 On this day and date, 1945. while sailing on the huge Pacific ocean doing aircraft carrier guard duty aboard a Destroyer "USS Niblack DD-424" 200 hundred miles off the coast of Japan, it was announced over the pa system that the US had dropped a huge explosive device, an "atomic bomb" on the empire of Japan. No one on our ship had any idea what kind of bomb this was. In a few days, we were aware that this was the beginning of the end of a long war. , things changed immediately in our operation schedule, our shipboard watches were changed from 4 hours on and 4 hours off, This meant being able for me an others to get 8 hours sleep or rest for the first time in two years. Also we could show lights after dark and our priorities in all sectors changed. Am I sorry we used this bomb to stop this war. not in the least, It probable saved hundred of thousands of American lives and many others. This was the beginning of the end of the war and we knew we would be soon heading home which I had left as a 16 year old nearly 3 years before. I shall always remember this day, 66 years ago like it was yesterday, and now back home and 84 years old, I thank God for my life and for giving me the opportunity to raise my family and live in peace.
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