Yes, I firmly believe that if either the Japanese OR the Germans had been able to finish their nuclear studies and created the bomb, that they would’ve used it on some major US city on either coast.
As to Hirohito, he was involved in the war planning and overall strategy up to his neck and should’ve been strung up by it. However; MacArthur knew the oriential mind much better than some historians are giving him credit for. 2 points come to mind: if Hirohito, God-on-earth ruler to the Japanese, had been hung as a war criminal, we’d most likely still be fighting the Japanese. Also, making Hirohito come to him to begin the road back from war worked quite well for Mac. It forced the Japanese to swallow their pride and accept defeat/post-war occupation and of course, it boosted Mac’s ego no end.
I would bet that your Flying-Tiger Father had some wonderful stories about his adventures, (good and bad!) during the war. They knew early on how tough the Japanese could be as an opponent!
Nagasaki Day tomorrow. I’m going to put a notice on my PDA so I won’t forget to post a celebratory thread.