Man, I hear that. My granddad was Navy, on a ship in the Pacific during WWII. At some juncture, they were ordered to leave drowning Japanese soldiers to die rather than take them as P.O.W's.
The details are so vague because they're all I know. He can't talk about anything regarding the war for more than a few seconds without breaking down in tears. Now that dementia has set in, I won't know the whole story. Over time I've come to think it may be better that way.