A couple more stories:
When I was a kid-- mid 1950's or so--I was talking to a maintenance man at our church. He had a strong accent and I asked where he was from. He said Estonia, (IIRC). I asked how he got here and he said after the war he was a DP and came here. It came out that he had been a soldier on the Russian side and, of course I had to ask him if he ever killed anybody. (Kids!) He said, "Yes, many Germans".
He was very careful but also let it be known how the fighting there was awful.
One time at the church there was a guest speaker coming in. He was Japanese and the emotions were still pretty tough about the war. I asked my mom if I could go hear him and she didn't want me to but eventually I probably nagged her into an 'okay'. I rode my bike down and listened to Mitsuo Fuchida talk. And then met him and got to visit with him. Memorable to say the least.
One man I worked for flew fighters in the Pacific. He told me he never even saw a Japanese plane. Long flights, patrols I guess. I asked him what plane was his favorite as he flew multiple types. His answer: "The one that got me home".
