[bubbacluck]

My dad was in the Navy and was preparing for the invasion. They were told that a whole bunch of them would not make it back alive. And they were okay with that. They knew they were doing their duty. But they were very glad the bombs fell to end the war. It's sobering to realize I might not be here had "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" not fallen.

[speedy]

It's sobering to realize I might not be here had "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" not fallen.

Same here, liege. My father would have been part of an invasion force instead of an occupation force. I visited Hiroshima last year. I was rather surprised that the museum there gave a relatively objective account of the dropping of the bomb, and did not neglect to point out that it was the result of Japanese initiation of the war. I think that represents a change from what used to be there. Also, the actual site over which the bomb was dropped is not part of the museum or surrounding "peace park," but rather is on an obscure, hard-to-find side street, in front of a restaurant, with only a small marker to signify it. No, the restaurant did not have an A-Bomb theme or otherwise try to cash in on its unique location.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

My dad survived a crash landing in the CBI theater but was ready to be called back. The jumping off point was Rough and Ready Island, Stockton, California.

[Calpernia]

Thank you all for your service

[Ragnar54]

same here

[cartoonistx]

My father was an Army Ranger and already back from Europe by late July of '45 and in training for the invasion of Japan. He told me that they were told the operation was to be over 5 times the size of D-Day with estimated first day causulties above 100,000 men! When the news of the Bomb came his whole company broke training and got stinkin' drunk!