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Nathan I'm on the edge of my seat! Who will it be Rocky or Bill? There must be a resolution.
 
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H.Appleby: I'm afraid you're going to have to wait awhile to see the resolution of the Knowland-Rockefeller fight. We're going over to Asia next! :cool:

Maybe something about the Philippines?
 
Glenn Miller, rest in peace. :sad:
 
hoi2geek: Nothing about the Philippines.

Asalto: I picked up a Glenn Miller CD the other day. Kinda makes me regret not being able to hear him live. :sad:

[video=youtube;ZJE-onnw2gM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJE-onnw2gM[/video]

But at least we get 16 more years of him. :)
 
I would have mentioned Eddie Cochran, but I wanted to do that in my AAR... Sorry Eddie.
 
Nabendu: So far the Beatles are on track. They will be heading to Hamburg soon.

H.Appleby: Okay. You can have the honor of sparing him then.
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The Fall and Rebirth of Japan
Tomoeda, Japan in the summer of 1960 was a town craving attention. Located near the national capital Tokyo, Tomoeda was a small settlement of almost no significance. With the sole exception of Tsukimine Shrine (a local Shinto religious shrine managed for generations by the Mizuki family and still is today), there was nothing notable about the place. Unlike Kyoto (the former imperial capital of Japan) and Nagoya (the first target of an atomic bombing), Tomoeda had no claim to fame in which to attract people. That would change during the 1950s when Japan saw a massive wave of postwar construction projects sweep across the country. Tomoeda’s leaders decided to use this construction boom to develop a landmark which would once and for all give notice to their underappreciated town. In 1957, they announced plans to build a clock tower; not just any clock tower, but the tallest clock tower in Japan. It was a hugely ambitious plan which went through several architectural drawings before a final design was chosen. From start to finish, it took three years for the plan to become a reality. On June 17th, 1960, the Tomoeda Clock Tower was officially dedicated. Crowds stood in awe of the majestic blue-and-white clock tower as it seemed to effortlessly pierce the sky. The slim free-standing structure could be seen several miles away; the fact that it was the tallest clock tower in the country gave Tomoeda a sense of pride which it had never experienced before. For the next forty years, the TCT stood tall over a town which saw her population grow…partly because people now had a reason to know about Tomoeda. In 1975, the TCT lost her status as a free-stander when Tomoeda Elementary School was constructed around the tower due to land constraint. Rather than move the iconic structure, the builders simply annexed it into the new school. In July 2000, the TCT suffered a blow to her ego when she lost her status as Tomoeda’s tallest structure. A much taller clock tower was erected to serve as the centerpiece of Tomoeda Amusement Park. Despite this, the TCT continues to be a beloved landmark for the people who live within her shadow.
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The construction of the Tomoeda Clock Tower was a visual symbol of Japan’s postwar recovery. Of course, it was a long recovery process for the island nation considering the war left it in a state then-British Prime Minister Winston Churchill compared to ground powder. When historians evaluate which countries suffered the worse during World War Two, the Big Three are usually the Soviet Union, China, and Japan. The Soviet Union lost millions of lives and saw a large part of her land occupied by the Germans. China underwent a brutal occupation at the hands of the Japanese which greatly ruined the country and left behind deep scars which would motivate the Chinese after the war never to be so vulnerable again. As for Japan, the best word to describe what happened to her would be “pulverized”. Her road to destruction began in 1941 when her Imperial Government stood at the crossroads of strategic decision making two years after conquering China:
  • On the one hand, the Willkie Administration was eager to avoid war with this major power and was willing to accept Japanese hegemony over the Asian mainland in exchange for peace (thereby revoking the Stimson Doctrine of not doing so). If Japan took this route, her empire stretching from Korea to Indochina would be secure for the foreseeable future and the United States would be a dependable trading partner rather than a hostile agitator as she had been during previous Administrations
  • On the other hand, taking this route would mean Japan would still be dependent on the United States for crucial resources like oil. With much of Europe under German domination, resource-rich European colonies in Southeast Asia and the Pacific were especially vulnerable to conquest. If the Japanese captured these colonies, then she would be self-sufficient and wouldn’t need to rely on other nations to feed her appetite. Of course, the Americans had a military presence in the Philippines and across the Pacific. If Japan went to war with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, she would run the risk of drawing the United States into the conflict
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Japan’s brilliant and daring naval commander, saw the dangers of the second option clearly. Having spent the 1920s living in the United States, he knew the country firsthand and appreciated her industrial might. He openly expressed his reservations about a potential war with the Americans and why it would be bad for Japan in the long run:
“Should hostilities once break out between Japan and the United States, it would not be enough that we take Guam and the Philippines, nor even Hawaii and San Francisco. To make victory certain, we would have to march into Washington and dictate the terms of peace in the White House. I wonder if our politicians (who speak so lightly of a Japanese-American war) have confidence as to the final outcome and are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices.”
Yes, the Americans wanted to avoid war as much as possible. If she was provoked however, Yamamoto was certain that her immense industrial power would be the deciding factor in the war. He predicted:
“I shall run wild considerably for the first six months or a year, but I have utterly no confidence for the second and third years.”
The Imperial Government rejected the Admiral’s counsel of caution and ordered him to draw up battle plans. Japan would go to war regardless of the consequences.
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On Sunday morning, February 15th, 1942, over 350 Japanese carrier planes operating from six carriers descended from the clouds and made their presence felt over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In two hours of mayhem, the Japanese carried out a devastating surprise attack against the most important American military installation in the Pacific. 200 US aircraft were destroyed, the Nevada-class battleship USS Oklahoma was transformed into a burning tomb for over a thousand sailors, the Pennsylvania-class battleship USS Arizona had capsized in the water trapping survivors inside her hull, and nearly 4,000 people had been killed or wounded. It was a stunning tactical victory for the Japanese, but Yamamoto – who planned the attack in order to paralyze the Americans – recognized that his country had also committed a strategic blunder. For one thing, the US carriers which the Japanese thought were at Pearl Harbor weren't there out of good luck. Yamamoto was quite grim upon receiving that piece of news:
“I fear all we have done today is to awaken a great, sleeping giant.”
He was right. The American people were shocked and outraged at having been attacked in such a fashion. Feeling betrayed by his personal dealings with the Japanese, a visibly angry Willkie went before Congress the next day and received a nearly-unanimous declaration of war against Japan. Just as Yamamoto had warned, the United States struck back hard with a furious vengeance. General Douglas MacArthur, the tireless and hard-charging chief of the US Army, left his desk job in D.C. to personally lead the drive across the Pacific. He famously declared on his way to Pearl Harbor:
“In war, there is no substitute for victory.”
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His leadership, backed up by America’s limitless military production, produced exactly that. A series of naval engagements starting at Wake Island decimated the Imperial Japanese Navy, clearing the way for American ground forces to hop their way island-by-island from one side of the Pacific to the other. US submarines demolished Japanese shipping, completely isolating the main islands of Japan and cutting off reinforcements to the Asian mainland. The capture of the Mariana Islands and Iwo Jima allowed the Americans to launch a strategic bombing campaign against Japan. The fall of Formosa and Okinawa gave MacArthur bases in which to launch an invasion of the home islands themselves. In the summer of 1945, after Tokyo rejected demands for her unconditional surrender, President Dewey authorized the final go-ahead for Operation Downfall – knowing full well from discussions with his commanders that casualties would be very high. In the early hours of August 6th, battle-hardened Marines stormed the automobile-codenamed beaches of Southern Kyushu (the main island closest to Okinawa) in the largest amphibious operation ever conducted. As feared by the planners, August 6th became the bloodiest day in American history. Against dug-in opposition and relentless suicide attacks known as kamikazes, the Americans suffered more in those first twenty-four hours than they did in the one-day Battle of Antietam in September 1862 (23,000 casualties there). It was a bitter taste of things to come. From their foothold in Southern Kyushu, the Americans proceeded to fight their way across the Home Islands against united military and civilian opposition. Not even the atomic bombing of Nagoya a month after the invasion commenced seemed to break their will to fight the invaders. Defeating Japan required the Americans to capture all the main islands; even then, the Japanese government refused to submit. They retreated to the Asian mainland and had to be cornered in Hong Kong before they would finally agree to surrender and end the war in early 1947.
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Forcing Japan to make peace cost both sides dearly. The Americans suffered over a million casualties (more than the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the American Civil War, and US involvement in World War One combined) and the Japanese suffered a staggering five million casualties (roughly seven percent of her total population). Having been utterly defeated (unlike in post-WWI Germany, there was very little in the way of the “stabbed in the back” mentality), the surviving Japanese citizens were forced to pick up the pieces in a country that had been all but leveled. Her economy was in ruins, most of her industries had been bombed out, her infrastructure had been shattered, and most of her cities had been reduced to rubble – Kyoto, due to her cultural significance, was one of the few cities spared destruction. Unemployment, homelessness, and inflation ran rampant. What prevented Japan from sliding into complete chaos amidst all this was ironically the American occupation. In his meetings discussing Operation Downfall, Dewey made it abundantly clear to his military planners that he didn’t want the inevitable occupation of Japan to look like a conquest. Knowing that the Japanese would be fanatical in defending their homeland, he and others wanted the enemy to see the invasion as a war of liberation against imperial rule and not as a war of subjugation against the people themselves. Alongside the military campaign, the US would commit to a “hearts and minds” campaign aimed at appeasing the hostile civilian population. The tricky balance was to knock out the military while at the same time minimizing civilian unrest. Steps were taken to try to make the Americans look good, such as setting up supply depots behind the front line to provide surviving civilians access to food and medicine. Although these steps did help to ease the suffering of the civilian population somewhat, it was obvious following the invasion that much more would have to be done to turn Japan around. A strong leader would be needed to manage the rehabilitation effort.
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MacArthur, the man arguably most responsible for Japan’s unprecedented defeat, was tapped to serve as the military governor of postwar Japan. Just like in war, MacArthur relished in his peacetime duties. He agreed with D.C. on the need to leave the country in better shape than he found it and played the role of benevolent conqueror to the hilt. One of his first actions upon arriving in Tokyo was to order the initial 400,000 occupation soldiers – reduced to 350,000 in 1950 and 300,000 in 1953 – to live among the Japanese people and share in their hardships. Punishment would be dealt out to those who strayed from the “sympathetic occupiers” image. He wanted to put the two former adversaries on an equal footing by creating the sense that “we’re all in this together”. MacArthur took up modest residence and declined the use of any luxuries that weren’t available to the average citizen. He knew his actions were being closely monitored both here and abroad; therefore, the general carefully orchestrated P.R. to make both himself and the occupation look good. Using the broad powers granted to him as military governor, MacArthur proceeded to sweep away the old imperial order with one major exception: Hirohito. As Emperor of Japan since Christmas 1926, His Majesty commanded the obedience of his people and therefore was considered essential by the Americans for any successful occupation. They treated him delicately, shielding him from questions regarding his accountability in the Japanese persecution of the war. By keeping Hirohito on the throne, the Americans sent a loud message to the Japanese that they would be able to preserve their way of life to a certain extent. For his part, the Emperor agreed to endorse the occupation and accept changes imposed on his throne that reduced him from a divine Head of State to a royal figurehead comparable to the British Head of State. His role would be largely ceremonial, and his famous meeting with MacArthur showcased who was really in charge.
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Since the Americans were the sole occupiers of Japan (whereas in Germany they shared the occupation with France and the United Kingdom), MacArthur was given a free hand to do largely what he wanted. Exercising his almost-unlimited powers with great skill, MacArthur led Japan’s transition to a Western-style democracy. Using the billions of dollars of reconstruction funds allotted to him, MacArthur poured money into agriculture and infrastructure projects as a basic step towards getting the country back up and running again. He then had a new rigid Constitution of Japan drawn up under which the country would have a bicameral parliamentary system of government. Individual rights were guaranteed such as gender equality, free elections for all Japanese adults over the age of twenty, the freedom of speech and assembly, the ability to form trade unions, the rights to a fair trial and due process, and the freedom of religion. Controversially, Article 9 renouced the use of aggression and forbade Japan from having a military. Although the latter sounded like a good idea at the time, the United States would change her mind about it in the late 1950s. The reason: Nationalist China’s decision to build up her air force and navy with support from the Soviets made the White House and the Pentagon nervous. Afraid that the Chinese might be tempted to be aggressive towards their much-hated former occupier, the Americans pressured the Japanese into re-establishing their military despite Article 9. In 1961, Tokyo unveiled the Japan Self-Defense Force with the crystal-clear understanding to all that it would be entirely under civilian control and strictly for self-defense purposes.
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In the early 1950s, MacArthur shifted the focus of the occupation away from implementing sweeping social liberal reforms and towards speeding up her economic recovery. Due to the level of destruction Japan endured, her economy took a painfully long time to recover. Things were only somewhat better in 1951 than they were four years earlier...and that is being generous. To grease up the slow grind of the economic engine, money was poured into construction projects and business start-ups to put people to work building what would be their future. Land reform was undertaken to free up land that had previously been owned by a landlord system for private use. With money and land at their disposal, the Japanese initiated a great building boom. Wooden cities which had been burned to the ground during the war were cleared away and were gradually replaced by steel cities. The gleaming skyline of modern day Japan began to take shape during this decade. At the same time the Tomoeda Clock Tower went up, a Japanese architect named Tachū Naitō looked to Paris’ famed Eiffel Tower as inspiration for a large television broadcasting tower he was designing which would dominate the rising Tokyo skyline. Over a thousand feet high, the white and orange structure would be christened the simple name “Tokyo Tower”.
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In 1953, Dewey – whose decision to fiance reconstruction efforts stemmed partly from his guilt at having authorized the fruitless nuclear bombing of Nagoya – left office after two terms and was succeeded by Stevenson. That spring, the new President traveled to Japan to see for himself the state of the nation. Although Japan’s economy still had quite a way to go, there were signs that her recovery was starting to pick up the pace. Inflation – which had been rampant when MacArthur took charge – was being brought under control, homelessness and hunger had largely vanished, and unemployment was starting to shrink. Walking the streets of Tokyo, Stevenson talked to civilians and visited a few small businesses which were sprouting up due to improvements in the economy. One aspiring businessman he met who had hope for the future was Taichi Daidouji. Having lost his younger brother who was a kamikaze pilot in the failed defense of Kyushu and having watched his home burn to the ground, Taichi and his wife Haruka were among the millions left to start their lives over in the occupation. Since they were now poor and had two young children to take care of, Taichi decided to make toys from scratch for them to play with. He proved to be a natural toy builder; so much so that in 1952 he and his wife started up a small Mom-and-Pop toy store in which everything was handmade. The couple had no idea at the time that their small store would ultimately grow into a major company whose products you can find on store shelves across present-day Japan: Daidouji Toy Company.
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(One of the earliest Daidouji toys)
With Japan’s economy on the gentle upswing and civilians given a say in their government through the emergence of political parties representing the full ideological spectrum, the decision was made to end the occupation. MacArthur thought the time was right and Stevenson agreed; after all, it was US policy not to occupy Japan longer than necessary and eight years seemed like enough time. Before 1953 was out, the United States and Japan would sign a peace treaty formally ending the occupation and restoring full sovereignty to the latter. As a token of goodwill, the United States returned control of the Bonin Islands, Iwo Jima, Amami, and Okinawa to Japan. In the case of Okinawa, the transfer was made with a major caveat: the Americans would retain control of the major military bases there as leases that would be renewed every ten years (the current leases will be up for renewal in 2014). When the treaty went into effect in the summer of 1954, MacArthur officially ended the occupation and bid the Japanese people an affectionate “sayonara”. To show their respect to the man who had knocked them down only to pick them back up, the Japanese bestowed MacArthur the nickname “Gaijin Shogun”. Upon returning to the United States for the first time in twelve years (during that time, the US had changed her Commander-in-Chief four times), MacArthur addressed a special joint-session of Congress to give his report on the occupation. The general who once vowed bloody revenge for the attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent fall of the Philippines praised the Japanese for their willingness to accept defeat and change:
“The Japanese people since the war have undergone the greatest reformation recorded in modern history. With a commendable will, eagerness to learn, and marked capacity to understand, they have from the ashes left in war’s wake erected in Japan an edifice dedicated to the supremacy of individual liberty and personal dignity, and in the ensuing process there has been created a truly representative government committed to the advance of political morality, freedom of economic enterprise, and social justice.”
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Following the speech, MacArthur announced that he was going to retire from the military. After fifty-one years of service, the seventy-four-year-old decided it was time to hang up his famous cap. His retirement ceremony at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York became one of the big events of the year, filled with pomp and reminisces. Standing proudly at the podium and reflecting on all he had been through, MacArthur couldn’t help but remember something from long ago:
“When I joined the Army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all of my boyish hopes and dreams. The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on the plain here at West Point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished; but I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barrack ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that ‘old soldiers never die; they just fade away.’
And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away; an old soldier who did his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty.”

Douglas MacArthur would live another ten years, writing his memoir and receiving public adulation wherever he went. His death in April 1964 would be greatly mourned by a country which regarded him as one of their greatest generals alongside giants like George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant…a man victorious in war and far-sighted in peace.
 
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Hmm, I've never been a big MacArthur fan, even though I liked his speeches, but your update made me almost like the old man. In any event, I think that we might have to take a slow boat to China to see just hwut in the heck Chaing is doing working with the Soviets. And while we're sojurning in the Far East, perhaps we can peek in on Korea, India and Vietnam.
 
And thus Washington is able to say: "See, Chiang? We have a nice replacement for your China".:p:p
 
It's absolutely astounding that your MacArthur wasn't drafted into presidential politics in the late '50s. A war hero twice over (three if you count the Veracruz Expedition), a proven administrator, and a man with a clear eye towards public relations - this is the Republican dream candidate.
 
It's absolutely astounding that your MacArthur wasn't drafted into presidential politics in the late '50s. A war hero twice over (three if you count the Veracruz Expedition), a proven administrator, and a man with a clear eye towards public relations - this is the Republican dream candidate.

The guy was nothing if not dedicated to his job. His experience in being military governor in Japan could have made him averse to the political wheeling and dealing required of a president, given that he was not the type to let others carve out their slice of the pie. Also, he's already in his seventies, why risk his legacy by getting embroiled in politics? I don't think he was that glory-seeking that he would want to be one of those people that governed two countries of the first rank in the modern day.
 
The guy was nothing if not dedicated to his job. His experience in being military governor in Japan could have made him averse to the political wheeling and dealing required of a president, given that he was not the type to let others carve out their slice of the pie. Also, he's already in his seventies, why risk his legacy by getting embroiled in politics? I don't think he was that glory-seeking that he would want to be one of those people that governed two countries of the first rank in the modern day.

We are talking about the only American ever to be a field marshal, who switched branches from engineer to infantry strictly because it was career-enhancing, and who argued that Truman's interference as Commander-in-Chief was inappropriate (not militarily wrong, but inappropriate). To say that MacArthur wasn't "that glory-seeking" is like saying Cthulhu "isn't that sanity-devouring."
 
Great update! Nice to see something democracy working out in the far east. But heres some food for thought, if the American public was able to stomach the horrific causalities of the home islands invasion then Vietnam would be a piece of cake comparably. Even with the news coverage. But than again, there is more than just the war that adds to the overall disappointment and anger at the gov in this era.
 
We are talking about the only American ever to be a field marshal, who switched branches from engineer to infantry strictly because it was career-enhancing, and who argued that Truman's interference as Commander-in-Chief was inappropriate (not militarily wrong, but inappropriate). To say that MacArthur wasn't "that glory-seeking" is like saying Cthulhu "isn't that sanity-devouring."

I honestly think that Dugout Doug was probably the vainest man ever to serve in the military with the possible exception of Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
 
Nice to see Japan doing so well, altough there is a big chance that they are going to have their revenge somewhere in 2000s and conquer America with help of Nostalgia bombs.
 
Can we see an update about the Philippines, soon.
 
H.Appleby: I wanted to give MacArthur a better exit than he got historically when Truman sacked him. MacArthur was a very good general; the problem was that MacArthur was his own worst enemy thanks to his enormous ego and inability to know when to shut up.

China is coming up after we make a layover in Korea. We’re going to see Chiang get militaristic, which isn’t good if you don’t trust him one bit.

Vietnam will get an update, it’s just a matter of where I want to place it amidst the other updates I have planned. As for India, I touched on it in ’58 and don’t plan to elaborate further.

Kurt_Steiner: We do? Great! Umm…who?

c0d5579: After Eisenhower died in ’55, the G.O.P. were unwilling to take a chance on another elderly war hero.

That’s the story reason anyway. The writing reason why I didn’t pick MacArthur in ’56 is because I wanted Sparkman to win a full term to set up Scoop in ’60 and therefore wanted a weak candidate to run against the President – Lodge – instead of a stronger candidate like Old Doug.

Ciryandor: MacArthur was very much a man used to getting his way and would complain if he didn’t get his way (part of the reason for his OTL downfall). I don’t think he would last five minutes as President in a give-and-take Washington.

Mr. Santiago: Thank you.

c0d5579: Cthulhu…sounds familiar for some reason. Can’t quite put my finger on it.

PvtPrivate: The difference between World War Two and the Vietnam War is that the American public during World War Two knew what the country was fighting for: to defeat the Axis Powers and fight for freedom. They were willing to absorb the terrible lost of live in the knowledge that their boys were fighting for a noble cause. By contrast, the Government during Vietnam never really explained to the public what their sons and husbands were fighting for exactly. LBJ never educated the public to deal with Vietnam for the long haul and that’s part of the reason why the anti-war movement essentially drove him out of office.

H.Appleby: I’m sorry. I don’t follow your logic at all.

Asalto: Nostalgia bombs made proudly by Daidouji Toy Company. :cool:

hoi2geek: Sorry, but I have no plans to.
 
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I see the reasoning regarding MacArthur being viewed as "too old," though I assume that logic no longer holds by 1980, else it might wind up Mondale vs. Bush. MacArthur was hideously vain - even before the corncob pipe, he was known for showing up unexpectedly to participate in trench raids on the Western Front wearing a Dr. Who scarf, and he wore all of his medals... The Medal, two Distinguished Service Crosses, six Silver Stars, a Bronze Star with Valor device, all the way down the line... all the time until he got wind of the fact that people were laughing at him, then he wore none of them, because it presented a better image. He was also an autocrat by nature. However, I'm not sure that would have worked against him as much as we've been thinking. Andrew Jackson is still remembered fondly, for instance, and Theodore Roosevelt was a DC outsider who steamrollered everyone who got in his way, so we know it can be done.

Anyway - on to the mainland!