Don’t you hate when you’re being interviewed for a TV show, and it turns out the guy interviewing you is someone you almost killed in World War II? Isn’t that just the worst?

>[..] it took [Alex Haley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Alex_haley_US_coast_guard.png) – the author of *Roots* - more than thirty years to get over his “fear and hatred of the Japanese.” >In 1977, he was being interviewed for a Japanese television show when he and the interviewer began talking about the war. They suddenly discovered they had both fought on Manus Island and had come very close to killing each other. After a teary embrace, Haley explained that he was “overwhelmed by this simple truth: We need each other more than we need to fight each other.” It must be a strange experience to suddenly be face to face with somebody you never met before, but had once tried to kill. _______________________________ **Source:** Stephens, John Richard. “Alternative Views.” *Weird History 101: Tales of Intrigue, Mayhem, and Outrageous Behavior*. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2006. 68. Print. _______________________________ **Further Reading:** [Alexander Murray Palmer "Alex" Haley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Haley) [Roots: The Saga of an American Family](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roots:_The_Saga_of_an_American_Family) [Manus Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manus_Island)