German city to honor WWII airman as new details of his death emerge

[rangerrebew]

German city to honor WWII airman as new details of his death emerge


By DAVID SINGLETON | The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa. | Published: February 8, 2020

SCRANTON, Pa. (Tribune News Service) — For more than seven decades, the story of Staff Sgt. Joseph Eugene Prokop’s life ended the same way: The Scranton airman died when Germans shot down his B-17 bomber near Frankfurt in the waning months of World War II.

It’s the story the War Department told his parents and the public when Prokop’s body returned to the city for burial in 1949, and it was the only story Ann Spearmint, 91, ever heard about her brother’s death.

As the city of Hanau, Germany, prepares to honor the memory of Prokop and two other Army Air Forces members later this month, details have emerged that are rewriting that story, adding a new layer of tragedy.

https://www.stripes.com/news/veterans/german-city-to-honor-wwii-airman-as-new-details-of-his-death-emerge-1.618020

[sneakypete]

Didn't the Gestapo normally murder Jewish soldiers they captured?

Is there a real difference for the relatives for him to be murdered the same day the bomber he was in went down in flames,or he died in the fiery crash?  Either way he has been dead all these decades and there is no one left living to punish for the murder.

[skeeter]

Didn't the Gestapo normally murder Jewish soldiers they captured?

Is there a real difference for the relatives for him to be murdered the same day the bomber he was in went down in flames,or he died in the fiery crash?  Either way he has been dead all these decades and there is no one left living to punish for the murder.

It's a magnanimous gesture on the part of Hanau, for sure.

[sneakypete]

It's a magnanimous gesture on the part of Hanau, for sure.

@skeeter

And one I have no problems with. I am sure the citizens there feel guilt over what the Nazi's did,and want to do something to show their sense of guilt.

If there is ONE thing the Germans have learned since the end of WW-2,it is how to feel guilty.

[skeeter]

@skeeter

And one I have no problems with. I am sure the citizens there feel guilt over what the Nazi's did,and want to do something to show their sense of guilt.

If there is ONE thing the Germans have learned since the end of WW-2,it is how to feel guilty.

While the Japanese are busy rewriting history.

[sneakypete]

While the Japanese are busy rewriting history.

@skeeter

The Jews obviously had better PR firms than the Japanese victims because the Japanese did some truly horrendous things everywhere they went,and it was the regular Japanese army units doing it,not "special units" like the Nazi's used.

The only "special unit" the Japanese military used AFAIK was a chemical warfare unit that did experiment stuff that probably would have made most Nazi's puke. The only "regular Japanese Army" soldiers in that unit were all guards,truck drivers,cooks,etc,etc,etc. The brass were all scientists. You almost never hear them even mentioned. I heard of them,but I have no idea if the officers in that unit met justice or not after the war ended. Assuming of course there IS such a thing as "justice" for what they did.

[skeeter]

@skeeter

The Jews obviously had better PR firms than the Japanese victims because the Japanese did some truly horrendous things everywhere they went,and it was the regular Japanese army units doing it,not "special units" like the Nazi's used.

The only "special unit" the Japanese military used AFAIK was a chemical warfare unit that did experiment stuff that probably would have made most Nazi's puke. The only "regular Japanese Army" soldiers in that unit were all guards,truck drivers,cooks,etc,etc,etc. The brass were all scientists. You almost never hear them even mentioned. I heard of them,but I have no idea if the officers in that unit met justice or not after the war ended. Assuming of course there IS such a thing as "justice" for what they did.

In many units of the Kwangtung Army Japanese replacements first arriving in China were required to bayonet a Chinese prisoner as kind of an initiation. That was some messed up code of military honor they had.

As far as I've read for the most part only the top military echelon & a few politicians hung after the war's end. A great number of those who actually perpetrated the atrocities did not survive to face justice. I don't think anyone from Unit 731 were punished.

[sneakypete]

  I don't think anyone from Unit 731 were punished.

@skeeter

 My memory is better now but it still sucks from the Chemo. Having said that,I think you are right about Unit 731 getting
a pass.

IIRC,I remember reading a LONG time ago that the Allies had to pretend the IJA did none of this stuff in order to
justify giving the Emperor and key aides immunity in order to get the surrender. If the Emperor hadn't gone on the radio and
ordered the Japanese citizens to surrender and obey the occupation forces,it was estimated that more than 100k Allied
soldiers would die to take the islands,and even afterwards would face guerilla attacks. The only way to avoid this was
to give the Emperor and his family and staff a pass,so they bit a bullet and agreed to it.

I am sure at the time if it were known publicly at that time the American public would have demanded Truman be hanged.

I am also guessing if you were to ask the soldiers floating around the Pacific on troop ships and their families,they
would have been all for it.

People today tend to forget that the Nazi's were small part of the German population,and they ruled by fear. On the
other hand,the Japanese worshipped their Emporer as a living God,and had done so for centuries. The Japanese government
didn't have to threaten their people to get them to fight and die. Most were happy to have the chance to die for their
Emperor. After all,he was a Living God.