[RayChuang88]

This was the reason why the decision was made to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. If the invasion of Okinawa had such a gigantic human toll on both sides, what would have happened when first part of Operation Downfall, code named OLYMPIC, started with the invasion of the southern end of the island of Kyushu? (Indeed, the Japanese military commanders guessed correctly we would invade the south end of Kyushu first and was moving massive amounts of men and materiel to defend the area at the time of Japan's surrender.)

[WhiskeyX]

An uncle in the U.S. Army was stationed in Japan after the war for some 8 years. He was befriended by a Japanese corporate officer who entrusted him with some of his corporation’s important affairs. This Japanese friend told the story of how the Japanese Army gave him and his fellow students sharpened bamboo sticks and the training necessary to attack the U.S. Marines and Army soldiers on the beaches of Honshu. He said the atomic bombs saved his life and the lives of his Japanese classmates.

[WhiskeyX]

Yes, and Hiroshima was the headquarters for the Japanese defenses in that area, contrary to so many false assertions that Hiroshima was somehow not supposed to be a serious military target.