--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They got word that the Japanese planes…" description: "\"They got word that the Japanese planes were coming back, so we sunk her ourselves so the Japanese wouldn't get it. We didn't want the Japanese to get i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/barney-ross-33166_back_they-got-word-that-the-japanese-planes-w_722620.png" --- # They got word that the Japanese planes were coming back… ![“They got word that the Japanese planes were coming back, so we sunk her ourselves so the Japanese wouldn't get it. We didn't want the Japanese to get it intact.” quote by Barney Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/barney-ross-33166_back_they-got-word-that-the-japanese-planes-w_722620.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/barney-ross-33166_back_they-got-word-that-the-japanese-planes-w_722620.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86c/barney-ross-33166_back_they-got-word-that-the-japanese-planes-w_722620.png) > “They got word that the Japanese planes were coming back, so we sunk her ourselves so the Japanese wouldn't get it. We didn't want the Japanese to get it intact.” [Barney Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-ross/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In wartime, denying the enemy access to resources may require harsh self‑sacrifice. **In simple terms:** Sacrifice to protect others. Key Takeaway Prioritize strategic denial. Themes war strategy ethics Mood serious grave Type historical strategic When to use this quote - combat missions - intelligence operations - resource denial Key Concepts military tactics enemy denial Questions to Reflect On - Is sacrificing own assets justified? - What alternatives exist? A Different Perspective Such actions raise moral dilemmas about self‑destruction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Japanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/japanese/) [Planes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planes/) ## Related quotes > [How could they possibly be Japanese planes?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/husband-e-kimmel/how-could-they-possibly-be-japanese-planes/) Husband E. Kimmel > [I had to use my wits or else I'd have been sunk - and nothings going to sink me. Everyone was always pulling at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/i-had-to-use-my-wits-or-else-i-d-have-been-sunk-and-nothings-going-to/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [“If you had asked me the day before whether high school could get any worse, I would have bet you everything I had that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-goode/if-you-had-asked-me-the-day-before-whether-high-school-could-get-any/) [John Goode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-goode/) > [No living person is sunk so low as not to be imitated by somebody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/no-living-person-is-sunk-so-low-as-not-to-be-imitated-by-somebody/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Don’t worry. If we sink, we’ll swim together to shore. We’ll use your bewitching chapeau as a float.” The nose of the yacht dipped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shana-abe/don-t-worry-if-we-sink-we-ll-swim-together-to-shore-we-ll-use-your/) [Shana Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shana-abe/) > […and there, in the background, the sky’s sediment had sunk to a place where all the woe of the words ‘I am’ dissolved into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/and-there-in-the-background-the-sky-s-sediment-had-sunk-to-a-place/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I should like to know if he has sunk a frigate, alone, with a Fleur-de-Nuit on his back; and as for distinction, my ancestors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-novik/i-should-like-to-know-if-he-has-sunk-a-frigate-alone-with-a-fleur-de/) [Naomi Novik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-novik/) > [“What has risen may sink, and what has sunk may rise. 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I'd draw diagrams about it and theorise that if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-robbie/i-was-absolutely-obsessed-with-the-titanic-not-the-film-the-actual/) [Margot Robbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-robbie/) > [“And you know what happens when a ship gets too many rats on board? It sinks. That's what. I wondered if a ship had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/and-you-know-what-happens-when-a-ship-gets-too-many-rats-on-board-it/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [We have sunk so low it has become the obligation of every decent, thinking individual to re-state the obvious!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/we-have-sunk-so-low-it-has-become-the-obligation-of-every-decent/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We sunk everything into it. It came close to going under several times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heston-blumenthal/we-sunk-everything-into-it-it-came-close-to-going-under-several-times/) [Heston Blumenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heston-blumenthal/) > [I knew that I had turned my world back to cinders, sunk my lovely ship with my own stupid, wicked hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/i-knew-that-i-had-turned-my-world-back-to-cinders-sunk-my-lovely-ship/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) ## More by Barney Ross > [We got orders to strike the Marshall and Gilbert Islands. We had a task force with the Enterprise. We had two or three cruisers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-ross/we-got-orders-to-strike-the-marshall-and-gilbert-islands-we-had-a/) [Barney Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-ross/) > [I was 20 years old at Pearl Harbor. I was in the Navy about a year and four months before the war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-ross/i-was-20-years-old-at-pearl-harbor-i-was-in-the-navy-about-a-year-and/) [Barney Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-ross/) > [Everything was black in the harbor, but there were still some fires burning on the ships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-ross/everything-was-black-in-the-harbor-but-there-were-still-some-fires/) [Barney Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-ross/) > [We managed to get underway, and I don't know to this day why we didn't get struck or take a torpedo, but we didn't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-ross/we-managed-to-get-underway-and-i-don-t-know-to-this-day-why-we-didn-t/) [Barney Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-ross/) > [Our duty was to try and find the Japanese fleet. 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I'd take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-ross/i-d-get-a-shell-they-weighed-about-80-pounds-i-think-but-when-i-was/) [Barney Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-ross/) > [It was lucky for me. It wasn't lucky for the nine people that got killed and the 20 that were injured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-ross/it-was-lucky-for-me-it-wasn-t-lucky-for-the-nine-people-that-got/) [Barney Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-ross/) > [I was standing on the deck of the USS Blue, a destroyer. We were all alone out there at this buoy, tied up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-ross/i-was-standing-on-the-deck-of-the-uss-blue-a-destroyer-we-were-all/) [Barney Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-ross/) [Explore all 15 Barney Ross quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-ross/) ## More Back quotes > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. 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Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [We're all painfully aware of how suddenly violence can occur, how crippling it is, and how survivors have to find a way back from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dini/we-re-all-painfully-aware-of-how-suddenly-violence-can-occur-how/) [Paul Dini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dini/) > [Ronaldo is just an athlete. He works so hard and back to back; he is always there. But if you work hard, can you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-davids/ronaldo-is-just-an-athlete-he-works-so-hard-and-back-to-back-he-is/) [Edgar Davids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-davids/) > [I do spend a lot of weekends on the road. I have to pace myself. 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