In honor of the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, 6 August 1945.
It was not a hard decision for the then-War Department to authorize the use of the atomic bomb on Japan. Not after the unbelievable horror of the Battle of Okinawa, where over 12,000 American soldiers were killed, possibly 100,000 Japan soldiers were killed and maybe as many as 150,000 civilians were killed between March 26 to June 22, 1945. And that was just a preview of the bloodbath that awaited American and British troops if they tried to invade any of the Japanese home islands. Weary from six years of World War, the Americans needed a fast way to end the war—and the atomic bomb was the perfect means to impress on the Japanese government to accept the Potsdam Declaration.
Bfl
Those two bombs saved the lives of TENS OF MILLIONS of Japanese.
Anyone who doubts Japan’s stubbornness, resolve, devotion, etc. needs to understand this:
Hiroshima was bombed with a horrible weapon.
Japan didn’t surrender after this first A-bomb was dropped.
Japan had no defense or counter offense for the A-bomb.
Japan was not planning to surrender at all.
In it, the author said: "...Understanding the past requires pretending that you don’t know the present..."
I am not sure I agree with that. I think I understand quite well many of the lessons of the past without having to pretend I don't know what goes on presently. What I think you DO have to do is accept one simple fact: You cannot judge people in the past by the standards of the present.
That's it. Granted, I do think there are some things in God's laws that are immutable, and can can be judged from afar, and I am not talking about that kind of thing.
My dad had the opportunity to speak on Memorial Day back in 1995 on the upcoming 50th anniversary of the dropping of the bombs, and said unashamedly, if we had to, we should have used more of them (or something along those lines. Hoo boy. You should have seen the local headlines the next day, something like "Veteran says more bombs should have been dropped on Japan" or something like that...but my dad was completely comfortable and unapologetic for saying what he did, and the context in which he said it.
Here was the picture from the paper...my dad was a hell of a guy...I sure do miss him.
Excellent essay; thanks for posting it.
I have always viewed the A-Bomb as a big lesson for the Japanese; i.e. don’t bomb Pearl Harbor without warning on a Sunday, December 7, 1941. My Dad was in the movement towards Japan moving by carrier to Hawaii when the war ended. He was home by October.
Ozzy Osbourne - Thank God for the Bomb
Like moths to a flame
Is man ever gonna change?
Time’s seen untold aggression
And infliction of pain
If that’s the only thing that’s stopping war
Then thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Nuke ya, nuke ya
War is just another game
Tailor made for the insane
But make a threat of their annihilation
And nobody wants to play
If that’s the only thing that keeps the peace
Then thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Nuke ya, nuke ya
Today was tommorow, yesterday
It’s funny how time can slip away
The face of the doomsday clock
Has launched a thousand wars
As we near the final hour
Time is the only foe we have
When war is obsolete
I’ll thank God for war’s defeat
But any talk about hell freezing over
Is all said with tongue in cheek
Until the day the war drums beat no more
I’ll thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Thank God for the bomb
Nuke ya, nuke ya
E.B. Sledge’s book along with a number of other books detail very well where the Pacific war was headed. The combat Marines knew the fanaticism of the Japanese close up and personal. They had already witnessed the fatalistic viciousness and mindless obedience to the Emperor that most Japanese troops had. They knew that the general population would also mostly follow like sheep. Even the second bomb dropped did not sway the fanatics and a coup was attempted to keep the war going.
The apologists are scumbags of the lowest order and have no credibility. The Japanese today still fail to admit their primary role in the war that led to the bombs being dropped. They also have no credibility; they were more than willing to sacrifice their entire population in any attempt to kill any invaders. Those lost from the two bombs and from the fire bombings that preceded them are the sole responsibility of Japan, nobody else.
My father was on Okinawa after an ETO tour flying in bombers and they were dropping on Japan almost daily. He noted that every soldier, sailor, airman, and marine on the island was relieved that they wouldn’t be thrown into a series of suicide missions, mandated by Dugout Doug, to take the main islands. Historically, the only person upset that the bombs ended the war was Dugout because he was being denied his moment of glory as the overall commander.
5.56mm
Had it not been dropped, I and millions of others in my generation would never have existed. My father was on a yard mine sweeper on its way to clear mines off the coast of Japan when his naval group was given orders to go back to their base. It wasn’t until after they got back to port that the surrender notice was made known to them.
Weeks later, his ship docked in Tokyo. He recalled that an elderly gentleman and two small girls, dressed in traditional clothing, gave them each a flower when they stepped ashore. He thought it odd as he figured that just a few weeks prior these people would have tried to spear him with bamboo sticks.
Before we're through with them, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell.
-- Fleet Admiral William Frederick *Bull* Halsey, Jr., Remark in December 1941, after the attack of Pearl Harbor, as quoted in Roger Parkinson, Attack on Pearl Harbour. (1973), p. 117