Posted on 07/30/2014 4:22:58 AM PDT by Freeport
I met and spoke with Van Kirk a couple of times at booksignings. Great guy, wonderful sense of humor - was cracking jokes left and right.
With that kind of positive attitude it’s no wonder he made it into his 90s.
I don’t think that either Olympic or Coronet would have happened. Especially after Okinawa and Iwo Jima.
There would have been a naval blockade and continued conventional bombing. There would have been magnitudes more Japanese deaths from that than from the atomic attacks. And that’s not counting what the Sovs would have done to the Japanese army on the mainland.
Nuclear bombing of Japan:
Supreme act of Humanitarianism and Peace.
Having had the honor of meeting General Tibbets personally, I can happily refute such a ridiculous claim.
Japan had opportunity to surrender and end the war. The deaths of those children occurred because of Japan’s decisions. What we have lost is the understanding that warfare requires some very ugly actions; that is if you want to win.
The pleasure was mine, believe me. My copy of “Enola Gay” is signed and dated by the man himself and it’s one of my prize possessions.
Japan gave us no other choice.
Remember Tojo and company tried to kill the Emperor before he made his broadcast that convinced the Japanese to surrender. Had their plot succeeded, who knows what would have happened.
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