If it hadn't been for that bomb and the one that followed they were estimating a million casualties. That would have truly been a tragedy.
Historical yes, but not our finest day.
Tragic that it had to come using the A-Bomb but absolutely the correct decision at that time. I bear no guilt as an American for that, I feel the Japanese set in motion a terrible chain of events, and stuck to that chain to the bitter end, thus causing this unfortunate necessity.
Study the battles for Iwo Jima and Okinawa if you want to see the horrors of nationalist fanaticism that US leaders had to soberly contemplate as they made the decision invasion or try these new weapons.
Someone above said one million casualties - that was GEN MacArthur's estimate of US military casualties, the estimates for Japanese casualties were in the several millions.
You may also want to consider that actual death tolls were far worse from the fire bombings of Japanese cities than from the atomic bombs.
Finally, I leave you with these quotes:
I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell.
General William T. Sherman
and
“It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.”— Robert E. Lee
Study the battles for Iwo Jima and Okinawa if you want to see the horrors of nationalist fanaticism that US leaders had to soberly contemplate as they made the decision invasion or try these new weapons.
Someone above said one million casualties - that was GEN MacArthur's estimate of US military casualties, the estimates for Japanese casualties were in the several millions.
You may also want to consider that actual death tolls were far worse from the fire bombings of Japanese cities than from the atomic bombs.
Finally, I leave you with these quotes:
I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell.
General William T. Sherman
and
“It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.”— Robert E. Lee
Very well said and correct.
I visited the Hiroshima memorial back in the day. There were still survivors with horrible injuries begging for money. Americans were not appreciated at the site, and we didn't stay. It may be different today, don't know, but it did bring an end to a terrible war.
Japan knew it was defeated, but was willing to sacrifice its own citizens and country in the name of honor to the last person in house to house warfare. The death toll on both sides would have been devastating.
Truman did the right thing.
We can discuss Hiroshima, but we aren't going to treat this like a birthday party. I edited the title to reflect such. Please continue.
I visited the Hiroshima Memorial there as well, many years ago. A sobering and terrifying place indeed.
As a related aside, while stationed in Hawaii many years ago, I used to conduct reenlistment ceremonies/flag raisings for Marines on the USS Arizona Memorial, and then gave a U.S. Flag to the Marine certifying that on the day of his/her reenlistment, a U.S. Flag was flown in their name above the USS Arizona. When doing this, I saw many Japanese tourists visit the Memorial there and lay tearful wreaths, and ask for forgiveness for their ancestors. Pretty awesome, sure makes you think about it all.
I visited the Hiroshima Memorial there as well, many years ago. A sobering and terrifying place indeed.
As a related aside, while stationed in Hawaii many years ago, I used to conduct reenlistment ceremonies/flag raisings for Marines on the USS Arizona Memorial, and then gave a U.S. Flag to the Marine certifying that on the day of his/her reenlistment, a U.S. Flag was flown in their name above the USS Arizona. When doing this, I saw many Japanese tourists visit the Memorial there and lay tearful wreaths, and ask for forgiveness for their ancestors. Pretty awesome, sure makes you think about it all.
The atrocities of WWII were truly astonishing on many, many levels. From the attack on Pearl Harbor to the attempted systematic elimination of an entire race (civilian) to the loss of life on the Japanese mainland (civilian) to the horrors inflicted by Russian Soldiers in the "Rape of Berlin" to the Japanese "Rape of Nanking". The civilian toll of the War was much higher than their respective Military. The results of the Atomic bombings of the Japanese mainland were without a doubt brutal and costly, but still less than half that of the estimated civilian casualties of Germany on the whole.
WORLDWIDE CASUALTIES WWII*
Battle Deaths 15,000,000
Battle Wounded 25,000,000
Civilian Deaths 45,000,000
*Worldwide casualty estimates vary widely in several sources. The number of civilian deaths in China alone might well be more than 50,000,000. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/s.../research-starters-worldwide-deaths-world-war
WORLDWIDE CASUALTIES WWII*
Battle Deaths 15,000,000
Battle Wounded 25,000,000
Civilian Deaths 45,000,000
*Worldwide casualty estimates vary widely in several sources. The number of civilian deaths in China alone might well be more than 50,000,000. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/s.../research-starters-worldwide-deaths-world-war
I believe we did the right thing in dropping the bombs, but there was no way we would have had a million casualties. If you look at last ditch Japanese rifles the Japanese were just about done with making weapons to fight with.
Several years ago a historian at UCSB laid out an interesting argument that it was the the russians actively entering the war against japan that ultimately prompted the surrender, and not the bombing themselves. It was a pretty compelling case, arguing that the Japanese felt they'd get better treatment from dealing with the Americans than the Soviets.
an excerpt from the below fox article.
Here is a summation on fox news and the original article.
an excerpt from the below fox article.
Here is a summation on fox news and the original article.
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