August 6, 1945

[m1ashooter]

Was your uncle a fair trade? I hope he was exceptionally productive.

He sure was. He was an accomplished leader in the Boy Scouts and a volunteer fireman for his community and taught people to swim at the local YMCA. He mentored many a young man and women and helped them become solid citizens. How about you what have you done for your community?

[dryheat]

It is wonderful that your uncle was able to survive the war and be the good citizen that he was. Now, I will get a little reaction here for this, but I have always had a problem with nuclear warfare. Yeah, I know it somehow saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

[blackhawknj]

All those young Americans who didn't participate in the invasion that never was got a pretty good deal, they went back to families and jobs and college and girlfriends and prosperity, and those young Japanese who got to participate in the rebuilding of their country did OK too.

[bruce]

Re: Lives saved. By any reasonable estimate, the lives that would have been lost in a full scale invasion and subjugation of Japan would have numbered more than just many thousands. When one considered the number of US servicemen who would have been KIA/WIA and add to that those servicemen from other allied nation, the servicemen of Japan and the civilian residents of Japan who would have been KIA/WIA ... when one considers the extremely limited willingness of the Japanese to surrender except in the most extreme cases ... it is not possible to see how the total losses would have been less than one million. After all, one need only consider the number of Purple Heart medals prepared and hospital space constructed in anticipation of losses that would be incurred in an invasion of Japan to realize that such an undertaking would have had horrific consequences. Sincerely. Bruce.

[blackhawknj]

The Japanese were seen as a particularly brutal and vicious enemy-the Rape of Nanking, e.g., and a very dishonorable one-Pearl Harbor, e.g. The delivering of the "ultimatum" AFTER the attack had started was more due to bungling and incompetence, in his response to the Japanese representatives Cordell Hull said:
"In all my 50 years of public service I have never seen a document that was more crowded with infamous falsehoods and distortions-infamous falsehoods and distortions on a scale so huge that I never imagined that until today that ant Government on this planet was capable of uttering them."

[PWC]

Harry Truman, once was asked about if his conscience bothered him, said he sleeps quite well at night, and further stated it was the right thing to do to save millions of lives Japanese and American. The buck stopped there.

[M1Tommy]

There were so many purple heart medals made in preparation for expected casualties from the invasion of Japan, they were still being issues into throughout the late 1990's!
An invasion of Japan would have, IMO, resulted in the near annihilation of their culture. I sincerely believe the Russians would have tried for even more of a land grab, also.
Tommy

[98src]

I have read somewhere that the fire bombing of Tokyo took more lives than both atomic bombs.

[m1ashooter]

It is wonderful that your uncle was able to survive the war and be the good citizen that he was. Now, I will get a little reaction here for this, but I have always had a problem with nuclear warfare. Yeah, I know it somehow saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

Its good you have an problem with nuclear warfare. I don't have a problem with the use of the weapons if it come down to having to use them but then again I'm one of the small percent of our population who once was responsible for launch a few of them.