No, We Didn't Need to Nuke Japan

If nuking Japan saved one American life it was worth it

 

It's more likely than not I wouldn't be here if we hadn't nuked Japan. My dad was severely wounded on a hospital ship on the way to the US when it was turned around and headed back into action. The anticipated death toll for US troops during the planned invasion was so high that wounded troops were needed.

 

Yeah, we did. Their culture wouldn't allow them to give up on the emperor. They would have fought every last allied soldier hitting their shores with rocks and sticks if necessary.
Had to have the emperor convince the people that it was over.

Also, we needed a real-life test these bombs we had just built. So, time to invent the first rice crispy treats way before Kelloggs.

My grandfather served in the pacific theater. Only once when he was really really drunk did he let on how bad it was on the islands and in the caves. After he'd passed we found his stacks of medals, ribbons and trophies of war stashed in the attic corner.

 

I don’t disagree with dropping the bombs, but we were doing a pretty good job destroying Japan’s ability to wage war with our bombing campaign. In a single night of firebombing in 1945, we killed over 100,000 (more than killed with the A-bomb on Nagasaki).

 

The A-bombs needed real-world testing. Japan provided that opportunity. And the A-bombs finally forced them to surrender. The planned invasion of Japan would have cost too many lives. Though admittedly, with their industry in ruins, their military defeated leaving them no warfighting capability, we could have simply ringed the Japanese home islands in steel -nothing goes in or comes out - and starved them to oblivion. But we were tired of the fighting, and needed it done. The A-bomb forced their surrender.

 

I had a good friend who was in the Army as a supply person. He was in Okinawa getting ready for the invasion of Japan and had been on the beach for the invasion of Okinawa. He said the best day in his life was hearing about the a bombs on Japan as he expected to die in the invasion. The Japanese had millions of soldiers, sailors, and civilians who were unable to fight the US due to lack of fuel, but who could make on last desperate futile attack. He went to Japan when the war just ended, supporting Army occupation forces, and what got his attention was the suicide boats.

Explosive Motorboats

I had a roommate in 1958 in the air force who had been one of first to land in Japan. Planes flew off carriers and landed at Japanese airfields. They were escorted to hangers, caves, houses, barns, ect to inspect hidden airplanes and to make sure they were disabled, His group made sure all electrical system were ruined. He met 100's of Japanese soldiers and sailors who were still armed as US troops hadn't got there yet and someone had to maintain order. The following document gives the US position at the time and not the revision that certain groups have given since then.

https://www.history.navy.mil/about-...ectors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-053/h-053-2.html

By the way, that series the H-gram's are a very deep rabbit hole in our history. Glance at a couple if you dare.

In my mind and I think in Truman's mind as well, the only thing that would end the war is the show of force to indicate that they had indeed lost. The total number of those killed in the atomic bombing is much less than the US and USSR allowed to die of disease and starvation in Europe after the end of the war. Millions died of malnutrition, disease or in USSR work camps or who were executed.

https://www.history.navy.mil/about-us/leadership/director/directors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-052.html

https://www.history.navy.mil/about-...ectors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-052/h-052-1.html

 

I would bet the battle of Okinawa was the deciding factor and, if it wasn't, it certainly told them their decision to move forward to nuke them was correct. It also told Stalin, 'Go no further.' He had a whole lot of commies in the Manhattan Project reporting everything so he knew its capabilities and after hitting Japan he knew the USA would use it.

Anyway, I don't think there was any doubt whether to use it after Okinawa. Yeah, Japan was finished, starving, cities destroyed but their leadership was determined to fight to force a better settlement instead of 'unconditional surrender.' When it comes to ideology like that, there's normally only two solutions, kill it or live with it, there's no middle ground. Unconditional surrender ensured the death of Japan's as well as the Nazis.

 

Least we not forget whom led the attack on Pearl Harbor.
It was estimated that the allied casualty rate would have been around 80% with a direct invasion of Japan resulting in God only knows how many casualties of both Japanese military and civilian population. In the end Fat Man and Little Boy saved Japanese lives.

 

if you dont care about the murder of 300,000 chinessee maybe reading up on the Bataan Death March is more your speed,,,, sorry no youtube video on that. look it up.
history taught in schools leaves these inconvenient facts out for a reason. there are still some alive that remember the reality of those days.
'We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.'

 

The Rape of Nanking has quite a few disturbing pictures of what the Japanese military did to Nanking civilians, the women and children bore the brunt of rapes and tortures.

 

The Japan of the 1930s that started that war was about as racist a country there could be. They believed themselves superior to all others... including the Germans. They exported their racism and violence.

NO ONE should defend them reaping what they'd sown.

 

Need to….who knows. Justified….yes in every sense of the word.

 

It was estimated that the U.S. Alone would suffer over 1 million casualties the first week of any invasion of Japan's mainland! Okinawa showed that Japan had no intention of surender, that they would fight to the last, even Women and Children, that they would commit suicide rather than surrender, that was all that was needed to convince the U.S. to deploy the Nukes!
American Nukes showed the whole world that the U.S. was absolutely dominate and would accept nothing less than total unconditional surrender, it showed that the U.S. was Not going to spend more American lives and fortunes, it would deploy these weapons as needed to stop war instantly, and would deter any future aggression by anyone!

 

Truman ordered the bombs dropped to send a message to Stalin, not because of any real military necessity. Thing is Stalin already knew about the atomic bomb and the Manhattan Project from his spies in the US, who were sending detailed information about it to him.
As I said, no real military necessity to vaporize over 100,000 Japanese, mostly civilians, regardless of the Rape of Nanking or anything else the Japanese government allowed or ordered. Japan had been sending out peace feelers for nearly a year through third parties, like the USSR. The sticking point about surrender was Emperor Hirohito being allowed to remain on the throne, which happened anyway.
Who Opposed Nuking Japan? - Antiwar.com Blog

 

I recall seeing an interview with a retired Marine General that had written a book about his decades of service in the US Marine Corps. He was a junior officer in a division was supposed to be in the first wave of the invasion of Japan. While he was researching the book he looked into the battle plans for Operation Downfall, and his division figured prominently for about 5 or 6 days but then wasn't mentioned after that. The General looked up some of the planners and asked what happened to his division and their answer shocked him, " It was felt that after 5 or 6 days of heavy combat the division would cease to exist as an effective independent fighting unit and that any survivors would be absorbed by the following Marine division.". Thank GOD for those bombs!
I knew a gentleman who had served in the US Army in Europe, in the 99th Inf. Division (the Checker Boarders). They fought in the Battle of the Bulge and helped to stop the German advance at Elsborn Ridge. They were awaiting ships to transport them to the Pacific and Japan when word of the A-Bombs reached them. For them it meant the War was over and that they would live to go home. Several men in his division had killed themselves when they learned that they were being sent to Japan.
There was a documentary several years ago about Operation Downfall. I recall the stories of two Japanese teenagers. One lived on Okinawa, his father had died in the War and as the head of his household he went to a meeting with the Japanese military just before the American invasion. The Japanese military officers told the men to kill their families, because the Americans would rape, torture, kill and eat them otherwise, and then join the army in defense of the island. He went home and struck his mother in the head, killing her. He buried her in the garden and joined the army. He survived the Battle of Okinawa only to discover that the Americans didn't rape, torture, kill and eat people. He had murdered his own Mother! The other was a jr. high school girl, she and her classmates were being trained to fight the American Army and Marines. Her most treasured possession was a bamboo spear that bore the mark of the Emperor. When Japan surrendered the students burned their spears, least they fall into the hands of the Americans and bring dishonor to the Emperor. She cried. This was the kind of enemy we faced in Japan. If the Emperor hadn't have surrendered ...we might have had to kill ALL of them!
Admiral 'Bull" Halsey once said, "that when this war is over the only place the Japanese language will be spoken is in HELL"!

 

You are incorrect in your assessment of the situation. Of course antiwar blog is decidedly anti american so…

 

What is the correct assessment, in your opinion?
I don't agree with everything Antiwar.com says, but how are they "anti-American" by opposing endless foreign wars that only benefit a small, select group?

 

Perhaps you should take a look at this, too.
HISTORY IN IMAGES: Pictures Of War, History , WW2: Rape Of Germany After It Lost In 1945