Surrender- A Soldier's Legal Ethical and Moral Obligations; With Philippine Case Study

<p>This thesis examines what a soldier's legal ethical and moral obligations are when he is ordered to surrender but still has the will and means to resist. The question pits two of the military's highest values against one another. The first is the imperative to obey orders of legally constituted commanders. The second is the military virtue of fighting the enemy as long as a soldier is able. Legal obligations are addressed at two levels beginning with International Law regarding capitulation agreements followed by United States military law concerning discipline and obedience. The American military ethic is examined with emphasis on the Code of Conduct and its strong injunction against surrender. Finally law and the military ethic are linked to personal moral values and the difficult decisions a soldier has to make when forced to choose between surrender and disobedience. A case study of the American surrender of the Philippines in 1942 is used to illustrate this complex dilemma. Diaries letters and other historical material were examined to weigh the actions of American soldiers in a legal ethical and moral context. Additionally a written questionnaire and personal interviews were conducted to solicit first person accounts of the decisions made regarding surrender. The study finds that the law the military ethic and personal moral values are likely to conflict when soldiers are ordered to surrender while they still have the means to resist. While no definitive solution is provided to this complex moral dilemma the author provides several key factors that should be considered before a soldier chooses a course of action in this difficult situation.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>