Abstract
The oppressive floral and faunal fecundity of Asia and the Pacific was matched by a degree of human fertility that appeared at least as aggressive and overwhelming to white American soldiers. Military pamphlets provided GIs with Asian population figures and densities that were staggering: 15 million people in Burma, 72 million in the Dutch East Indies, 389.9 million in India. Java alone, an East Indies island no larger than New York state, supported 48 million people. A booklet distributed in 1945 reminded GIs that the Chinese had continued to fight the Japanese for eight straight years despite the loss of at least five million soldiers and civilians.
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© 2002 Peter Schrijvers
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Schrijvers, P. (2002). Masses. In: The GI War Against Japan. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230505278_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230505278_6
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-41549-6
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-50527-8
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