Imperial Japan

These accounts from the Japanese-run internment camp in China during World War II can still prompt readers to contemplate several questions.

What would President Roosevelt say of President Joe Biden and his Democratic administration abandoning the Afghan people? Perhaps Biden, and many in the West, have turned away from winning because they have lost a sense that victory, even an unsatisfying partial victory, is politically and morally viable.

Seventy-five years ago, the Samuel Goldwyn masterpiece “The Best Years of Our Lives” premiered to universal critical and popular acclaim. Reviewing the film now, two overarching contrasts between past and present are clear.

Last month was the seventy-fifth anniversary of V-J Day—Victory over Japan, August 14, 1945—the official end of World War II. Yet most Britons prefer to celebrate V-E Day—Victory in Europe, May 8, 1945—the defeat of Nazi Germany. Why so?

After Japan’s surrender 75 years ago, McCulloch implored Christians and governments to affirm “the dignity of the human person as the image of God” because this principle could determine the world’s fate.

“It was inevitable that the final surrender of Japan, ending the costliest war of human history, should be greeted with a delirium of joy all over the world, and in America particularly.”

Matthew A. Sutton’s Double Crossed is an important book that offers a case study of how religious leaders contributed to national security in a challenging wartime environment.

Last week marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Iwo Jima. The Japanese intended to make the American cost of taking the island so severe they would reconsider invading the Japanese home islands. On this point, the Japanese condemned themselves by their very success. The shadow of Iwo Jima is arguably a mushroom cloud.

Formal religious adherence is declining, but America’s longtime religious self-identity as a lodestar of democratic responsibility in the world continues unabashed.