The prisoner was captured and wounded. The combat was over.
Don't care.
I sure as hell do. Not killing prisoners of war without trial is what separates us from the savages the likes of which our boys have been at war with for decades now. Ironic to me that many decades on now, the evils/atrocities/war crimes committed in WWII against our men and our allies by the Japanese, Germans and others still gets folks upset--which they have every right to-- but there is a double standard when it comes to any of our troops committing the same kinds of acts.
I believe we must as a nation abide by the rules that we've set for ourselves, including in combat zones. Killing every single enemy combatant who would take arms up against our troops would please me no end, but killing prisoners and non-combatants, raping women, abusing children and behavior of that sort is what *they* do. I believe we as a nation need to be held to a higher standard, as we are better than that, and most certainly worlds better than *them*.
Last thought: correct me if I'm wrong JStuart, but I want to say I recall your writing once that you had a relative who in WWII was captured and subsequently executed by the Japanese. If it was someone else forgive me, but it seems to me that is more than a bit hypocritical to get upset about that and at the same time not care if our troops do exactly the same thing...
