There was a PBS special about the bomb. It was 2 hours long and gave great details with never before seen footage of the nuclear tests before and after the war.
The surprising thing was the fact that Japan refused to surrrender, even after the first bomb was dropped. The emperor cared more about saving face than saving his people.
If we did not bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki we would have still won the war. We would have won but we would have lost many many more lives and the losses Japan would have suffered would have been devastatingly high. Much higher than anything the bombings inflicted.
My uncle was in the Seabees during the war. He helped build huge hospitals in the Pacific region. They were getting ready for the hundreds of thousands of Allied casualties that would have resulted from the invasion of the Japanese home islands. In addition, projections were for millions of Japanese dead. Harry Truman made the best choice he could. I hope nobody ever uses such weapons again, and I hope all future wars are avoided. There are better ways of solving problems.
Mr.Breen, Japan slaughtered nearly 20 million people througout Asia. Their civilian population fully supported their military’s actions. To portray Japan as a victim during the second world war is highly inaccurate. Japan and its people are by no measure innocent.
One can recognize the necessity of the decision and still recognize the devastation and personal trauma it inflicted. It changed the world and it changed peoples worlds. There is no shame in recognizing that nor in hoping it is never again necessary.
BTW: the fire bombing of Tokyo actually killed more people, directly, than at Hiroshima or Nagasaki. The radiation impacts, something else again. Throw in all the birth defects, and well, ask the victims of Agent Orange in Viet Nam if we learned anything, espcially about our “civilized” approach to not killing civilians. Hmm, Shock and Awe was also a good proof of our benevolent natures.
“The Soviets and their known policy of killing every member of the aristocracy, including women, children, and infants…”Some of you may not be familiar with Michael’s dry wit. There was a reason why the Germans & Japanese accepted our occupation after WWII ended. They didn’t particularly like us at the time, but they were justifiably terrified of Stalin’s USSR. We dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan, but the USSR had overrun Manchuria & was poised for Japan. Truman may have balked at the idea of a million casualties in an invasion. Stalin would have gladly paid several times that in order to bring Japan into the Soviet sphere. Breen does give a nice reminder that there is only one nation on Earth that has used atomic weapons against civilians or any target for that matter.
“US losses for a total conquest of Japan could have exceeded the entire number of US losses prior to that (435,000 dead). "One thing the predictions of the cost of invading Japan ignore, is that we could have simply blockaded & continued the firebombing that killed more Japanese than our nuclear weapons did.The truth is that we wanted to force an unconditional surrender & American occupation before the USSR could partition Japan in the same way they did Germany.
Dropping the atomic bomb was not an easy decision but I do no regret it one bit. The Japanese were never, going to surrender. Ever. They would fight to the last man. Interestingly, some historians have said that it was Russia’s declaration of war against Japan that really turned the tide. They declared in between the first and second bomb, I believe. Russia had some ocean territory it wanted from Japan. So I don’t agree with the covering the face in horror. It had to be done.
Dropping the atomic bomb was not an easy decision but I do no regret it one bit. The Japanese were never, going to surrender. Ever. They would fight to the last man. Interestingly, some historians have said that it was Russia’s declaration of war against Japan that really turned the tide. They declared in between the first and second bomb, I believe. Russia had some ocean territory it wanted from Japan. So I don’t agree with the covering the face in horror. It had to be done.
larryrhoades over 8 years ago
Remember Pearl Harbor.
BaltoBill over 8 years ago
There was a PBS special about the bomb. It was 2 hours long and gave great details with never before seen footage of the nuclear tests before and after the war.
The surprising thing was the fact that Japan refused to surrrender, even after the first bomb was dropped. The emperor cared more about saving face than saving his people.
gdisele1 over 8 years ago
If we did not bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki we would have still won the war. We would have won but we would have lost many many more lives and the losses Japan would have suffered would have been devastatingly high. Much higher than anything the bombings inflicted.
Crabbyrino Premium Member over 8 years ago
Brilliant drawing, Steve. Never again is still my hope.
piobaire over 8 years ago
My uncle was in the Seabees during the war. He helped build huge hospitals in the Pacific region. They were getting ready for the hundreds of thousands of Allied casualties that would have resulted from the invasion of the Japanese home islands. In addition, projections were for millions of Japanese dead. Harry Truman made the best choice he could. I hope nobody ever uses such weapons again, and I hope all future wars are avoided. There are better ways of solving problems.
WestNYC Premium Member over 8 years ago
Mr.Breen, Japan slaughtered nearly 20 million people througout Asia. Their civilian population fully supported their military’s actions. To portray Japan as a victim during the second world war is highly inaccurate. Japan and its people are by no measure innocent.
canFunny over 8 years ago
@JmcaRiceRight on the nail, very accurate comment.
drnihili over 8 years ago
One can recognize the necessity of the decision and still recognize the devastation and personal trauma it inflicted. It changed the world and it changed peoples worlds. There is no shame in recognizing that nor in hoping it is never again necessary.
Dtroutma over 8 years ago
BTW: the fire bombing of Tokyo actually killed more people, directly, than at Hiroshima or Nagasaki. The radiation impacts, something else again. Throw in all the birth defects, and well, ask the victims of Agent Orange in Viet Nam if we learned anything, espcially about our “civilized” approach to not killing civilians. Hmm, Shock and Awe was also a good proof of our benevolent natures.
kurt.zwicky over 8 years ago
Hindsight is a beautiful thing!
DrDon1 over 8 years ago
What, if anything, have we learned from this Tragedy?
Uncle Joe Premium Member over 8 years ago
“The Soviets and their known policy of killing every member of the aristocracy, including women, children, and infants…”Some of you may not be familiar with Michael’s dry wit. There was a reason why the Germans & Japanese accepted our occupation after WWII ended. They didn’t particularly like us at the time, but they were justifiably terrified of Stalin’s USSR. We dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan, but the USSR had overrun Manchuria & was poised for Japan. Truman may have balked at the idea of a million casualties in an invasion. Stalin would have gladly paid several times that in order to bring Japan into the Soviet sphere. Breen does give a nice reminder that there is only one nation on Earth that has used atomic weapons against civilians or any target for that matter.
Uncle Joe Premium Member over 8 years ago
“US losses for a total conquest of Japan could have exceeded the entire number of US losses prior to that (435,000 dead). "One thing the predictions of the cost of invading Japan ignore, is that we could have simply blockaded & continued the firebombing that killed more Japanese than our nuclear weapons did.The truth is that we wanted to force an unconditional surrender & American occupation before the USSR could partition Japan in the same way they did Germany.
bikedude over 8 years ago
Dropping the atomic bomb was not an easy decision but I do no regret it one bit. The Japanese were never, going to surrender. Ever. They would fight to the last man. Interestingly, some historians have said that it was Russia’s declaration of war against Japan that really turned the tide. They declared in between the first and second bomb, I believe. Russia had some ocean territory it wanted from Japan. So I don’t agree with the covering the face in horror. It had to be done.
bikedude over 8 years ago
Dropping the atomic bomb was not an easy decision but I do no regret it one bit. The Japanese were never, going to surrender. Ever. They would fight to the last man. Interestingly, some historians have said that it was Russia’s declaration of war against Japan that really turned the tide. They declared in between the first and second bomb, I believe. Russia had some ocean territory it wanted from Japan. So I don’t agree with the covering the face in horror. It had to be done.