What are the Major Influences on Sledge's View of the Japanese?

Influence of the Japanese in Sledge’s With the Old Breed - Differences Between Just and Unjust War
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Influence of the Japanese in Sledge’s With the Old Breed - Differences Between Just and Unjust Conduct in War
In With the Old Breed, Sledge (1981, p. 16) is puzzled when his team receives news that the Japanese have surrendered. "We thought the Japanese would never surrender," he says. Sledge's words may sound naпve, especially when he is talking about war. However, the idea that the Japanese could surrender was a complete contradiction of how the Japanese had fared in the war, in which both parties were pushed into doing extreme inhumane actions. Sledge ponders on the fanaticism of the Japanese resistance and how it fueled elemental hatred of the Americans, leading to war and extreme inhumane acts. Thus, the core influence of the Japanese is the redefinition of just and unjust conduct in war.
The Japanese Influence
In Unjust War theory, it is a necessity that a response is commensurate with the evil. In other words, there is the use of more violence than is strictly necessary. The theory implies that war becomes unjust when more violence than necessary is meted on opponents. A question that this theory opens is whether war can be. Sledge describes some of the extreme acts of violence and terror that both the Japanese and the American soldiers utilized. In one instance, he was traumatized to see that the Japanese had cut off a dead marine's penis and stuffed it in his mouth (Sledge, 1981, p. 19). Sledge explains how such scenes fueled his hatred for the Japanese. “I never felt the least pity or compassion for them no matter the circumstance (p. 102). In contrast, Sledge explains that while their comrades would field strip the dead Japanese’s pockets and packs to collect gold teeth and souvenirs, they di...