It probably goes beyond that. Purely speculative, but had we not shown we had the bomb and were willing to use it, would the Soviets have pushed into western Europe? How many lives would have been taken in defending against that action?
My mom, into her 80s, recalled the names of her high school friends who didn’t come home from the Pacific and European campaigns.
On the county courthouse square (Appanoose County, Iowa) an engraved stone lists their names.