The President's actions bring up painful memories, even six decades later

Patricia Tiber of Prescott Valley, Arizona, hasn't forgotten who committed undeserved atrocities against her, her family and so many other innocent civilians during World War II, and points out just why it's so embarrassing for free Americans, who recognize no royalty or master, to have to watch our current President continually bow and grovel like a sycophantic lackey in front of every world leader he encounters:

"For those of us who still remember years of imprisonment in Southeast Asian Japanese concentration camps during World War II and who lost fathers, husbands, sons and brothers in that horrific war, it was a low blow to see the president of the United States bow to the Japanese emperor ("Kudos to Obama for diplomatic bow," Letters, Thursday).

Oh, yeah, I know, it has been more than 60 years and I should move on.

But no, I can't forget three years of suffering under the Japanese "culture and etiquette."

My mother, brothers and I had to bow deeply every morning to their flag and the unseen emperor. If we didn't, we were beaten with a bamboo stick and had to remain in the hot sun for hours!

President Barack Obama may be getting good at bowing and understanding Japanese culture, but I, for one, found it painful and certainly not praiseworthy!"

Powerful stuff.

Commenters to Ms. Tiber's letter correctly note that to this day the Japanese Government refuses to officially acknowledge or apologize for their direct complicity in events such as the Rape of Nanking, the Bataan Death March and the forcing of thousands of Korean women into prostitution.

Who, then, should be doing the bowing and scraping?