Free Republic

The defeat of Japan in August 1945 has become a footnote to Allied victory in Europe. But the world we inhabit today was forged in Asia 80 years ago.

In 1945, Truman’s decision to drop two atomic bombs was grim—but it ended a war that could have cost millions more lives on both sides and unleashed even greater horrors. Disinformation and the Dropping of the Atomic Bombs Legitimate disagreement about the wisdom of dropping two bombs on Japan to end World War II in 1945 persists even 80 years later, as reflected in discussions this past week. But recently, there has often been no real effort even to present the facts, much less to consider the lose-lose choices involved in using such destructive weapons. In an age of revisionist...

With the passing last week of the 80th anniversary of the U.S. dropping atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (on August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (three days later), familiar questions once again arise about our having done so. These include whether it was absolutely necessary in order to bring an end to the war, and whether or not there was any alternative to the two bomb attacks? Addressing the second question first, an alternative option had been discussed. It involved providing the Japanese with a demonstration by dropping an atomic bomb on an uninhabited island. But such a...

Eighty years ago this week, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, forcing the end of World War II. On August 6, 1945, the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the “Little Boy” uranium bomb on Hiroshima, killing up to 166,000 people. Three days later, on August 9, the B-29 Bockscar was diverted from its primary target of Kokura due to bad weather and instead dropped the more powerful “Fat Man” plutonium bomb on the secondary target of Nagasaki, killing up to 80,000 and compelling Japan’s surrender.

"Gentlemen," Captain Kaju Sugiura, commander of Japanese Destroyer Division 12, began, "I am very happy to report that our last transport mission to Kolombangara was a complete success. Both the Navy and the Army high command are gratified. . . . They have also ordered that the mission be repeated the day after tomorrow. . . . We shall go through Vella Gulf and Blackett Strait again . . . exactly as we did last time." Captain Tameichi Hara, commander of the destroyer Shigure, listened to the 4 August 1943 briefing in stunned silence. Before Sugiura had finished, Hara came...

nker was found under a home in Torteval, Guernsey - Shaun Tullier A couple have discovered a Nazi bunker underneath their house. Shaun and Carrie Tullier bought their home in Torteval, Guernsey, four years ago and were tipped off by someone who used to live in the house about a wartime building being underneath it. After digging up their driveway, they eventually managed to unearth the bunker and now have plans to turn it into a games room and gym, although they will keep the original features. The bunker dates back to when Hitler’s forces occupied the Channel Islands from...

There is a statue of Harold Bray on the corner of Military and First streets in Benicia. The 7-foot-tall statue — created by Matt Glenn — shows smiling Bray as a teenager in his U.S. Navy uniform. “I wanted to show the sparkle in his eye as if he was saying, ‘Everything is going to be OK,'” said Glenn at the statue’s unveiling in 2023. Eighty years later everything is OK for the statue’s subject, who calls himself “The luckiest man in the world.” But on July 30, 1945, Harold Bray was anything but lucky. Bray was one of 317...

A World War II veteran rang in his 102nd birthday surrounded by loved ones in Florida — but said “the best is yet to come” as he sets out to cross off his bucket-list goals, including a long-awaited bar mitzvah. New York City native Harold Terens was overcome with love and gratitude Saturday morning as he celebrated another year of life with dozens of friends and family, among them his second wife, three children, eight grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren, at a hotel in Delray Beach. “Best day of my life, believe it or not, and I’ve had so many,” Terens...

A 100-year-old veteran raised in Wisconsin is taking in his first EAA AirVenture. Colonel Joe Peterburs’ career is one worth highlighting -- serving in three wars, shooting down various enemy planes and surviving as a prisoner of war (POW). He's at AirVenture in Oshkosh celebrating with a restored replica of his World War II B-51 Mustang -- complete with the name Josephine, after his late wife.

Many of you will recognize the name, Jake Larson lied about his age and joined the National Guard at age 15, later he stormed the Easy Red Sector of Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. Larson's Granddaughter signed him up for Tik Tok and helped him attract over 1 million followers with Story Time with Papa Jake, which allowed to become quite a well-known Tik Tok content creator. Here a few short videos of Jake Larson from the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, he also made it to the 80th and 81st anniversaries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMruLqIy-Pg

PARIS (AP) — D-Day veteran ″Papa Jake″ Larson, who survived German gunfire on Normandy’s bluffs in 1944 and then garnered 1.2 million followers on TikTok late in life by sharing stories to commemorate World War II and his fallen comrades, has died at 102.An animated speaker who charmed strangers young and old with his quick smile and generous hugs, the self-described country boy from Minnesota was ‘’cracking jokes til the end,’' his granddaughter wrote in announcing his death. Tributes to him quickly filled his “Story Time with Papa Jake” TikTok account from across the United States, where he had been...

A mysterious object spotted on the South Pacific seafloor has been identified as the bow of a torpedoed World War II ship that famously sailed thousands of miles backwards to avoid sinking, historians say. The nearly 100-foot long section of the USS New Orleans was found Sunday, July 6, by the Ocean Exploration Trust as it searched the seafloor near Guadalcanal with a remotely operated vehicle. A positive identification was made with the help of paint fragments still clinging to the hull, along with an engraved anchor, the trust reported. The bow, which fell to a depth of 2,214 feet,...

Ben Salomon was an Army dentist who faced down the largest Banzai charge of the Second World War. It took 58 years for his action to be recognized. Ben Salomon's Medal of Honor | 16:33 The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered 1.56M subscribers | 25,354 views | July 7, 2025

I need not tell fellow Freepers the story of the USS Indianapolis, we all know it.Harold Bray has lived in Benicia, California for many years (as did I). Mr. Bray routinely shared his story with high school history classes (both my sons heard his him). I met him once and spoke with him, he is a gentlemen and a hero. His birthday is coming up: June 15th. He will be 98 years old. His family and friends have asked for birthday cards and well wishes from as many people as possible. The address to send the cards is:Harold Bray PO...

In the depths of the ocean, there are countless undiscovered shipwrecks. Ranging from old sailing vessels, to massive cargo haulers. Most of these wouldn't get even a bit of interest. However, when you limit yourself to *warships*, well, that changes. And in today's video, we'll be looking at another five missing wrecks. Consider this something of a sequel to the video I made a couple years back, after Nautilus visited Midway. In light of their upcoming Guadalcanal survey, this felt fitting.

AT THE FRONT LINES IN ITALY, January 10, 1944In this war I have known a lot of officers who were loved and respected by the soldiers under them. But never have I crossed the trail of any man as beloved as Capt. Henry T. Waskow of Belton, Texas.Capt. Waskow was a company commander in the 36th Division. He had led his company since long before it left the States. He was very young, only in his middle twenties, but he carried in him a sincerity and gentleness that made people want to be guided by him."After my own father, he...

Losin, Yigal. (1983). Pillar of Fire: The Rebirth of Israel--a Visual History. Israel: Shikmona Publishing Company. *(Archived screenshot)Swastika on the walls of Jerusalem's Zion Gate. Arab feelings in 1936.1936 was not a good year for democracy. The Fascist countries were seen as successful by many people. Every step taken by Hitler or Mussolini met with hesitation and trepidation on the part of the leaders of the free world. Hitler armed Germany, contraven-ing the Treaty of Versailles. The Wehrmacht marched to the Rhineland; this was a blatant violation of the Locarno Pact, according to which Germany was to keep the area...

It was the plane that pilots 'put on' rather than flew; the beautiful beast that left even the Germans waxing lyrical. If you ask people today what typified British defiance the most in the Second World War, many of them will tell you it was the Spitfire. So when I got the chance to take to the skies in one - and even briefly take control - on a sunny morning in March, I knew that this would be the experience of a lifetime. Today, as Britain marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we are rightly remembering the men...

In commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s surrender in May 1945, the Hoover Institution Library & Archives has released more than 800 digitized audio recordings and transcripts of conversations relating to 20th century conflict – most notably, undercover conversations with high-ranking Nazis who had fled to South America.

https://x.com/DeptofDefense/status/1918999055566614571May 4, 2025 · 253.3K Views