”茅津渡是三门峡左侧、平陆境内、黄河北岸一个古老的渡口,它与潼关以北的风陵渡一样,历来为兵家必争之地。人们形容茅津渡是“一锁扣三省”,一锁既开,三省门户皆开。
1939年6月6日凌晨,下了生死赌注的日军一改常规,用他们最不习惯的夜战发起了扫荡攻势,兵分九路一齐杀来茅津渡。
日军进攻的重点是陌南镇我96军之主力陈硕儒的177师。虽然早已料到了日军会先攻陌南,但日军攻打陌南兵力之众多,火力之集中还是让中国军队一开始就非常被动。日军的十几辆坦克摧毁了防御工事,陈硕儒顽强阻击敌人,等待增援,但38军在驰援途中又遭到日军的封锁,而177师的47旅又被日军包围在中条山南麓的茨林沟无法脱身。陈硕儒苦苦支撑,战至下午4时许,陌南镇失守,177师被日军逼到了黄河岸边。
面对着日军愈来愈小的包围圈,年近半百身材瘦削的陈硕儒师长一声令下,40名陕西冷娃甩掉血渍斑斑的军衣,端起机枪杀向敌阵。 自以为胜券在握的日军万万没有想到陈硕儒会杀个回马枪,一时乱了阵脚……177师杀出重围,有人问:“师长,往哪里打!”陈硕儒大手一挥:“回陌南镇!”陈硕儒回马第一枪冲出黄河滩;回马第二枪又杀回陌南镇,越过陌南,穿插至中条山腹地休整数日,收拢散兵后陈师长回马三枪,复夺陌南。此举成为“六六战役”中的一段“神话”。
但是,177师杀出黄河滩后,有两支队伍没能跟上,他们是新兵团和工兵营。这两支队伍分别被困在了黄河岸边的许八坡和马家崖。 新兵团有一千多人,都是些十七岁左右的新兵。小战士们在黄河滩上与日军舍命拼杀,在牺牲了二百多名弟兄后,八百多人被逼上了河岸边一百八十多米高的悬崖。伤痕累累战士们向着家乡跪拜之后,一起跳进奔腾的黄河……
800壮士集体投河的这一幕,被山里的村民看见了。据一位村民讲,他至今还记得最后一名士兵跳河的情景。那是一位旗手,他的双手紧紧攥着他部队的军旗。他在跳河前吼唱了几句秦腔,好像是《金沙滩》中杨继业的两句——
两狼山战胡儿啊天摇地动,好男儿为国家何惧死生啊
后来,人们打捞这杆军旗时,拖出两具尸首来。旗杆从一个鬼子兵的后背戳进去,穿透前胸。那个吼秦腔的旗手还紧紧攥着旗杆。
几乎同时,在相距十余里的马家崖,我177师工兵营二百多位士兵也为捍卫中国军人的尊严而集体扑进黄河…… 三天后,孙蔚如总司令在黄河滩召开公祭大会。将士一律臂挽黑纱,孙司令面对黄河,眼含热泪,攥拳起誓:此仇不报,我孙某自当引颈自戮,以谢国人!
6月11日,李兴中、陈硕儒率96军主力177师杀回陌南镇,击溃了日军;孔从洲的46旅从夏县折回,封锁了平陆境内的南北要道——张(店)茅(津渡)大道;第一战区司令长官卫立煌将军应孙蔚如之请求,用炮火封锁了黄河河道:骄狂一时的日军终于被中国军队四面围住。6月12日,中国军队从东、西、北三面向被日军占领的茅津渡(茅津渡由古王、计王两个渡口组成)发起全面攻势。战至黄昏,日军全线崩溃,我38军、96军胜利会师,中条山保卫战取得胜利!
“六六战役”中国军队付出了惨重的代价,近万名官兵壮烈殉国。但日军死亡人数亦不在中国军队之下。战后,日军在运城召开追悼阵亡将士大会,会场上,仅阵亡军官的骨灰罐就摆了1700多个……
1940年10月,孙蔚如接到蒋介石的调防命令,率部离开了浴血苦战将近三年的中条山,到中原战场参战。晋南百姓含泪送行……
1945年7月,孙蔚如调任第六战区司令长官,授上将衔。日寇投降时,他为第六战区受降主官,在武汉接受日本第六方面军投降并全权处理六战区受降事宜。 武汉中山公园内至今还有一座受降碑,碑上镌刻的草书铭文是孙蔚如将军亲自撰写的:“中华民国三四年九月十八日,蔚如奉命接受日本第六方面军司令官冈部直三郎大将率二十一万人签降于此。第六战区司令长官孙蔚如题。”
1946年春,第六战区改组为武汉行营,程潜为主任,孙蔚如为副主任。
解放后,孙蔚如曾任民革中央常委,陕西省副省长,中央国防委员会委员等职。1979年,84岁的孙蔚如将军病逝于西安。
日本投降签字仪式 (45年10月10日上午十时, 北平)
北平日本军方向中国递交投降书的仪式是在故宫博物院内太和殿前,文华殿和武英殿中间那一大片朝拜的广场上进行。
受降仪式台上分别是中方代表,国民党第十一战区司令长官孙连仲,日本代表、日本驻华北战区司令根本博。
附: 各受降地区受降情况
本文中各受降地区名称依据中国陆总规定的“某某地区日本官兵善后连络部”,并按受降时间顺序分述。各受降地区接受投降官兵数,在各种资料、报道中出入甚大,本文以《昭和20年的中国派遣军》所记载为主要依据。据该书2卷2册第94页:“从投降到1954年止,从中国派遣军原占领地域遣返日本国内人员1528883人(内中国派遣军的军人及军事机关文职人员约105万)”,其各区数字之和约105万,这些与冈村宁次记述“停战时中国派遣军的兵力,约为105万(华北方面军30万,第6方面军35万,第13军30万,第23军10万)”(《冈村宁次回忆录》第83页)、日本复员局海外军人统计表(服部卓四郎《大东亚战争全史》4卷第382页,军事译粹社1978)记载都非常吻合。按日军惯例,《昭和20年的中国派遣军》一书除另有说明,所指人数均为陆军。
1 京沪地区 资料《中国抗日战争大辞典》第269页“9月中,汤恩伯在上海主持受降仪式”(另见《中国战区受降纪实》),实际并没有仪式。据《中央日报》,9月11日第3方面军司令汤恩伯中将在上海召见日军第13军司令松井太久郎中将,交付“沪字第1号命令”,饬令日军自12日起缴械投降。该报道并称关于南京方面的受降汤已在南京召见第6军司令十川次郎中将当面详细规定。南京是中国战区对日受降典礼所在地,京沪地区显然不便再来一次受降仪式。上海部分的日军投降主官是松井太久郎,投降部队是中国派遣军直属第27师团;第13军司令部、第60、61、69师团,独立混成第90旅团;第6军独立混成第89旅团;上海方面特别根据地队,上海海军陆战队。南京部分的日军投降主官是京沪地区日本官兵善后连络部长、第6军司令十川次郎,投降部队是中国派遣军直属第3、34、40师团,第13飞行师团;第13军第161师团;第6军司令部。在《昭和二十年的中国派遣军》的“京沪地区”之下,分列上海地区、杭州地区、南京地区,投降官兵数只有上海165000、南京138830,但杭州地区的投降部队番号都在上海地区出现。如此说法的原因推测是松井太久郎兼任杭州、上海两区的投降指挥官,因此上述165000与138830应是“京沪”、“杭州厦门”两区总计投降陆军官兵数。
2 山西地区 据《中华民国史事日志》:“9月13日,山西日军投降书签字,未举行仪式(日军由第1军司令澄田赉四郎派山冈道武少将代表,第2战区司令长官阎锡山派第7集团军总司令赵承绶代表)”(注:山冈道武是第1军参谋长)。此处没有说签字地点,但8月18日第2战区长官阎锡山即率部进入太原。未举行签字仪式的原因,推测一是省内局势动荡,一是阎不屑于做此事。在所有受降主官中阎的资格最老,他是1935年的一级上将,1904年入日本士官学校(受降总主官何应钦1909年入日本士官学校),而对手澄田赉四郎中将是日本陆军士官学校24期毕业(1912年),1944年11月才由第39师团长晋升军司令。资料《中国抗日战争大辞典》第279页、《中华民国史大辞典》第214页称9月13日阎锡山在太原主持日军投降签字仪式,纯属臆测。投降日军部队是第1军司令部、第114师团、独立混成第3旅团、独立步兵第10、14旅团、第5独立警备队;驻蒙军第4独立警备队。资料《中国抗日战争史地图集》第292页记载第5独立警备队在平津地区集结投降,错误。接受投降官兵58000。
3 南浔地区 中国第9战区新3军9月3日进抵九江,9月4日新3军军长杨宏光在柴桑口司令部主持受降仪式,日军第11军司令笠原幸雄在投降书签字。但发生在9月9日前的仪式不能视为正式的。 第9战区前进指挥所主任、第58军军长鲁道源9月9日进抵南昌。据资料《昭和二十年的中国派遣军》2卷2册第92页,“在南浔地区,根据第9战区前进指挥所主任、第58军军长(鲁道源,译者)和我方会商决定,9月14日在南昌进行了投降仪式,向第9战区长官薛岳(二级)上将投降…10月1日,我投降指挥官第11军司令笠原幸雄中将在南昌与受降官薛岳将军会见…”。《中华民国史事日志》只有“9月14日上海南昌日军开始缴械”。 资料《中国抗日战争大辞典》第334页称“9月14日在南昌由第58军长鲁道源主持…”。据《中央日报》,9月13日在南昌江西大旅社举行了洽降会谈,由鲁道源主持,第11军司令笠原幸雄由汉口飞赴南昌受命。次日中午12时在南昌中山路中央银行大楼举行正式受降仪式,笠原幸雄向鲁道源签字投降。南昌受降时薛岳还在吉安,直至9月25日才离开于次日到达南昌。以上可见南浔地区有过两次受降,原因一是薛岳没有到场,二是绝大部分投降日军(第58师团、独立混成第22、84、87旅团;中国派遣军直辖第13师团)在九江附近长江沿岸而中心城市南昌仅驻有独立步兵第7旅团(以后薛岳加派第1集团军副总司令孙渡在九江地区主持受降事务),但南昌的受降应具有第9战区的名义,据第58军一位军官回忆鲁道源主持签字仪式提及薛岳对鲁说:此次我派你到南昌代表我受降是你一生的荣耀云云(全国政协文史资料委员会编《文史资料存稿选编-抗日战争》(下)第794页,中国文史出版社2002)。难以推测薛岳为什么没有亲自主持受降。 前文述及,8月16日后第11军退到湖南祁阳时,第6方面军令第11军司令即来汉口(9月初笠原幸雄从汉口赴九江投降),部队就近入列第20军。那么第11军司令部是撤销还是随第58师团、独立混成第22旅团部队转移到南昌、九江地区?尚待查考,但《昭和二十年的中国派遣军》 2卷2册第92页所列投降部队中有第11军司令部。 本区接受投降官兵66830人。
4 杭州厦门地区 据《中央日报》9月13日第3战区长官顾祝同抵达杭州,前进指挥所撤销,第3战区长官部即日视事。《中央日报》(9月17日第2版)报道9月15日在杭州青年会旧址顾祝同召见第13军司令松井太久郎的代表、第133师团长野地嘉平中将,将第1、2号命令交付野地嘉平转松井太久郎,饬令日军自16日起缴械投降。同时被召见的有第133师团参谋长樋泽一治大佐及独立混成第62旅团长长岭喜一少将(但据日本陆军资料长岭喜一于6月10日亡于任上,接任旅团长安藤忠雄,张子申《走向神社的哀歌》[解放军出版社1994]未载)。资料《中国抗日战争大辞典》第320页称9月下旬松井太久郎在杭州向顾祝同投降,《中华民国史大辞典》第1154页称顾祝同主持仪式接受松井太久郎的投降,均系臆测;资料《浙江抗日战争史》(楼子芳,杭州大学出版社1995)、《不能忘却的历史———抗日战争在浙江》(连晓鸣,浙江人民出版社2005)记述9月6日或4日第3战区副长官兼前进指挥所主任韩德勤在富阳宋殿村主持日军第133师团长或参谋长投降仪式,均为误解。战争末期顾兼任军事委员会东南行辕主任节制第3、第7、第9战区,这是他得以列座南京典礼受降长官席的原因,而杭州厦门地区的受降也就没有正式仪式的必要了。本区投降日军部队是第6军第133师团、独立混成第62、91旅团,海军厦门方面特别根据地队。《浙江抗日战争史》第358页称“日军投降部队是第70师团、第133师团、第62旅团、第89旅团、第91旅团、海军陆战队”(亦见《不能忘却的历史———抗日战争在浙江》),均错误。据《昭和二十年的中国派遣军》2卷2册第93页厦门投降日军约2810人(含陆军“美浓部队”200多人),则在本区投降的日本陆、海军官兵可估计为约3万。
5 长衡地区 第4方面军司令王耀武中将于8月29日进抵衡阳,9月7日进抵长沙,9月15日在长沙湖南大学礼堂主持日军投降签字仪式,日军第20军司令坂西一良中将在投降书签字,投降日军部队是第20军司令部、第64、68、116师团、独立混成第17、81、82旅团、第2独立警备队。接受投降官兵70180。资料《中华民国史事日志》称投降日军约15万,如此大的讹误不知从何而来,按说湖南境内很少会有日本侨民,即使将侨民数与军人数混同也不至于此。
6 广州海南岛地区 受降部队9月7日进抵广州,第2方面军司令张发奎上将9月15日到达,9月16日在广州中山纪念堂主持日军投降签字仪式,日军第23军司令田中久一中将在投降书签字,海军海南警备府代表亦出席。投降日军部队是第23军司令部、第129、130师团、独立混成第23旅团、独立步兵第8、13旅团、海军海南警备府,接受投降陆军官兵83890,海南警备府海军官兵49400(《昭和二十年的中国派遣军》)。
7 武汉地区 第6战区长官孙蔚如中将9月1日抵宜昌,受降部队9月15日抵汉口,9月18日孙蔚如在汉口中山公园主持日军投降签字仪式,日军第6方面军司令冈部直三郎大将在投降书签字,投降日军部队是第6方面军司令部、第132师团、独立混成第86、88、83、85旅团、独立步兵第5、11、12旅团、海军扬子江方面特别根据地队,接受投降陆军官兵142600。《中华民国史事日志》称投降日军 21.3万,考虑到海军的一个特别根据地队员额从二、三千到万余人不等,即使陆、海军合计也达不到这个数目,因此不足为据。
8 郾城地区 第5战区长官刘峙二级上将8月25日进抵老河口,9月7日进抵南阳,19日到达漯河,20日主持日军投降签字仪式,日军投降代表是第12军司令鹰森孝中将、第115师团长杉浦英吉中将等,鹰森孝在投降书签字,投降日军部队是第115师团、骑兵第4旅团、独立混成第92旅团、第13、14独立警备队,《中华民国史事日志》称投降日军 2.5万,漯河受降碑(1946年建)碑文称投降日军31560人。
9 新汴地区 9月4日受降部队进抵郑州,9月22日第1战区长官胡宗南中将在郑州主持日军投降签字仪式,日军第12军司令鹰森孝中将在投降书签字,投降日军部队是第12军司令部、第110师团、第6、10独立警备队。郾城区、新汴区合计接受投降官兵72740,《中华民国史事日志》称本区投降日军6万。
10 徐海地区 第10战区长官李品仙上将9月7日进抵徐州,受降部队9月17日抵蚌埠。李品仙于9月22日到达蚌埠,9月24日主持日军投降签字仪式。日军投降代表有第6军司令十川次郎中将、第6军参谋长工藤良一少将、第6军第70师团长内田孝行中将,十川次郎在投降书签字,投降日军部队是中国派遣军直属第131师团,第6军第70师团,第13军第65师团、独立步兵第6旅团、第1独立警备队,接受投降官兵徐州21000,安庆20370,蚌埠1000。
11 包绥地区 资料《中华民国史事日志》“9月28日第12战区司令长官傅作义在归绥接受驻蒙军司令根本博的代表中巽少将之投降”(此处“中巽少将”应为驻蒙军参谋长中川留雄少将之误);但《中央日报》有如此报道:第12战区司令傅作义“派朱大纯师长办理绥远受降,9月29日完毕”,又于9月29日“派张砺生、孙兰峰两总司令为察、熱受降全权代表”;《昭和二十年的中国派遣军》“包头的部队,9月24日在投降仪式上正式投降”;《中国抗日战争大辞典》第345页“9月下旬,受降仪式在归绥举行,傅作义将军主持受降仪式,日军投降代表为蒙疆军司令官根本博中将…9月26日,蒙疆军司令部及所辖的独立第21、24警备队在包头开始缴械”(注:《中国抗日战争大辞典》有一明显错误,“8.15”后蒙疆驻屯军司令部转移到平津地区,并在北平向中国第11战区投降)。关于该区投降的部队,《1946年2月14日缴械一览表》则是“第21、24独立警备队9月26日在包头开始缴械”。查日本陆军资料全部日军都没有“第21、24独立警备队”的番号。据以上分析应订正为:9月28日第12战区司令长官傅作义二级上将在归绥接受驻蒙军司令根本博的代表、驻蒙军参谋长中川留雄少将之投降,该区投降日军是驻蒙军第4独立警备队下属的驻包头独立警备步兵第21、第24大队。接收投降官兵数未见于资料,按独立警备队的正常编制员额推算两个大队约1500人。
12 越北地区 9月2日日军第38军代表赴云南开远洽降。9月22日第1方面军司令卢汉率部抵河内。9月28日,受降典礼在河内越南总督府举行,日军南方军直属第38军司令土桥勇逸中将、参谋长幸道贞治大佐向中国陆军第1方面军司令卢汉上将签字投降,第38军下属大部分单位——第21、22师团,独立混成第34旅团向中国军队缴械(依中国陆总4号备忘录、《1946年2月14日缴械一览表》)。卢汉在1945年11月9日记者招待会宣布接受投降日军30081人,但后来资料多引用29815(例如《中国抗日战争正面战场作战记》第1420页)。 据第1方面军参谋长马锳回忆投降日军代表是“第38军司令土桥勇逸中将,第21师团长三国直福中将,第31旅团长服部尚志少将,独立混成第34旅团长永野修身少将,第38军参谋酒井干诚大佐”(《文史资料存稿选编-抗日战争》(下)第617-637页);“当第1方面军入越时,留在越北的日军仅有第38军之第21师团,独立混成第34旅团及其配属特种兵部队,总数3万多人(第628页)”。此处多有误记与疑点:查日本陆军资料永野修身少将没有其人,海军倒是有永野修身元帅;独立混成第34旅团长应是服部尚志少将;战争后期日本陆军没有第31旅团的番号(甚至没有独立混成第31旅团、独立步兵第31旅团的番号);酒井干城应是中佐(陆军士官学校第40期);第22师团为什么没有提到?第22师团组建时是三单位制,曾设置第22步兵团司令部后撤消,师团辖步兵第84、85、86联队;马锳错误记述的“第31旅团”应该是什么? 8月16日,战争期间流亡在云南蒙自县的法越殖民军部队司令亚历山得里少将向中国陆军总司令部肖毅肃参谋长提出:越南本属法国的远东殖民地,要求中国协助法军重返越南并接受驻越日军之投降。肖毅肃指出亚历山得里的要求与盟国划区受降的决议相悖,亚历山得里因此拒不出席河内的受降典礼。 1946年4月,投降日军官兵全部遣返日本,其中列为战犯的189人解送广州,中国军队于5、6月间撤回国内。
13 潮汕地区 9月12日第7战区长官兼第12集团军总司令余汉谋上将之代表、第12集团军副总司令兼第7战区前进指挥所主任徐景唐抵达汕头,9月28日上午9时在汕头外马路原“国际俱乐部”主持受降仪式,日军第23军司令田中久一中将之代表、第23军参谋长富田直亮少将在投降书签字(《中央日报》、《昭和二十年的中国派遣军》)。1940年8月重组的第7战区长期局促于粤赣边,仅辖有一个集团军及地方部队,承担受降任务较轻,接受投降日军人数仅多于包绥区。资料《中华民国史事日志》、《中国战区受降纪实》称“第7战区司令长官余汉谋在汕头接受日本第23军军长田中久一之投降”,显系误记。投降日军部队依《1946年2月14日日军缴械一览表》是“第104师团与潮汕支队”,表中广州海南岛地区则没有第104师团;依《昭和二十年的中国派遣军》2卷2册第93页是“第104师团的部队及其他”,而广州海南岛地区有“第104师团”(注:查http://www.gd918.org驻汕头日军主体是第130师团步兵第94旅团的独立步兵第281大队[队长田中英二]、独立步兵第621大队[队长村重武一]与师团炮兵队[队长后藤?],旅团长小野修少将兼任潮汕警备司令官)。按第104师团驻地海丰,介于广州、汕头之间,将其划在潮汕区也有可能。若注意到没有日军军司令部的几个受降区——“杭州厦门”、“郾城”、“徐海”地区——除投降主官(或其代表)还有本区的师团长作为投降代表,而本区未报道第104师团长出席但有第130师团步兵第94旅团长小野修出席,则第104师团司令部究竟在何处投降仍可存疑。本区接受投降官兵4460人。
14 平津保地区 9月9日第11战区前进指挥所主任吕文贞自西安抵北平开展洽降,10月8日第11战区长官孙连仲二级上将自西安经新乡抵北平视事,主要受降部队第92军于10月18日到达北平接管城防。10月10日孙连仲在故宫太和殿前广场主持日军投降签字仪式,日军华北方面军司令兼驻蒙军司令根本博中将在投降书签字,投降日军部队是华北方面军司令部、战车第3师团、独立混成第1、8、9旅团、独立步兵第2旅团、第3、7独立警备队;驻蒙军司令部、独立混成第2旅团;第13军第118师团。接受投降官兵126800人。
15 台湾地区 9月14日空军第1路司令张廷孟驾机飞抵台北,10月5日台湾行政长官公署秘书长兼台湾警备总司令部前进指挥所主任葛敬恩率部抵达,10月24日台湾行政长官兼台湾警备总司令陈仪上将抵达。10月25日,中国战区台湾省接受日军投降典礼在台北举行。日方投降代表第10方面军司令(兼台湾总督及台湾军管区司令)安藤利吉大将、参谋长諌山春树中将,总督府总务长官兼代理农商局长田一二三,高雄警备府参谋长中泽佑海军少将等5人;安藤利吉在投降书签字。 受降主官陈仪上将,还有台湾警备副总司令陈孔达、司令部参谋长柯远芬、行政长官公署秘书长葛敬恩、第70军军长陈颐鼎、空军第1路司令张廷孟、海军第2舰队司令李世甲。 自10月5日台湾警备总司令部前进指挥所抵台开展接收行动以来,均未见有关日本海军高雄警备府司令志摩清英海军中将的报道。 资料《中国抗日战争大辞典》第298页“第10方面军及所辖第9、12、50、66、71师团,第65、66、100、103、105旅团及其他部队共16.9万人”,不仅漏列了海军高雄警备府、陆军第8飞行师团,旅团数与番号也全错。又《中国抗日战争史地图集》第291页所列“独立混成第61旅团(台湾)”为错误,该旅团确为第10方面军直辖但驻在地是菲律宾北方外海的巴布延诸岛,未在台湾地区投降。投降日军部队应为第10方面军司令部,第9、12、50、66、71师团,第8飞行师团,独立混成第75、76、100、102、103、112旅团;高雄警备府司令部、高雄方面特别根据地队、马公方面特别根据地队、第29航空战队。 1944年9月22日成立第10方面军时,负责动员与指挥准军事部队的台湾军与第10方面军并存司令兼任。1945年2月1日日本本土防卫指挥体制调整,设本土8个军管区,由驻地方面军司令或军司令兼任,同时台湾军改称台湾军管区、朝鲜军改称朝鲜军管区。因此在本区投降的应当还有台湾军管区。本区接受投降官兵第10方面军128080人、高雄警备府46713人(《大东亚战争全史》4卷第382页),中国资料多引用未区分陆、海军的合计数字169031(例如《中国抗日战争正面战场作战记》第1420页)。
16 青岛济南地区 9月16日第11战区副长官部济南前进指挥所成立,10月10日第11战区副长官李延年中将抵达济南,12月27日李延年在济南主持日军投降签字仪式,日军第43军司令细川忠康中将在投降书签字。资料《中国抗日战争大辞典》第270页称“11月李延年在济南主持日军投降签字仪式”,日期错误。投降日军部队是第43军司令部、第47师团、独立混成第5旅团、独立步兵第1旅团、第9、11、12独立警备队;海军青岛方面特别根据地队;投降陆军官兵 70500。 因中国军队不能及时到达原日军占领区,经中国战区授权有两次特殊的受降:10月6日美国海军第3两栖军军长洛基中将代表中国战区在天津接受日军第118师团长内田银之助中将的投降,在场中国代表是第11战区参谋长吕文贞;10月25日美国海军第6陆战师师长谢伯尔少将代表中国战区在青岛接受日军独立混成第5旅团长长野荣二少将的投降。
以上16个受降地区有京沪、山西、杭州厦门地区未举行正式受降仪式,受降主官有山西地区阎锡山、南浔地区薛岳、潮汕地区余汉谋未出席受降仪式或正式召见日军投降代表,实际受降主持人级别最低的是南浔地区鲁道源。日军投降指挥官有山西地区澄田赉四郎、杭州厦门地区松井太久郎、包绥地区根本博、潮汕地区田中久一未亲自投降。投降日军五大单位之一的海军高雄警备府司令志摩清英未在南京受降典礼与台湾地区受降典礼露面。
接受投降日军单位与人数的总计 将以上资料《昭和二十年的中国派遣军》所列各区接受投降陆军官兵数字相加,合计接受中国派遣军投降官兵(不含香港)1046510,另冈村宁次记述为105万,日本复员局海外军人统计表(《大东亚战争全史》4卷第382页)合计为1049700。 接受投降官兵还有中国方面舰队63755人(含香港)、第10方面军128080人、高雄警备府46713人(以上三项均依《大东亚战争全史》4卷第382页)、第38军30081人(依《中央日报》卢汉1945年11月9日记者招待会)。若取中国派遣军投降官兵1049700,则总计投降官兵1318329人(含香港)。 向中国战区投降的日本陆军计有:1个总军司令部、3个方面军司令部、10个军司令部;33个师团(中国派遣军26个、第10方面军5个、第38军2个)、1个战车师团(中国派遣军)、2个飞行师团(中国派遣军、第10方面军各一);29个独立混成旅团(其中中国派遣军22个,第10方面军6个,第38军1 个)、11个独立步兵旅团(中国派遣军)、1个骑兵旅团(中国派遣军);13个独立警备队(中国派遣军);1个支队(中国派遣军);陆军投降官兵合计120.4万余人。 海军计有:中国方面舰队及下属海南警备府,高雄警备府;包括6个根据地队、4个陆战队、1个航空战队、2个警备队共13支部队(参见《中国战区接受投降的日本陆海军单位与人数考订》);海军投降官兵合计10.9万余人。
故事片:《梅花》(1976)
梅花 (1976); (英语名: Victory )
地区:台湾;
色彩:彩色
对白:国语;
片长:95 分钟
片种:剧情片;
分级:普通级(台湾)
导演:刘家昌;
编剧:邓育昆
摄影:林赞庭 林鸿钟
演员: 崔福生 岳阳 徐康泰 恬妞 马之秦 刘秦雨 柯俊雄 胡茵梦 谷名伦 张艾嘉
第13届金马奖(台湾1976): 最佳剧情片、最佳编剧、最佳非歌剧影片音乐、最佳彩色影片摄影、最佳录音.
介绍:
六四年七月,梅花经行政院核定成为中华民国的国花 .
七十年代, 抗日电影盛行。如《英烈千秋》(1974)、《八百壮士》(1975)、《吾土吾民》(1975)、《梅花》(1976)、《笕桥英烈传》(1977)、《强渡关山》(1977)、《望春风》(1977)等。
七五年四月, 老蒋总统去世, 全岛悲恸. 许多人戴孝服丧以表示对失去领袖的哀悼。从这段时间开始,乃至往后的几年,"蒋公纪念歌"是各种集会的开幕曲,各大小合唱比赛的指定曲。
七六年初,刘家昌导演的《梅花》上演,卖座甚佳。主题曲〈梅花〉虽是两年前的作品,但因电影的卖座,变成了盛极一时的爱国流行歌曲。邓丽君唱<梅花>时对观众说:"我就为大家介绍这首歌,每次唱这首歌我都很感动.我觉得这首歌的歌词代表了每一个中国人奋斗的精神." 一年又一年,人们一遍又一遍地被<梅花>感动着,被邓丽君美妙的旋律甜蜜的歌声感动着,被封存了的历史记忆感动着。
从通俗剧的叙事来看,《梅花》基本上是一个「浪子回头」的故事。叙述在中日战争末期的台湾,由柯俊雄饰演的小混混,在目睹全镇人奋力协助中国政府对抗日军后,大彻大悟,决心做个顶天立地的中国人,最后以身殉国。这部影片与其它抗日片不同之处,是以梅花作为象征国族的叙事中心,做为人物描绘和情节发展的基点。首先是小学老师(胡茵梦饰)的殉节。全镇在了解真相后,为她举行追悼式,合唱〈梅花〉.在另一情节高潮处,片中田野饰演的猪肉贩,不畏日军的酷刑,宁死不愿出卖国军间谍。在被押赴刑场时,他慷慨激昂地唱起〈梅花〉,鼓舞送行的幼儿,并召唤他的民族精神。随即在路旁观看的男女老幼,开始唱着〈梅花〉,不约而同地加入送行的队伍。此时,音乐声渐大,逐渐取代影像,成为叙事的主体。不论是剧中主要的人物,还是由临时演员扮成的旁观者,都一起被歌词中,圣洁不屈的国族意象,引导至民族情绪的亢奋。而观众也被简洁动听的二段式曲调,连带地引入类似的情绪,超越现实与虚构的藩篱,时间与空间的差距,想象做为中国人的不幸与骄傲。
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)