Well said. I don’t think many of those who are alive today but who did not live through WW2 have an inkling of the cruelty and determination of the Japanese, both military and civilian. Anyone who has studied the subject will likely agree that there would have been monumental loss of American lives, not only if the war continued, but afterward. Americans would have become virtual slaves, and that is if they survived. It is all too easy to sit back from a place of safety and judge the actions and decisions of our predecessors. Imho, allowing the Japanese to win WW2 would be the equivalent of national suicide.
For starters, the United States was NEVER even considering accepting anything less than the total surrender of Japan. People can think whatever they want, but we were going to be at war with Japan until they surrendered and this was something that the the American people completely supported.
The name of the planned invasion was “Operation Downfall” and estimates for just AMERICAN deaths ranged from around 100,000 to nearly a million. A stockpile half a million Purple Hearts were cast in anticipation of the invasion of Japan, the American military is still using this stock TODAY.
The reality is that American estimates were way off, the Japanese had more than twice the number of operational planes we thought they had. Plus, Westerners were just beginning to understand the concept of suicide missions, Japan was full of civilians (older men, women and children) who were eager to die for Japan — this is something totally different from what we encountered in Germany.
Based on what we know today, it is very possible that between the Allies and the Japanese that between three and five million people would die and two to three times that number would be seriously injured. The Atomic Bombs SAVED millions of lives.