It’s amazing what you convey so distinctively with so few words. It’s like a history haiku.

did not win the peace in WWII in some important respects.

General Tomoyuki Yamashita is something of a hero of mine - famous at the time as the 'Tiger of Malaya' for his success in the invasion of the Malaysian Peninsula and Singapore (Britain's worst military defeat ever) he is essentially unknown in Japan today.

Sidelined to the Russian border in Manchuria for most of the war, as the situation deteriorated he was placed in command of the defense of the Philippines less than two weeks before the massive American landings on Leyte.

Supply situation and communications were already bad when Yamashita arrived. Then his superiors forced him into a wasteful commitment of troops to the defense of Leyte. He was forced to split his forces into three groups for the defense of Luzon and was able to directly communicate with and command the group defending Northern Luzon that he was physically with.

He was nominally in charge of the forces defending Manila, but naval forces refused to acknowledge his orders to declare the city open and not to defend it. Instead, the naval forces resisted to the last man, widespread atrocities were committed, huge areas of the city leveled.

Yamashita held his northern force together and was still resisting until Japan's formal surrender, then surrendered himself to American forces.

MacArthur was out for revenge and had what was truly a kangaroo court military tribunal convened in Manila less than two months after the fighting had ended. Yamashita's US Army lawyers mounted a vigorous defense, considering their resources and that the whole thing was rigged against them from the start. Yamashita was charged with being responsible for numerous atrocities that he had not ordered, had no knowledge of, be units he was not in command of, etc. just by virtue of being in overall command - a standard the US military has notably failed to hold itself to.

When the inevitable guilty verdict was returned they appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld it. Either MacArthur or Truman could have intervened to prevent Yamashita's execution but didn't and some terrible precedents were established that were used to justify numerous abuses in the GWOT.

Justice Murphy's dissent (some rate it as one of the greatest ever) warned us of where we could be heading if we failed to uphold basic rights for *everyone*.

The immutable rights of the individual, including those secured by the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, belong not alone to the members of those nations that excel on the battlefield or that subscribe to the democratic ideology. They belong to every person in the world, victor or vanquished, whatever may be his race, color or beliefs. They rise above any status of belligerency or outlawry. They survive any popular passion or frenzy of the moment. No court or legislature or executive, not even the mightiest army in the world, can ever destroy them. Such is the universal and indestructible nature of the rights which the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment recognizes and protects when life or liberty is threatened by virtue of the authority of the United States.

The existence of these rights, unfortunately, is not always respected. They are often trampled under by those who are motivated by hatred, aggression or fear. But in this nation individual rights are recognized and protected, at least in regard to governmental action. They cannot be ignored by any branch of the Government, even the military, except under the most extreme and urgent circumstances.
...

At a time like this when emotions are understandably high it is difficult to adopt a dispassionate attitude toward a case of this nature. Yet now is precisely the time when that attitude is most essential. While peoples in other lands may not share our beliefs as to due process and the dignity of the individual, we are not free to give effect to our emotions in reckless disregard of the rights of others. We live under the Constitution, which is the embodiment of all the high hopes and aspirations of the new world. And it is applicable in both war and peace. We must act accordingly. Indeed, an uncurbed spirit of revenge and retribution, masked in formal legal procedure for purposes of dealing with a fallen enemy commander, can do more lasting harm than all of the atrocities giving rise to that spirit. The people's faith in the fairness and objectiveness of the law can be seriously undercut by that spirit. The fires of nationalism can be further kindled. And the hearts of all mankind can be embittered and filled with hatred, leaving forlorn and impoverished the noble ideal of malice toward none and charity to all.

full dissenting opinions here

Tomoyuki Yamashita Wikipedia