After surviving Saipan and Iwo Jima, he felt quite pleased about the atomic bomb putting a permanent end to the argument!
Justified.
I have my own personal note.
My Dad served two years in the South Pacific as an anti-aircraft gunner in the Marines during World War II. By November 1944, Australians took over mopping up the few Japanese remaining on the islands and Dad was sent to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. As plans were made for the invasion of Japan, Dad’s unit would have been included in the first wave of soldiers and Marines to land on the island of Kyushu in November 1945, with a large number of deaths anticipated.
Instead, with the two bombs, Japan surrendered and Dad was honorably discharged October 9, 1945.
During the 1970’s, my Mom was involved with Church Women United. Plans were being made to host visitors from other countries, and Mom was asked if she would be a host to two men from Japan. One day when I was visiting my folks, the topic came up and Dad said it would be a cold day in hell before he would allow any Japs in his house. I flippantly remarked that I did not know my Dad was an Archie Bunker, and he really took that comment to heart. After thinking it over, Dad agreed that Mom could invite them into their home.
They were very nice gentlemen, and my folks became good friends with them, corresponding with them throughout the rest of their lives. In appreciation for putting them up, one of the men gifted my folks with a painting of a famous Japanese temple, which my parents proudly hung in their dining room. With their deaths, one of my sons has the picture hanging in his dining room.
Another child, my daughter, spent a year in Japan after graduating from college under the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. She was there on 9/11, and the people there were very kind and expressed their condolences.
The Japan of today is on friendly terms with the United States and the people of both countries grieve over the horrible things that happened during World War II.
I think all three were justified.
400,000 to 800,000 Americans would have died in an invasion of Japan. If Truman had refused to use the atomic bomb and it later came out that he had the means to end the war in a few days by dropping atomic bombs on Japan, but had instead elected to send several hundred thousand Americans to their deaths, he would have been impeached, removed from office, and then charged and tried for treason.
We were going to invade the Japanese Home Islands. We would have had more atomic bombs by then. The plan was to use these in a tactical way, which meant using them on the advance to/in Tokyo.
Check out “Hell to Pay: Operation DOWNFALL and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947” by D.M. Giangreco.
“No. The European war was already over, and the Pacific conflict was winding down. The Soviet Union, free from battling Germany, was soon to engage in hostile action against Japan.”
Those saying this were obviously never a US or Soviet infantryman in 1945.
How would Truman explain to a family of an American killed after we had the bomb, if he refused to use it? Would he say their Soldier, Sailor, Marine, or Airman dies to save Japanese lives from a really mean bomb?
Justified.
If it wasn’t for them, we would have seen anywhere between 400,000 and 800,000 KIA, and 1.7 to 4 million wounded in any attempt to invade Japan. And that’s not including the Japanese death toll which could be 10+ million.
Modern day people have no idea of the ferocity and tenacity of the Japanese Imperial Army. They would have fought a war to the death of every one of them, and of us.
WADR....I can’t believe that question is still being asked. It’s been proven beyond doubt, by statements from Japanese military figgers (A little Downton Abbey lingo there) that they, with their wild eyed Bushido bull feces, were prepared to continue the bloodshed until there was no man standing. So HARRY S. did the right thing and brought it to a screeching halt. After MacArthur knocked that Bushido crap out of them, and made Hirohito confess that he was NOT a divine figger, and gave them an elective represent-ative gubmint, the Japanese are a great people. I spent 3 beautiful years there in the late 50s-early 60s.
After Pearl Harbor the Japanese would have fought to the death on their home islands. This would have meant millions of Japanese civilians and another half million American troops dead.
It was necessary to drop those bombs to end the war.
The other side of the coin is that the American people did need their pound of flesh.
I lost three uncles in that way that I never even got to meet. I heard their names and saw their pictures while growing up in the 50’s as they were remembered and honored at every family event. The Japanese took much from my family.
Now, for those not involved or touched by that conflict to try and sit in judgement is just wrong.
Playing politics with our dead heroes is almost fighting wrong.
Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night.
Japan was run by a bunch of sociopaths and racial supremacists that horrified the Nazi's with their excesses. And it had been doing this for some SIXTY years.
Anyone who thought that they were just going to stop or that leaving them to carry on in a slightly limited manner for a bit before they decide to terrorize the world again was acceptable is simply insane.
Justified.
My uncles didn’t have to invade the main land.
Saved Japanese lives. My uncles were really pissed off after Tarawa and Saipan.
5.56mm
I think it is also important to note that Japan refused to surrender both before and after we dropped the first atomic bomb. Japan only agreed to surrender after we dropped the second atomic bomb and convinced Japan that we would keep on dropping them until they surrendered. In fact, at the time we only had two atomic bombs left (we had three, but test fired one) and had no way of knowing for sure if either would actually work.
As much as the raid on Pearl was.
Some urban renewal was good for them.
Look at Hiroshima and Nagasaki today compared to Detroit...
Justified?
Of course it was war. Killing the enemy is justified in order to win.
The problem with the world now is that dying Europe will not let you kill your enemies.
Peace is the interval between wars