Dad's Take (WWII Vet) on the Nuke

[Husker1911]

Dad served 31 missions as waist gun aboard a B-17 Flying Fortress with the 15th Air Force, flying out of Italy in '44 and '45. He was among the US military that helped win V-E; Victory in Europe. He was furloughed home to Nebraska. But he hadn't completed his obligation of 35 missions to the Army Air Corps. He was aboard a train to the west coast, to transition to B-29s, and join the war in the Pacific. He wasn't pleased about this. No man who'd helped win the European theatre wanted to continue onto the fight with Japan.

While aboard this train to Washington, they heard of the Hiroshima bombing. My father and all aboard this troop transport train were jubilant. The war was over, they were going to LIVE!

Dropping the atomic bombs on Japanese cities doomed thousands of Japanese. I'm sorry they died in a brutal war. But their deaths brought about the rapid end of World War II. My father, and most of the "greatest generation" generally get damn angry at the mention of apologizing for dropping the atomic bombs. They saw things you and I never did. My mother rode a bus over 300 miles to get their family a tire for the family car. People endured rationing and going without basic necessities. They understood, and felt the real need to sacrifice for the war effort. They were deeply involved in a world war, and their very way of life depended upon the outcome of the fighting being carried out by the flower of the youth of an entire nation, even an entire continent.

Dad's nearing 81 now, and still gets damn angry at any notion of apologizing for the dropping of the atomic bombs. I'll end this tome by asking just how many of the greatest generation have you ever heard question the wisdom of dropping those bombs?

 

[cracked butt]

I'll end this tome by asking just how many of the greatest generation have you ever heard question the wisdom of dropping those bombs?

ZERO

I have a feeling that the complaints about the nukes are from people who are simply morally opposed to nukes or thought they were somehow unfair. Firebombing raids in Europe and Japan killed a whole lot more civillians, ,but you rarely hear about those.

 

[Moondoggie]

My Dad made almost every major landing in WWII in the Pacific as a Marine. He was wounded on Iwo.

He was sitting on Okinawa when the bombs were dropped...they all knew where the next stop would have been and what was gonna happen. My Dad's and his fellow Marine's immediate response was "Wow! We get to live!"

I have never recognized the difference between killing 100K persons with one bomb, or a thousand bombs. Still the same number of casualties. TNT explosion, atomic explosion..some people get wrapped around the axle over "evil assualt rifles" or "cop killer bullets". Semantics.

Dropping the atomic bombs on Japan prevented many thousands more casualties on both sides than if we had invaded Japan. It was the only decision President Truman could have made. FDR undoubtedly would have done it, as would Eisenhower.

BTW, the 8th Air Force in Europe suffered more casualties than the entire Marine Corps did in the Pacific.

 

[Sindawe]

The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sad, lamentable events. Thousands died of the immediate effects, or the from radiation poisoning in the months that followed. Thousands who did not need to die, but for the insane actions of their leaders, and the mad dreams of world conquest they held.

The people who made the call to drop those weapons, and the lives, on both sides of the war, that were spared as a result have NOTHING to apoligize for. Those who would castigate their own countrymen, or the men and women who overthrew tyranny so that they might simple live, ...well if I spoke my mind, I'd have to spend some time with Art's Grandma.

Though I am two generations removed from that war, even I can see the correctness of the action on those fateful days.

 

[artherd]

I'd have droped 3 if I'd had 'em.

The nukes didn't kill very many people on a relative basis (say compared to conventional bombs in just ONE month previous!)

War is ugly, we should like, not do it and stuff.

 

[Byron Quick]

The Japanese will get no apology from me. I wll make a bargain with them, though: don't attack the US and the US will solemnly promise not to atomic bomb Japan.

Simple.

 

[Crosshair]

The nukes needed to be used. It is a known fact that millions would have died had there been an invasion of the Japanese mainland. To me it the lesser of two evils, but we have nothing to apologize for.

 

[Matthew748]

Is anyone here familiar with the Japanese Unit 731? Descriptions of their actions are probably too graphic for this site so I won’t post links, simply search for that term using google if details are required. Thankfully, we ended the war before the Japanese had a chance to retaliate with plagues and other biological weapons.

Given their fanaticism, the Japanese did not leave the allies much choice. The leaders back then decided it was better to unleash the atomic bomb then to sacrifice countless allied lives in a conventional ground assault. I support this reasoning and will never apologize for it.

 

[Rob1035]

edited- removed silly ignorant comments...

The first "A" I ever got on a real, documented paper was on Truman's justification for using the bomb; as a polisci major I've written tons of papers, and that is arguably my best.

 

[bakert]

My Dad 85 now, was a Marine on Saipian and Tinian and a few smaller islands. The 2nd Division that he was in was one of the first units into Japan after the bomb was dropped. He says the dropping of the bomb probably saved his and countless other lives.

 

[El Tejon]

My maternal Grandfather was with 4th Marines. He said that it was a horrific thing, but he had seen many horrible things.

My paternal Grandfather was in Europe at the time. I remember him saying that at first they did not understand what had happened. Who care, only one bomb? So what? An officer then explained that it was an experimental bomb that could end the war and stop them from being shipped to the Pacific.

Neither of them expressed any saddness or sorrow for the A-bombs being dropped. Better to do it to them before they did it to us was their attitude.

Of course, times were different. People then actually wanted to WIN wars.

 

[ACORN]

I doubt you'll hear many WWII vets second guess the dropping of the A- bombs.Most, if not all, of the whining is from the flower children of the 60's. Maybe I'm a little radical, but if it saved one GI I'm all for it.

 

[shermacman]

The Japanese launched a maniacal, imperialist drive to take over the entire Pacific ocean. In doing so they slaughtered, raped, tortured and terrorized tens of millions of fellow human beings. The first A-bomb went off on Aug 6, Hirohito surrendered nine days later. It took nine days and a second bomb for them to realize it was over.

All you need to know about our morality: the Japanese still speak Japanese.

 

[HarryB]

I'd have dropped 3 if I'd had 'em.

Number three was for Tokyo if surrender hadn't occurred.

 

[slzy]

i read somewhere 11 to 14 were to be used in olympic

 

[Pistol Toter]

Harry B is correct number three was a Almagortdo and was destined for Tokoyo. Yes, it is too bad that it came to the necessity of dropping the bombs, but they started it on Dec. 7,1941. IMHO the japs were ten times more brutal than the Germans, not that they were angels and they picked on the wrong race. The Jews are God chossen race and the Germans defeat was inevitable. Anyway I digressed, to have invaded the island of Japan would have cost something like 1.5 million American lives. They deserved to have had the third bomb dropped on them. My Dad, like others here said was involved in that war. I for one will never appologize and don't believe that the nips have an appology coming. They got exactly what they deserved!!

 

[ACORN]

Read a bit about the atrocities commited against the Chinese and allied prisoners of war, and you'll realize what we were up against. I look at it this way. Would they have used the A-Bomb on us if they had it. I don't think there is any doubt. If your father or grandfather served in WWII, thank Harry Truman for having the guts to drop the big one.

 

[Baba Louie]

Made the mistake of listening to NPR Friday evening and Sat morning and learned about "Re-writing History" in regards to Hiroshima 60th anniv. I learned that each generation will rewrite history to suit their own perception and needs and while we MIGHT have once been for it, now we are firmly against it.
Well, no one asked my opinion or most of those I know who actually have a thinking brain cell left or who had personally talked w/ Col Tibbets (as he signed his book I waited in line at the SOF convention to buy). He told a brief story about Maj Sweeney (Bocks Car) running out of fuel on the runway after landing. I also met and talked with Thomas Ferebee, the man who actually toggled the switch to drop said bomb.

http://www.childrenofthemanhattanproject.org/CG/Photo-Pages-3/CGP-574.htm

http://www.hiroshima-remembered.com/

Just a couple of links for those lurking who feel the need to actually read something.

After Iwo and Okinawa and the Japanese tendancy to commit seppuku (whether military or civilian) rather than surrender, I can only imagine the final death toll upon invasion of the 2 main islands.

So here's to a happy 60th of VJ day. The payback for Premier Hideki Tojo's
Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere's little romp helped bring the USA to where it is today; good or bad, right or wrong, like it or not.

 

[Stickjockey]

Nasty? Yup. Tragic? Yup. Destructive? Terribly.

Necessary? Youbetcha.

 

[Elmer]

My Father, who recently passed away, was a D Day veteran, and was in many of the major battles of the ETO. His unit was loading their equipment on ships to head for the Pacific when the bombs were dropped.

Dad was a quiet hero, who just wanted to forget about the war, and all the horror he had seen. He rarely spoke of it, but to question the necessity of the Hiroshima bombing, was to guaranty a quick and angry response. It was one of the few ways to anger a very gentle man.

It brings tears to my eyes now, to remember the pain in his face. Daddy had lost a lot of his friends already, and knew that more were going to die invading Japan. The bombs saved countless American and Japanese lives.

 

[dpesec]

I haven't see it, but Oliver North said it's a good movie, the Great Raid. Talks about the horors of a Japanese WWII POW camp. I can't imagine how those heroes survived that environment.

If the US didn't drop the bombs, we'd have had to launch Operation Olympic. That would have been whole sale slaughter of our troops. Unline Overlord, the Japanese knew exactly where were would have had to land. Not a good thing.

Also, some folks might be interested in what I heard. All the Purple Hearts that were given out from Korea were in warehouses from the anticipated need in stroming the Japanese home islands.

 

[Art Eatman]

Those two bombs meant that my step-father didn't have to back to flying across the Pacific (B-24 co-pilot, on Guadalcanal). They meant that my father came home from Germany and stayed here. They meant that a helluva lot of our guys didn't become casualties in an invasion of Japan.

That's good enough for me.

Rob1035, "One thing that no one has mentioned is the fact that the US's use of atomic weapons gave rise to the cold war..." is total BS. It's for danged sure a really erroneous re-write of The Way Things Went. If you want to go to http://www.armedpolitesociety, I'll give a short course in recent world history. "Recent", in terms of an Old Fart's viewpoint.

, Art

 

[Mauserguy]

At the time, many thought that atomic weapons were just really big conventional bombs. The stigma on using nuclear arms came later, with the advent of the Russian bomb. For those who question the use of the A-bombs, they are applying standards of today on a different era.

Also, the stupid arguement that the Japanese were about to surrender any moment is just ridiculous. When the Soviets smashed the Kwantung army, the Japanese were dismayed, but fought on. When the Army dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, the Japanese were upset, but vowed to fight on. It was only after the second bomb was dropped that they finally got the idea that they were losers.

Dropping the A-bombs was a natural thing to do at the time. They ended the war and stopped the Soviet advance. It was the right decision to make.
Mauserguy


PS: My uncle was a gunner in the B-29s. His only regret was that the Japanese surrendered before getting a third bomb.

 

[jefnvk]

The thing the WWII vet told me: all of Japan was ready to fight to the death on an allied invasion. The civilians were arming themselves with knives and tools, the kids were being taught to use Moltovs, etc. Seemed their gov't had them believing that the American soldiers would sell the women as sex slaves, and the kids were going to be BBQ'd ( )

I think a Japan invasion would have killed manm, many, many more people would have died.

As for us using a 'barbaric' weapon, I'll present the Kamikaze.

 

[Stickjockey]

Here's another bit:

Raid Tokyo/Hiroshima/Nagasaki

Wounded 102,000/70,000/40,000
Killed/missing 83,000/70,000/36,000
Total 185,000/140,000/76,000

Sq. Mi.
destroyed 15.8/4.7/1.8

(Source: Encyclopedia of Air Warfare, 1975)


The Tokyo raid killed almost as many as the Hiroshima and Nagasaki raids combined. Compared to the estimated number of lives saved, I'd say it was a "good shoot" as it were.