The Man Who Dropped the Atomic Bomb
By Dyske November 3rd, 2007
I actually didn’t even know that the guy who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was still alive. Well, now he is dead. Imagine being the man whose only significant achievement was dropping of the atomic bomb. He was just doing his job, and had nothing to do with it personally, but he is forever recorded in history for it.
Jacqueline says:
November 3rd, 2007 at 9:06 pmThat’s an interesting thought. I read about his death a little while ago, and I didn’t really think about that. But I did wonder what it was like to take something like that to your grave…… What do you think about the invention of the atom bomb, and how it was used in WWII?
Dyske says:
November 3rd, 2007 at 9:33 pmI suppose the invention of it was just a matter of time after Einstein discovered the nuclear recipe. I believe all countries should have atomic bombs; I think it would make the whole world more peaceful. The Iraq War would have never happened if Iraq had atomic bombs. Once Iran develops their own, we can pretty much be sure that the US would not invade them.
As to how it was used in WWII:
I found it interesting that from my birth to 16 in Japan, I had never heard the argument that the use of atomic bomb was unjust because it killed civilians. I basically did not know that you are not supposed to attack civilians in a war. So, the way I had always understood was that it was a fair game and we simply lost. No one seems to hold any grudge. (Maybe it’s different in Hiroshima.). In fact, as soon as the war was over, Japan seems to have gone nuts embracing anything American.
I then moved to the States in high school. I was shocked to learn of the American perspective. There were all these moral questions about whether it was right or wrong. When I was in Japan, it had never occurred to me to think of it morally. Perhaps it’s just me, but I have never met any Japanese person who questioned the morality of the use of the atomic bomb by the Americans. There are certainly many people who actively try to fight the propagation of atomic bombs, but that’s because we now know what happens if you use one. Their arguments are never about the immorality or the unjustness of the Americans (at least I’ve never heard anyone argue it.). In other words, their arguments are not about the past, but about the future.
Morality isn’t such a big part of the Japanese culture; so they could be quite immoral themselves in certain situations.
Jacqueline says:
November 4th, 2007 at 4:18 amI think you’re the first person I’ve spoken to who holds, or is willing to state that opinion about nuclear arms today; But then again, the opportunity doesn’t arise that often for me to ask such a question. Most of the time people will give pretty predictable responses to questions like that. But thanks for the insight on the Japanese viewpoint (except for maybe Hiroshima?). That addressed a few things I’ve always wondered about, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to ask a few other native Japanese people about what perspectives they might hold.
This old (American) man – I’ll call him Greeney – that had fought in WWII, and married a Japanese woman (they’ve been married decades, she’s the only woman he’s been married to), told me about how he went to this old Japanese man for (Japanese) Acupuncture on one of his travels back to Japan with his wife. It turns out he was blind. He hadn’t even noticed that this man was blind, because the man had adjusted so well, and all his other senses were so acute. Anyway, the man told Greeney how he was on one of the islands off the coast of Hiroshima (Miyajima?), and had looked up when he heard/felt the the atom bomb hit (which apparently isn’t so loud, at least not from that island), and that blinded him. I was pretty amazed at, and the reason which Greeney was telling me the story was because the man expressed no angry, no critical sentiments whatsoever regarding it, and was extremely cordial, and even praised the US (not about the past, but the current state of America at that time).
That was pretty crazy, but I don’t think people here in the states really know much about the Japanese people, even with the Japanophile frenzy going on right now (granted, it seems like most of the Japanophiles are obsessed with the pop culture for the most part).
Abi says:
November 5th, 2007 at 1:54 amI also never really thought about it from the Japanese view point. I think if someone had dropped an atomic bomb in my country I would seriously take it very personal and hate that country for it, but at the same time it would be like I’m judge mental about myself. I guess its just the thought that they would attack the civilians. Its like a cheap shot I guess you could say. Because the civilians have no way of protecting themselves while the army does so.
Though part of what you are saying that if every country had an atomic bomb the world would be more peaceful. It sounds right, but if everyone had one wouldn’t people try to fight to create the most powerful one just so that their country is more powerful? That or create a different weapon that is more powerful. To think that all this money that goes into making these weapons meant to kill people could in turn be used to save lives instead. Its very sad I think.
Dyske says:
November 5th, 2007 at 7:08 amHi Abi,
This riddle was solved in the 1988 movie, “WarGames”. We never play tic-tac-toe because we quickly discover that there is no way to win. Ultimately most games like chess are like this, but their complexity makes them still enjoyable for us. In other words, the more we simplify a game, the more obvious it becomes that there is no point in playing the game. This is exactly what atomic bombs do. Any type of atomic bomb (small or large) would make the game simple enough for us to see that it’s pointless. Once we can see the pointlessness of it, we do not need to simplify it any further by developing even more powerful atomic bombs.
John says:
November 16th, 2007 at 1:27 amLast June Gen. Tibbets, the Enola Gay Pilot was at the annual WWII Aircraft gathering at Reading, PA airport.
I am a WWII Navy veteran and go there most every year. I missed the General but did get to meet his navigator who was seated at a table signing books. He is, I suppose, perhaps five years my senior but we veterans seem to know each other and he looked up and smiled at me. I extended my hand and said, “Major, thanks for getting me home.”
College professors probably hate us and we will accomodate them shortly since we are leaving at about 1500 a day so I hear. But until we are all gone and they can do all the history revisions they care to may I offer a comment from one who was there, poised to invade Japan’s home islands in what was estimated by General Douglas MacArthur (you’ve heard the name?) to be a slaughter of 11 million Japanese and 1.5 million Americans on the beaches. For the first time after 12 invasions the crew on my destroyer was issued gas masks and we knew what that meant President Truman made the decision that wrested the Japanese nation from their Amenidinijad’s (sp).
We do not have that kind of decison maker in Washington today nor will we have such from anyone of either party in 2008.
Wasn’t it Sun Tzu, the Chinese military realist who said, “The lion attacks even the rabbit with ALL his might?” We are that lion (if we choose to be) and Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq are all examples of “what not to do militarily.”
I hope some leader emerges to make the right decision here.
tokyogirl says:
December 14th, 2007 at 6:58 pmI’m from Japan, now reside in US for several years. We grew up watching these horrible films showing how atomic bombs (there were 2 dropped, one in Hiroshima which killed about 70000 civilians instantly and another one in Nagasaki which killed about 50000 people.) Not to mention, there were thousands of more people suffered and died after that.
On 60th anniversary of WW2, I watched a program on History channel here in US and couldn’t stop watching. I’ve never looked at the war from US point of view and realized it was a victory for this country and this simple fact just stunned me. I saw how TV announced cheerfully & proudly after the first bomb was dropped SUCCESSFULLY.
American folks, Japanese culture is not open and well communicated. We are much more reserved and be in the restricted society, often times having open discussion and straight forwardness are not well appreciated. Not being argued or discussed doesn’t mean that we don’t care. It’s just a very different culture.
Dyske says:
December 15th, 2007 at 7:12 amHi Tokyogirl,
As to your comment: “Not being argued or discussed doesn’t mean that we don’t care.”
Of course everyone in the world knows that the Japanese “care” about it. In fact, the whole world cares about it, that’s why we all fear atomic bombs so much. The question isn’t whether we care or not, it’s HOW.
Do the Japanese see the dropping of the atomic bombs as something immoral? For instance, compare it to the Holocaust. We all see the Holocaust as something immoral. There is no ambiguity here. The Germans were clearly defined as the guilty party; the party that committed something immoral.
Do the Japanese secretly and quietly see the Americans the same way? My answer would be clearly no. Most people are forgiving, but not that forgiving; definitely not so quick. Almost as soon as the war was over, the Japanese began adoring everything American. Just imagine the Jews adoring and idolizing the Germans as soon as the war was over; buying up everything German, listening to German movies and music, wearing German fashion, trying to learn and speak German. That would be ridiculous.
Obviously the Japanese saw it differently. As bitter as many Japanese people might have felt about the bombs, in the end, I believe most of them saw it as a fair game. If they didn’t, the fanatical love for everything American after the war was psychotic!
Anne says:
December 27th, 2007 at 2:21 amI brought this up in my ESL class after visiting Hiroshima. I told my students that when I visited the Dome and the Peace Park that I felt incredibly guilty while I was there, and I wondered if all the Japanese people around me felt anger or hatred toward me but just weren’t showing it. A man in his 50s said ‘I think it’s exactly the same way we feel when we visit Pearl Harbor or Okunoshima.’ Of course that doesn’t really account for all the civilian deaths of Hiroshima/Nagasaki, but it made me feel better.
Rick says:
January 16th, 2008 at 2:57 amI don’t know if it’s actually correct to say that Gen. Tibbets’ ‘only significant achievement’ was dropping the first a-bomb. Most memorable, perhaps. Running an airline, making it to flag rank, surviving the air war in Europe and the Pacific – lots of folks don’t do any of that.
Nevertheless, it’s interesting reading some of the comments others have posted here. The thing that amazes me about modern-day Japanese attitudes towards WWII is the attention payed to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan dragged the US into the war Japan started in Asia. Japan chose that course of action entirely on their own. It wasn’t Roosevelt or Tibbets or Oppenheimer that caused Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was the Japanese Imperial Navy. Tibbets pulled the trigger, but Japan built the weapon and aimed it at their own head.
janette says:
February 7th, 2008 at 2:35 pmAcupuncture can also relieve the physical discomforts that accompany eating disorders!
Dave says:
February 10th, 2008 at 10:40 pmI asked a beautiful Japanese couple whom are clients of mine the exact question. How could people not hate a nation that pulled the trigger on that level of mass killing (well in not so many words). I think the issue is that it’s so horrific, we all want to put it in that place in our brain that alllows us to go on in nomral life. It’s amazing the power of bias. But it must be said, I don’t think its a matter of cultrural difference at all. It about good and evil. Or the lesser of 2 evils rather (like every election it seems). How have we justified this? You can’t get into a bar fight without criminal charges. Self defense has been so perverted. There are perils with picking the fighter as well as the humanist. Sucks though. Still haven’t seen the Leaders this world needs yet.
zevgoldman says:
February 16th, 2008 at 4:14 pmTo put this in perspective one must view the savagery with which the Japanese Army conducted itself. From December of 1937 to March of 1938 the Japanese Army killed nearly 370,000 Chinese civilians in Nanking, China. Approximately 80,000 girls and women were raped, many of whom were mutilated and murdered.
Decapitation and other forms of vicious summary execution were the weapons used in the vast murder of Nanking.
The brutality of Nanking was repeated thousands of times by the Japanese military throughout its quest for power prior to and during World War II. The use of atomic weapons against the savagery of the Imperial Japanese military was fully justified, and thankfully used. The use of the weapons killed less than half the number of civilians killed in the single incident of Nanking while actually saving hundreds of thousands of Japanese who would have died in an assault of mainland Japan.
It would have been immoral to have not used atomic bombs to defeat Japan.
helen says:
February 18th, 2008 at 6:04 amI agree absolutely with zevgoldman, The President of the USA had a duty to minimize American casualties, and a 1 million of American soldiers were the estimated casualties if the Japan had to be taken by conventional forces.
The Japanese cruelties in Asia had no bounds, the” Rape of Nanking” will never be forgotten by the Chinese, they tortured to death thousands Australian and English prisoners of war. Japanese prisoners of war were treated according to the Geneva convention.
I would like to ask the author of the post and a Tokiogirl, what is your reaction and the reaction of the Japanese society regarding murderous behavior of the Imperial army , as far as I know there was no soul searching.
Dyske says:
February 18th, 2008 at 9:56 amHi Helen,
No, there was no soul searching, simply because we were never taught about the Rape of Nanking.
My “reaction” is a different issue from the reaction of the Japanese society. I don’t have any personal reaction to it since I didn’t do it personally. I just see it as another historical event.
The Japanese society didn’t have much reaction to it because they are in denial about it. Not sure how you interpreted what I said above, but I wasn’t trying to justify anything Japan did. As I said, I think most Japanese people saw the atomic bomb as a fair game (that is, they got what they deserved). The only unfortunate thing is that a relatively small number of people had to pay the price (the people of Hiroshima & Nagasaki) for the rest of the nation. The latter started embracing and adoring the Americans almost as soon as the war was over. I would imagine that this is an ironic thing for the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
helen says:
February 18th, 2008 at 10:17 pmI may be wrong but in your description of that pilot I heard disdain, ” the only thing he would be remembered, … dropping of the bomb”. We could look at it differently and say that singlehandedly he saved one million American solders and many millions Japanese lives. I was not surprised by your comments about lack of remorse in Japanese society, we all know that Japan is in denial. To admit it would be a loss of face and a prospect of paying huge compensations. If Japanese people saw the atomic bomb as a fair game, why to discuss morality of dropping it at all. Japan would not have hesitated for a minute if they had it. You know it .
Rest in Peace general Tibbets.
Dyske says:
February 18th, 2008 at 10:49 pmHi Helen,
What I wanted to express in my original post was a sense of irony about life. Even if you were to look at it like the way you described, it’s still a strange thing. Even if he was a huge national hero, at the end of the day, all he did was to drop the bomb. As far as I know, it wasn’t such a risky or tricky mission. By then, the Japanese army was pretty much wiped out. I’m sure there were many other American soldiers who took a much bigger risk and only managed to kill a dozen enemies. Many pilots dropped many bombs. There was nothing about the atomic bomb that was particularly difficult. Since it was so powerful, I don’t think it mattered how accurate he was. I believe he dropped it from a very high altitude.
I think it’s human nature that you doubt what you did even if others might tell you that you are a hero when you actually kill a lot of people. I’m not saying that he should feel guilty. He was just doing his job, and so he should be proud of his achievement. Yet, I think it’s only natural that a human being would have some degree of doubt when you see that what you did caused thousands of people to die in agony.
When you execute a prisoner, they often provide multiple triggers so that several people can trigger the execution at the same time, which masks who and which one actually triggered it. This is a measure to prevent the executioners from feeling guilty in any way. Even if you are executing someone who deserves it, you still cannot help but feel some degree of doubt or a negative feeling. So, imagine what it would be like to pull the trigger on thousands of lives. In terms of significance in history, it would dwarf anything else that you would achieve in your life. Yet, it’s not really that significant for yourself personally. It was just a job in the end.
As for why discussing the morality of it:
The only reason why the morality became an issue for me is because there are some Americans who feel that it was immoral. I’ve never met any Japanese people who felt that way. So, it’s the Americans who turned it into a moral issue, not me, nor any Japanese people I know.
As I said above, there are Japanese people who feel that atomic bombs in general are immoral, but that’s a different thing from saying that the American decision to drop the bomb was immoral.
helen says:
February 19th, 2008 at 7:35 amNothing to discuss further ,as far as I’m concerned, Japan had attacked, had been crushed and humiliated, the occupation by Americans was very humane , you have lost big territories to the Russians very rich in gas and oil, you’ll never get it back. You were so lucky by not been occupied by the Russians or the Chinese. China is the next superpower and you are hated there with passion, I know , I lived there for many years, believe me the Chinese are not Americans, there would be no moral issues for them . Let’s hope I would never be proved right.
Dyske says:
February 19th, 2008 at 9:54 amPersonally, the Chinese people here in the US have been nothing but nice to me. I’ve never experienced any overt hostility. However, some Korean people have been quite hostile to me; they didn’t make any secret of it. Some Koreans hate the Japanese for good reasons. I don’t blame them.
Yes, I hope the Chinese people would go easy on us too!
Green says:
February 19th, 2008 at 2:21 pmFairly random comment. but while I was in Japan about two years back there was a special looking back at the events in Hiroshima. I dont recall if it was the general or one of the other men who was on the plane, but they had this man come back to Hiroshima, go to the museum, meet with and hear the stories of the survivors etc. It was an interesting show because the Veteran would not apologize for Hiroshima. At frist, I was upset by this, but after further thought I could see his point. He saved lives and war is war. I am disgusted that it takes death to prevent more death but that is the reality of war. I was surprised at how intent the Japanese participants of the program pushed him so much for an apology though, as I hadnt really seen any strong reaction to the bombing myself while I was there…
Dyske says:
February 19th, 2008 at 3:39 pmWow… Green, that’s an interesting story. I didn’t know that. I would certainly agree with the general; why should he apologize? He was just doing his job. It makes no sense to even ask for an apology. It’s not like it was up to him to decide whether to drop it or not.
He deserves much respect for visiting Hiroshima. I would say his greatest achievement is not the actual dropping of the bomb, but how he was able to cope with the highly emotional situations that must have come up so many times in his life after the bombing. It could not have been easy.
Juan says:
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:58 pmTo all the Dr. Strangelove’s here:
Stop propagating the BS “feel good” propaganda that the bomb was thrown over the heads of civilians to save lives. It’s the dumbest lie ever. The “japs” were trying to surrender with all their might. Doesn’t feel odd that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the only cities not subjected to (inhuman and forbidden by Geneva Convention at the time) incendiary bombings? H&N were just nuclear tests and poor hapless “japs” happened to be the lab rats.
Trying to make it “even” for Nanking is even more disgusting. What? Americans avenging the chinese? only to kill thusands more in the Korean war, like the Americans give a sh** about other people’s lives…
Go Johny B. Good! go on champ, “liberating” peoples worldwide – from their lives! Hope there’s afterlife for you, so you can realize someday how criminally fool (brainwashed) you were. I do remember a General Patton… assasinated because he opened his eyes about the real situation in Europe. He died. You lived. Bummer.
zevgoldman says:
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:52 pm“Stop propagating the BS “feel good” propaganda that the bomb was thrown over the heads of civilians to save lives. It’s the dumbest lie ever. The “japs” were trying to surrender with all their might. Doesn’t feel odd that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the only cities not subjected to (inhuman and forbidden by Geneva Convention at the time) incendiary bombings? H&N were just nuclear tests and poor hapless “japs” happened to be the lab rats.”
At what point were the Japanese trying to surrender with all of their might? I believe historians would find a viable source for such information priceless as well as your fantasy about General Patton.
Do you realize that the U.S. and China were fighting a common enemy in the Japanese during WWII unlike the Korean War where the communist Chinese assisted North Korea in the invasion of South Korea?
cortney says:
March 10th, 2008 at 4:11 pmyou guys are retarted
Nyssa says:
April 10th, 2008 at 9:49 pmI’m in high school and tomorrow we’re doing a debate on why or why not the dropping of the bomb was a good idea. To me personally, what i believe it comes down to is the morality. Through articles and videos i’ve seen/read on Japan at this time in the war, it is true that Japan wanted to sue for peace, therefore wanting an end to the war and a want to surrender. Japan knew they were going to lose to the U.S. so there wasn’t even a real political reason to dropping the bomb because even the U.S. knew Japan had lost faith in a possibility of victory.
Also, hearing the stories of some of the victims really opened to my eyes to how wrong it was for the U.S. to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So many innocent civilians lost there lives when they really did not deserve to at all. I hate war anyways, but the killing of children and normal people just trying to earn a living is not right at all. Men, women, and children died, and those who survived were certain to lose family members in the bombing, something unimaginably painful to live with for the rest of their lives.
So basically, the A-bomb was all around a horrible, immoral action.
And if I was the general I would never be able to live with myself after causing that destruction.
Nyssa says:
April 10th, 2008 at 9:59 pmOops, made a mistake… let me restate what I previously said. The general didn’t cause the destruction, he was just following orders, but he was the one who dropped the A-bomb so if I was him I would feel pretty guilty.
ij487i says:
April 12th, 2008 at 7:09 pmSad and quite ironic how the Japanese cry victim over Hiroshima and Nagasaki but many don’t think twice about downplaying (or denying) their war crimes in China and elsewhere…
I’m not intentionally trying to fuel anti-japan hate but after reading a lot of Japanese user comments on forums and such making excuses and insulting the victims this kinda stuff really brings my blood to a boil. I have Japanese friends and we get along fine but whenever the topic of conversation shifts to matters historical (like WWII) I find that it’s very hard to have a logical debate.
What confuses me is that if Japan is really a modern world power then they should prove it and not abdicate moral responsibility by whitewashing their history and pretending that stuff like Nanking massacre didnt exist. I know that in the past Japanese officials have apologized or expressed “regret” but these public statements have been largely ornamental. In this regard, Germany has done very well, having built monuments to memorialize the Holocaust and even pressing to make Holocaust denial a crime in their country.
I wholly sympathize with the victims of the A-bombs, but seriously, this collective amnesia has got to be a big stain on their national conscience. Shame that such a technologically advanced and otherwise accomplished nation could be so morally bankrupt.
Haha says:
April 28th, 2008 at 5:39 pmGood! That was Karma getting him back! Grrrr…. I LOVE HIROSHIMA (but does hiroshima love me?)!!!!
Plain History says:
May 28th, 2008 at 1:24 am“The “japs” were trying to surrender with all their might. Doesn’t feel odd that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the only cities not subjected to (inhuman and forbidden by Geneva Convention at the time) incendiary bombings? H&N were just nuclear tests and poor hapless “japs” happened to be the lab rats.”
Juan, maybe you should revisit the history books. The Japanese were in no way going to surrender. Their kamikaze attacks and their defense of Okinawa (including the arming of Okinawan civilians) showed that
they were prepared to die for the nation. As for incendiary bombings, please get your facts straight.
Dresden and many other cities in Germany were firebombed. So was Tokyo. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not nuclear tests because the first nuclear test detonation was in New Mexico by the trinity bomb.
Peter Picker says:
June 6th, 2008 at 6:21 pmYeah Juan. You fucking idiot.
WRRRRYYY says:
October 13th, 2008 at 2:00 amJapan totally deserved to be nuked! Imagine all those lives they killed in China, Korea, Saipan and the Philippines! So only about 120 thousand civilians perished, huh? That’s not enough! Your ancestors killed more than that! Atleast the most of the people who lost their lives in Nagasaki and Hiroshima died instantly. I’m sure you’re aware of the monstrosities your imperial army did to other nations. Especially their women! My god… Raping girls as young as 5 years old and as old as 80?!? How cruel! Not only that! After the rapes, they’d mutilate their bodies and god knows what else they did to those poor people. The pregnant women weren’t even spared! They had their bellies cut open and had their unborn babies killed after being raped by dozens of men! And what’s worse is they even took photographs of these horrible crimes!
I’ve read somewhere that they built facilities in some parts in China were they do experiments on people. They exposed their test subjects in extreme conditions until they die like skinning them alive, exposing them to extreme temperatures, impregnating some women and performing caesarian operations on them and doing experiments on their babies. They even opened their skulls to extract this hormone from the brain. They did this all without anesthetics!
Matt Yabsley says:
October 13th, 2008 at 3:15 amI don’t agree in any slight part that having nuclear weapons makes our world safer, for example, a terrorist attacks a whole city with bioligical agents killing 10’s of thousands. The Nuclear bomb was in no way a detterent to that attack nor a suitable weapon as defence or counter attack. They had their place in a paranoid world but should not have any place in my world or my childrens.
Realising a beauty in nuclear weapons only dignifies it and the people that actively choose to make them. My personal opinion is that releasing a nuclear weapon is the biggest indicator that you have lost. When the intellect of the human mind has reached such a low level that they could not solve the problems that led up to the event then they have lost, failed their whole societies.
It is easy to associate yourselves with the winning side after an event that you had no part in, the truth is that many of us had no part in what happened, nor would we be able to cope with the outcome of it so saying people deserved it or it was coming to them is just flippant…..
A says:
October 13th, 2008 at 9:52 amJapan did try to surrender for all of you who say differently and were pushed until they had to fight back so the nucleur bombo could be used. The only reason it was dropped was because they couldnt waste a 10 billion dollar weapon they had to show something for all the money they spent. Ive been to nagasaki and to see things blown up in the bomb is horrible. It is also never right to kill the innocent. For those who say it was deserved well then how about you americans deserve to have everything you have taken away from you for what your government did to the native americans. Also people didnt die painlessly there were genetic defects, people suffered from flash burns, cancer. Get your facts right before you say anything. No matter how you put it the nuclear bomb is unjustifiable.
WRRRRYYY and you countries havent done bad things either. Look at china a tienamen square for example. Nobody deserves to die for what there ancestors did.
Alo the people who actually dropped the bomb find it hard living with what they did. One man looked down as the bomb and exploded and said god what have we done.
Hasegawa says:
October 13th, 2008 at 10:22 pmI am a Japanese-American. I was born here in America and have been raised here every since. Both of my parents are Japanese and I am fluent in the Japanese language and go to Japan every few years. I have also had a chance to go to school there during the summer.
I do not know much about history. But I do know this,
All countries have events that they regret in their history. And that is no excuse to kill innocent people. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was wrong(many people died after the bombing that were not counted because it was disease caused by the radiation that killed them.) The Rape of Nanking was wrong. All of the countries did wrong things at one point in their history. There should be no controversy.
I promise you that there isn’t a single Japanese person that will kill an American now, to avenge the 700.000 plus civilians that died because of the dropping. It is just a sad event that everyone should learn a lesson from, and it makes me sad when people argue about things like,”they deserved it!” or “irony.”
Jeff says:
November 11th, 2008 at 12:38 pmCruel and unusual, the dropping of the Atomic weapons on Japan served three purposes.
1. Civilians in Japan working the factories and foundries producing Japans war machine needed to be destroyed for obvious reasons. USA was at war with them.(Don’t forget about the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor)
2. It proved to the whole world that the USA has grown to be a super power raising the eyebrow of Moscow and Stalingrad.
3. Japan quickly knew that the two bombs dropped on Japan most likely saved 1 million American troops and saved most likely 10 million Japan troops. The surrender days after the second bomb was dropped secured Japan to continue to be a seperate nation. To have assulted the home island of Japan would have been a blood bath for both sides.
Jeff says:
November 11th, 2008 at 12:52 pmA,
Seems you have no grasp on US history concerning the American natives. You want to know why the were pushed and moved out! The native american indian at the time of the revolutionary war took sides with England. On behalf of the English crown, the natives were given weapons and supplies to fight the colonials. American native indians were loyalists to the crown of England. They picked the wrong side to fight with. They burned villages and settlements, raped and pillaged.
media says:
July 23rd, 2009 at 6:18 amHas every single person complaining about the civilian deaths forgotten the Russians? 120 000 civilians dead in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, yes i agree its a large number, but try 11 million dead russians, they lost more civilians then they did soldiers. To all of you who are posting without knowing your facts… Juan… I’d seriously suggest you reconsider stating your opinion and using false information to back it up. civilian losses are a reality of war,
Japan mercilessly attacked Pearl Harbour, they initiated the conflict against the US, they brought the US into the war. As soon as they attacked, they signed an invisible statement saying they were prepared for war, and the attacks launched against them during war. It is an understanding that when you join a conflict, you expect casualties. Therefore no one has any right to say the bombings were wrong, they were a single act of violence in a war filled with many more atrocities than that.
Do not take away a serviceman’s honour by saying all he will be remembered for is killing 70 000 civilians, for he saved many more lives. Perhaps we should remember him, and thank him, for ending the worst war in history and for giving us the lives we live now. For without his, and his men’s actions, we would not be living the way we do now. No soldier who served his duty to the letter should be frowned upon, even the Germans who killed Jews in Auschwitz etc. soldiers are soldiers doing a job, they give everything for us and its not proper to see past their sacrifice and only see their evil.
ed says:
September 9th, 2010 at 7:49 pm@ Dyske, its interesting on how you point out the reactionary views of the post WW2 setiments of japanese people regarding the justification of dropping the atomic bomb. This may sound off topic but goin back to what you said about immorality or lack of….. If it is indeed a question of immorality or lack of understanding of which is immoral, I would like to ask you how the japanese would interpret the “morality” of colonialization of its former colonies via Korea, Manchura (china) and SE Asia (philippines, Vietnam,Burma, Thailand etc). More importantly what is their reaction to the cases of the Nanking massacre and the annexation of the Korean empire? I’m not here to start a debacle between a china+korea vs japan over trivial matters of nationalism and so forth but it is intriguing to my senses that the Japanese have some what a lack of understanding of the historical atrosities that have underwent to these colonies. More so, I am not subjugating that ALL japanese people are like that but it seems that this is a pressing issue that stems off from the government that regulates the institution for which certain historical information are being left out in schools and certain sectors of the education system. Just had a thought that you might clarify or have some kind of insight to~
Mutsurini says:
September 16th, 2010 at 2:22 am@ A
The Japanese hadn’t offerred a surrender at that stage. I don’t know where people get this idea, since there’s no basis for it in any historical document. Propoganda encouraged the perversion of the bushido that would have meant greater death for Japanese, Americans and Russians alike had the bombs not circumvented such a situation. A horrible weapon, but one that ultimately saved more lives than it took.
@ Jeff
Bear in mind that the British had promised to uphold the integrity of Native Americans (whether this would have been upheld in the long-term or not – likely, a revolution by the natives would have been the eventual end of British colonialism there, if not for the colonial revolution) to some extent, while the revolting Americans had done no such thing. The Native Americans already had a cancer in the form of the European colonists, and siding with the British, if successful, would have stopped that cancer from spreading, whereas siding with the revolutionaries would not have promised any benefit for them. They really had no choice.
MAKAROV says:
March 31st, 2011 at 3:28 amThe Japanese had the kamikazes
Plus treated the POW inhumanly
Made massacres in china-Philippines
They started the war on the US(the famous pearl harbor Air raid)
After dropping the first Atomic bomb on them they didn’t surrender
They should have expected the consequences of their actions!
What more is asked?
Juan - homospeak for "clueless jackass" says:
April 10th, 2011 at 7:15 amIt has been a couple of years, since someone pointed it out, but it bears reiterating:
Juan – you are a fucking idiot.
Read “Japan’s Longest Day” written by a handful of Japanese historians shortly after the war from official government records. Japan was in no way attempting to surrender.
You suffer from the usual anti-American liberal bias that requires you to declare fiction as fact. The only cure for you is for the border patrol to return your illegal ass in handcuffs from whence you came. We owe you nothing, and you deserve nothing. Let me know if you need bus fare.
longbourn says:
March 5th, 2012 at 7:44 pmIve been reading many comments on this Bomb. If we had a chance not to drop it, which they say we did. What were the reasons we dropped it and we were going to drop more. So if I stand on one side and look to why Japan chose war and then on America really the innocent one here Great Britain had no choice they were being atacked by germany. So aga in couontry decides they are taking over another country by whatever means they want your land, your resources, and to control a logistical area to empower themselves to have more money , trade, etc. So if we waited didnt move in finished the resignation of germany would the bomb been kept or was it fear that made them drop it, to say enough is enough. Youve murdered, slautered women and children men who had no guns, took land in nanging and continued to terrorize a foreign country. then bombing america which is a lot of gull. To dominate with b52s or an atomic bomb what ever it took to end there terror. Iat seems in studying the war, fighting countries, its always money, power, huge ego to demand your way by fear. Iraq is the same if they get more power they become more powerful and a danger to us. So it is survival .and as always good people good men on both sides were killed and Japan moves on and its was there government who also hurt there own people for generations china and japan were always used killed and re-used where america defended it right to be civilized and a nation striving to end war, on us or others, for ecc reasons or for a high sense of moral obligation. A soldier is differnt than a country or a citizen. These people have never known peace within there own country. Look at what mao did. they supress from with in so how do you stop a government that rules with such disregard for others. jI guess the bomb ended it and perhaps put fear in other nations that may try to dominate us. If we continue to hate countries and people for generations to come than hate will never die. Japan may of hated losing the war but never a more peaceful people to america. and Germany is on the rise hating jews again who allows this Hate breeds war.. Iam grateful that the horror is over for them and americans and british.now its peaceful………..what a price to pay many died many lost, sad how we as a nation continue to have wars……….
A. S. says:
March 6th, 2012 at 4:16 amThe dropping of the bomb has made every American patriot — unbombed, because the only Japanese bombs fell on a miloitary installation and were a perfectly acceptable war maneuver — into a moral cripple unable to look at themselves in the mirror soberly.
Harveyea says:
November 4th, 2015 at 1:35 pmIn the six months prior to the mission they and other members of the 509th Composite Group had been holed up in Wendover Field, Utah, training for an unspecified bombing run amid total secrecy. The words atomic and nuclear were never mentioned.