When the Sun Turned Black

Insight Scoop ^ | December 5, 2009 | Paul Glynn, S.M.

[NYer]

Major "Chuck" Sweeney had an extremely risky takeoff before dawn, loaded as he was with the 4.5-ton A-bomb, "Fat Man". Now they were over their primary target, Kokura. He had made three runs over the hopelessly clouded city when he made a shocking discovery: the auxiliary gasoline pipe was blocked. Unless they dropped the bomb soon, they would never get home. He turned his plane southwest for the secondary target, "Nagasaki, urban area".

His B-29 was over Shimabara just before

11 A.M. A radio announcer saw this and excitedly broadcast a warning, and Nagasaki people who heard him ran for their shelters. Moments later, Sweeney and his crew saw Nagasaki right below them through a cloud break, immediately recognizing the Urakami River and the Matsuyama Sports Ground. That put them almost two miles northwest of the planned drop, but time had run out. Bombardier Kermit released the bomb. It was just 11 A.M. when Fat Man went plummeting down onto the city of two hundred thousand souls, of whom more than seventy thousand would die, many without a trace.

Inside the Urakami Cathedral, Fathers Nishida and Tamaya were hearing confessions again after the all-clear. The cathedral was only a third of a mile from where Fat Man detonated and was reduced to rubble in an instant. No one would be sure how many perished inside.

Less than two miles away from the cathedral, Chimoto-san was working on his rice paddy on Mount Kawabira. He heard a noise, looked up and saw a B-29 emerging from the clouds. It disgorged a huge black bomb, and he threw himself to the ground. He waited a minute. Then came an awful penetrating brightness, followed by eerie stillness. He looked up and gasped at the huge pillar of smoke, swelling grotesquely as it rose. Suddenly he realized that a hurricane was rushing toward him. Houses, buildings, trees were being cut down before his startled eyes as if by some enormous, invisible bulldozer. Then came a deafening roar, and he was hurled like a matchbox into the stone wall sixteen feet behind. Shaken to his very soul, he gaped at the pines, chestnuts and camphor laurels torn from the ground or broken off at the trunks. Even the grass was gone!

Midori's nineteen-year-old cousin Sadako Moriyama had just found her two small brothers chasing dragonflies in the Yamazato school yard. She told them their mother wanted them. At that moment, she heard the plane and ran with them to the school shelter. As they entered, they were picked up and hurled to the far wall, and she blacked out. Coming to, she heard the two children whimpering at her feet and wondered why it was so dark. As a little light began to penetrate the gloom, she was paralyzed with terror. Two hideous monsters had appeared at the shelter's entrance, making croaking noises and trying to crawl in. As the darkness lifted a little, she saw they were human beings who had been outside when the bomb exploded. In less than seconds, they had been skinned alive, half a mile from the epicenter, and their raw bodies had been picked up and smashed into the side of the shelter.

She went outside. The light was weak, as if it were barely dawn. She cried aloud when she saw beside the sandbox four children, without clothes or skin! She stood there transfixed, her eyes involuntarily drinking in the hideous details. The skin of their hands had been torn away at the wrists and hung from their fingernails, looking like gloves turned inside out.

Feeling she was losing her reason, she dashed back into the shelter, accidentally brushing the two victims still squirming and moaning near the entrance. Their bodies felt like potatoes gone rotten. Their horrible animal croaking sound began again. She realized they were saying something. Mizu, mizu. Water, water. That cry was to run like a cracked record in the nightmares of Nagasaki survivors for years.

Michiko Ogino was ten years old and enjoying the summer holidays at home. Just after 11 A.M. she was terrified by a giant lightning flash, followed by a horrendous roar, and within seconds she was one of the thousands pinned under the roofs or walls of their homes. The blast of the bomb caused air to rush from the epicenter at over a mile a second, knocking houses flat. Almost immediately, an equally violent wind rushed back into the vacuum left at the epicenter.

Michiko was hopelessly pinned there, but her screaming brought a stranger who freed her. Outside, she was startled to see evil-looking clouds that twisted and writhed and blackened out the sun. 'What kind of new lightning had done this? Then she became conscious of a tiny voice becoming hysterical. It was her two-year-old sister trapped under a crossbeam. She turned for help and saw dashing toward them a naked woman, her body greasy, and purple like an eggplant, and her hair reddish brown and frizzled. Oh no! It was Mother! The speechless Michiko could only point to her sister under the beam. The mother looked wildly at the fires that had already started, dived into the rubble, put her shoulder under the beam and heaved. The two-year-old was free, and the mother, hugging her to her breast, collapsed onto the ground. There was no skin left on the shoulder that she had put under the beam, just raw bleeding meat. Michiko's father appeared, badly burnt too. He watched in dumb helplessness as his wife groaned and struggled to rise. Then all her strength ebbed away, and she collapsed, dead.

Nagasaki was now burning, and Sakue Kawasaki sat in disbelief inside the Aburagi air-raid shelter. He could see people staggering about outside, naked and swollen like pumpkins. Then came a babel of croaking voices piteously begging for mizu, mizu, but where could he get water? There was a puddle of dirty water outside the entrance to the shelter, and one of the victims crawled over, lowered his lips into it and drank with succulent noises. He tried to crawl to the shelter but collapsed and stopped moving. One by one, the others drank from the puddle and crumpled up motionless. What terrible thirst could drive men to act like demented lemmings?

The plutonium-239 bomb exploded in Nagasaki with the equivalent force of twenty-two thousand tons of conventional explosives but with vast differences. Setting aside for the moment the A-bomb's lethal radiation, there was its intense heat, which reached several million degrees centigrade at the explosion point. The whole mass of the huge bomb was ionized and a fireball created, making the air around it luminous, emitting ultraviolet rays and infrared rays and blistering roof tiles farther than half a mile from the epicenter. Exposed human skin was scorched up to two and a half miles away. Electric light poles, trees and houses within two miles were charred on the surface facing the blast. The velocity of the wind that rushed out from the epicenter was more than one mile per second, sixty times the velocity of a major cyclone. This caused a vacuum at the epicenter, and another cyclone rushed back. in, picking up acres of dust, dirt, debris and smoke that darkened the writhing mushroom cloud.

Young Kata-san was walking his cow on a hillside outside Oyama, five miles south of the epicenter. He was startled by the flash and watched, rooted to the spot, as a huge white cloud rose up like a grotesque organism fattening itself by some weird magic. The cloud was white on the outside but fired by some hideous red energy within. Then came alternating flashes of red, yellow and purple. Gradually the cloud went into a mushroom shape, and a black. stain grew on its stem. When the cloud reached a great height, it burst open and collapsed like an obscene grub that had gorged on more than its stomach could hold. The mountains all around were lit by the sun, but the area below the cloud was shrouded in darkness. Then came Kato's second shock, a roar of wind so strong that Kato mistook it for another bomb exploding nearby.

---

A Song for Nagasaki: The Story of Takashi Nagai, Scientist, Convert, and Survivor of the Atomic Bomb

[JoeMac]

Oh trust me, I know what the Imperial Japanese Army did in WW2 and in China. Always have. When I was a kid in school other kids were in the play ground and I was in the library devouring everything I could about the Second World War. I was fascinated by this cataclysmic, world-altering event.

[American Constitutionalist]

They talk about how dropping 2 a-Bombs was not morally the " Christian " thing to do, but, yet, they forget, the Bible tells us, LET GOD NOT BE MOCKED, WHAT SO SHALL A MAN SOW, SO SHALL HE REAP...
The Japanese reaped what they sowed, and there is no way to get around one of GOD's basic laws of sowing and reaping... either in nature, or in the course of human events.....

[American Constitutionalist]

Killing of innocent babies in a mother womb is also murder, but, yet, the leftist make it their sacrament.

[American Constitutionalist]

What about Abortion ? it’s the WORST of all war crimes.....

[American Constitutionalist]

What about ABORTION ? it’s the WORST of all war crimes....

[B-Chan]

You’re absolutely right about that.

[Basilides]

“The peace-wing in the government, along with the general population, would have overridden whatever hawks were left in the military in pretty short-order, once blockade-induced privations really kicked in”

Another lie...the militarists would have prevailed as they did on Saipan and Okinawa...your ignorance of Japanese society at that time is laughable...and regardless of the civilian sentiment the armed forces would never have surrendered short of the additional Imperial Rescript specifically addressed to them by Hirohito

“The evidence is overwhelming that our own military leaders never bought-into that figure of a million casualties...”

Another lie...name your evidence...documents, memoirs etc...there are none...the last Magic reports before August had Marshall so concerned about the build-up of 500,000 Japanese troops on Kuyshu so much so he began to work tactical nukes into Operation Olympic...

You sir are a gutless lying coward...

[magisterium]

You run a risk that they might be so pigheaded as to hang on till they all starve to death. But most people will not let things get to that extreme before taking matters into their own hands. Certainly, there wasn't much left of the army's capability that it could squash a rebellion. If we were really that worried about desperate fighting leading to massive Allied casualties, we were under no obligation to go in. We could just wait them out, until they themselves had had enough. It would have the component of being their own choice if they didn't put a stop to the militarists themselves.

As far as sieges in general go, it is harder to get a small (city-sized) population to get its leadership to "see some sense," since the military garrison in such a besieged town is likely to be a significant portion of the whole population. I do not advocate such sieges. Doing the same thing to 80 or 90 million folks of an island nation with a shattered military capability has much better chance for success before the whole population starves. Plus, we would be under no obligation to invade if we really thought we'd take extremely high casualties. Neither would we be under an obligation to just go home and let the Japanese regroup to fight again. A blockade is a much better option than firebombing and nuking them.

But, actually, how does this all this blockade talk relate to the undoubted moral vacuum in firebombing and nuking whole cities known to be populated by nearly entirely civilian populations? Enough deflection. The Religion Forum is our venue. We're dealing with the moral dimension. How can the deliberate and direct targeting of children who have done absolutely nothing be considered a moral act?

[Trailerpark Badass]

if it came down to it, we could have simply blockaded them and deprived them of all outside resources if we were so worried about really losing up to a million men. The peace-wing in the government, along with the general population, would have overridden whatever hawks were left in the military in pretty short-order, once blockade-induced privations really kicked in.

Japan, at least its civilian population, had been suffering "privations" for years at the hand of the military leadership, as strategic materials were allocated to the war effort. This accelerated as they prepared for ketsu go.

A blockade would have led to mass starvation and disease, from which it would have been those same elderly, women, and children who suffered most.

When all rhetoric called for total material sacrifice to defend the homeland, I think it's pretty naive to assume the blockade would have had some instant enlightening effect.

Is it more moral to starve elderly, women, and children to death?

[B-Chan]

I don’t think magisterium is a coward. I also don’t think magisterium is right about the willingness of Japan to surrender in August of 1945.

Dropping the atomic bomb was an evil act. So was firebombing Tokyo with ordinary incendiary bombs. So was Operation Starvation, LeMay’s deliberate campaign of sinking all Japanese merchant shipping to prevent food from reaching Japan from overseas. However, allowing the war to continue and the planned invasions to occur would have been evil as well. Left with the choice between the evil of murdering some Japanese civilians with firebombs and nukes, and the evil of murdering even more Japanese in an invasion, LeMay and Truman chose the evil that ended the war the fastest. I would have done the same thing, and accepted the moral consequences as they did.

[American Constitutionalist]

You forget how many times in the OLD TESTIMENT GOD commanded Israel ( even after the law was given ) to go and defeat it's enemies, and sometimes God commanded Israel to kill every man, woman and child.... so ? would you call God a murder ?
Tell us so ? how those people ( Israel's enemies ) are innocent or not innocent ?

Go do a Bible study sometime, we will learn somethings, and not propaganda heard by some leftist...

[agromination]

“We’re dealing with the moral dimension. How can the deliberate and direct targeting of children who have done absolutely nothing be considered a moral act?”

War isn’t cheap.

[magisterium]

I'll ignore the "making it personal" bit at the end of your charming post, and give you this tidbit:

http://books.google.com/books?id=hdoEpslpoi8C&pg=PA77&lpg=PA77&dq=%22million+casualties%22+%22invasion+of+japan%22&source=bl&ots=YIbi3RYNH9&sig=ra9yrPHOeibc6EGSSlJFZi5RTaw&hl=en&ei=6VcbS5SkONC3lAfouLHvCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22million%20casualties%22%20%22invasion%20of%20japan%22&f=false

You deserve nothing else from me. Call me a gutless coward, I'll call you a baby killer-wannabee. You're doubtless too much of an Armchair General to even be in a position to actually do it, so you're just a wannabee as far as I'm concerned. Have a nice life. Don't post to me again, or I go straight to the mod.

[B-Chan]

Since God is the Creator of all life, God can take life as he pleases, or command life to be taken.

Human beings do not have the ability to create human life, and therefore are forbidden from taking human life. Only a human being can commit murder.

[American Constitutionalist]

" We could have simply blockaded them and deprived them of all outside resources if we were so worried about really losing up to a million men. "

There you go again, making the case, that it's more moral to slowly starve a whole nation to death than it is then to drop 2 a-bombs in just 2 cities, yeah, slowly starving people to death including children is somehow more the " Christian " thing to do then dropping a-bombs.

[B-Chan]

For the record, here is the Church's position on war:

2307 The fifth commandment forbids the intentional destruction of human life. Because of the evils and injustices that accompany all war, the Church insistently urges everyone to prayer and to action so that the divine Goodness may free us from the ancient bondage of war.

2308 All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war.

However, "as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed."

2309 The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time:

• the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;

• all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;

• there must be serious prospects of success;

• the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modem means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.

These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the "just war" doctrine.

The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.

2310 Public authorities, in this case, have the right and duty to impose on citizens the obligations necessary for national defense.

Those who are sworn to serve their country in the armed forces are servants of the security and freedom of nations. If they carry out their duty honorably, they truly contribute to the common good of the nation and the maintenance of peace.

2311 Public authorities should make equitable provision for those who for reasons of conscience refuse to bear arms; these are nonetheless obliged to serve the human community in some other way.

2312 The Church and human reason both assert the permanent validity of the moral law during armed conflict. "The mere fact that war has regrettably broken out does not mean that everything becomes licit between the warring parties."

2313 Non-combatants, wounded soldiers, and prisoners must be respected and treated humanely.

Actions deliberately contrary to the law of nations and to its universal principles are crimes, as are the orders that command such actions. Blind obedience does not suffice to excuse those who carry them out. Thus the extermination of a people, nation, or ethnic minority must be condemned as a mortal sin. One is morally bound to resist orders that command genocide.

2314 "Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation." A danger of modern warfare is that it provides the opportunity to those who possess modern scientific weapons especially atomic, biological, or chemical weapons - to commit such crimes.

2315 The accumulation of arms strikes many as a paradoxically suitable way of deterring potential adversaries from war. They see it as the most effective means of ensuring peace among nations. This method of deterrence gives rise to strong moral reservations. The arms race does not ensure peace. Far from eliminating the causes of war, it risks aggravating them. Spending enormous sums to produce ever new types of weapons impedes efforts to aid needy populations; it thwarts the development of peoples. Over-armament multiplies reasons for conflict and increases the danger of escalation.

2316 The production and the sale of arms affect the common good of nations and of the international community. Hence public authorities have the right and duty to regulate them. The short-term pursuit of private or collective interests cannot legitimate undertakings that promote violence and conflict among nations and compromise the international juridical order.

2317 Injustice, excessive economic or social inequalities, envy, distrust, and pride raging among men and nations constantly threaten peace and cause wars. Everything done to overcome these disorders contributes to building up peace and avoiding war:

Insofar as men are sinners, the threat of war hangs over them and will so continue until Christ comes again; but insofar as they can vanquish sin by coming together in charity, violence itself will be vanquished and these words will be fulfilled: "they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."

As a Catholic, these are my positions as well.

[magisterium]

It is "more moral," at least in the sense that you're giving 80 million people a fighting chance to end this thing themselves against a militarily depleted government, when they've decided they've had enough. It is not optimal from a moral standpoint, but it is a "lesser of two evils" choice that might be all you're left with when all sides in the conflict have long-since painted themselves into a morally bankrupt corner anyway. The US and its allies were under no constraint to prosecute the war on the Japanese home islands if they really thought casualties would be on the order of a million men. So, yes, I believe a blockade is at least "less immoral" when it can empower the besieged to take matters into their own hands, when compared with the alternative: to firebomb and nuke whole cities that cannot defend themselves, and which are populated by non-combatant women and children.

[American Constitutionalist]

" But, actually, how does this all this blockade talk relate to the undoubted moral vacuum in firebombing and nuking whole cities known to be populated by nearly entirely civilian populations? Enough deflection "

No Sir, I strongly disagree, this is NOT deflection and you still do not see the point, either it's dropping bombs, or military blockade, or sieges, the results are still the same, some innocent people will die from slow starvation...... death is death no matter what way it is.... if you have a military blockade or siege, innocent children and people will die, and just because you put a different word or words on it, it's still lethal.
To allow people to slowly die of starvation is more in humane in war than dropping bombs to end the war quickly....
NO ONE WANTS WAR ! but, sometimes war is thrust upon us, either we are going to fight it and win and preserve freedom, or we are going to surrender and give into our enemies... it's plain as that...

[Basilides]

Please do go to the mod you gutless wonder...

As for your quote, Skates has since peeled back his stance due to analyses such as these:

http://home.roadrunner.com/~casualties/

CASUALTY PROJECTIONS FOR THE U.S. INVASIONS OF JAPAN, 1945-1946: PLANNING AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

by D. M. Giangreco in the Journal of Military History, 61 (July 1997): 521-82

[American Constitutionalist]

" How can the deliberate and direct targeting of children who have done absolutely nothing be considered a moral act? "

You mean as in ABORTION ?????????????