ABSTRACT
This chapter explores American perceptions of the role of Japanese civilians in two of the crucial battles in the War of the Pacific and evaluates how the reactions of U.S. forces to encounters with armed civilians impacted U.S. strategic decision-making as World War II came to a close. The chapter explores the tension between the U.S. government’s desire to minimize civilian casualties and military conceptualization of “enemy civilians” in Japan as “weapons of war.” The chapter reflects on the impact of civilian resistance through suicide on opposing troops, who were struck by the humanity of their enemy as they witnessed the specter of mass suicide. It also explores the gendering of civilians, emphasizing the shock of American GIs to discover the bodies of women among those of civilians who had joined with the Japanese army in resisting U.S. attack – in violation of contemporary American understandings about the sanctity of womanhood. The chapter argues that the blurred lines between civilians and combatants – so alien to an American military force fighting with a clearly demarcated and physically separated home front – played a key role in President Truman’s decision-making leading to the deployment of the atomic bomb.
