“The question amongst the shotcaller brass was about the use and the scientists had little to do with that as you know.”
Admiral Leahy is probably the most prominent of “the shotcaller brass” to criticize using the bombs, although there doesn’t seem to be evidence that he did so at the time.
William Leahy is not well remembered today but he was the most senior of all of the “5 star” military officers of WWII. Senior military advisor to FDR.
Leahy and George Marshall had moral reservations about intentionally blowing up civilians. But then the fire bombing of Tokyo that had gone on before was equally lethal.
The atomic bombs oddly provided Japan’s rulers with a reason that they could surrender and end the war without losing face. The bombs were so unearthly that they could be regarded as some force of nature like a typhoon or earthquake.
The genesis of Godzilla
Not joking