1.it's 2-3 years back since I read book, but Mac engaged in acts of heroism during crisis involving sharks or other things, ostensibly in an effort to redeem his disgrace regarding the survival chocolate when they first land.(Their crash itself may also have been his screw-up, if he was the flight-engineer,-I cannot recall if he was FE or Nav on the flight-- as a hasty mistake by the flight engineer when they lost one engine, actually took a manageable one-engine failure and doubled it by feathering a good engine instead of the failed engine...by time that error could be corrected, they were already virtually in the sea)
anyway, his acts of heroism basically shortened his own potential capacity to survive, compared to theirs.
None of this was explained in book, agreed.
they were also not ever picked up from their rafts by the Japanese navy...they eventually simply ran into the Marshalls?? Marianas?? island group, whichever one Kwajalein /Makin are part of, and washed ashore.
Initially, by the small garrison on outlying island, they were treated very well by a small party of Japanese.
When they were transferred to principle base island amongst larger Japanese garrison, that changed dramatically.
Then of course, ultimately, they were shipped to Japan itself.As happened to many prisoners during course of war.
2. Because in theory, everyone takes prisoners, and cares for them to some limited extent, not even the Japanese simply killed all prisoners. And prisoners can be of use to captors, even the movie shows how. Work, interrogation, and propaganda stunts.
No modern power that I know of, simply kills people they capture. Not the Japanese, not even on the Eastern Front WW2 Germans vs Soviets, and not even the Talliban and other muslim savages such as ISIL that we are fighting today.
3. the whole scene was BS, there was never any intention to kill prisoners AFTER surrender. For one thing, there was no plan what to do after surrender, because there was no plan in advance to ever surrender.
What there WAS, and the stupid simple-minded movie fudged and distorted this, was a plan to KILL ALL PRISONERS WHEN ALLIES MAKE (ANTICIPATED) LANDINGS IN JAPAN MAIN ISLANDS.
Immediately reports came that Allies were ashore and established in Kyushu,with the war still ON-- THEN the Prisoners were all to be flushed.
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