Comments on: REMEMBERING THE BOMB, FORGETTING WHY

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:29:20 +0000

War is bad no matter what, but dropping those two bombs ended the war and saved millions of lives. The world saw what happens. Maybe in a way that has keep it from happening again.

My dad fought in Okinawa. Those guys knew the next step was Japan and from his letter home they were not looking forward to it. He wrote a letter to his mom the day before Hiroshima telling her that he wished the Air Force would do more. He had no clue what was about to happen.

A few days letter another letter from a young marine to his mom “THE WAR IS OVER” it started out. That said it all.

By: Thomas Jackson

Thomas Jackson — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:41:52 +0000

Exactly what makes the A bombs so terrible compared to the firebombing of Tokyo where far more people died? Were the deaths of two million German civilians during March and April 1945, when the Russians overran eastern Germany, somehow more acceptable than if an A bomb had been used?

Nuclear weapons may have prevented a clash between the West and the USSR saving what certainly would have been far greater casualties than occured in WWII.

By: Drewsmom

Drewsmom — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:38:28 +0000

John Curtis, what a thoughtful post and tribute to your great parents.
How utterly refreshing, thanks for you post and have a good day and God Bless you and your family.

By: John Curtis

John Curtis — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 02:50:44 +0000

Rick, I was fortunate to have been born in 1951 to quiet, unassuming parents who both lived through the Depression and WWII. My dad served in the Navy and my mom worked in factories here at home. They were heroes and didn’t even know it… they believed in what they did and they believed America would prevail. With few exceptions, such as our current servicemen and women, my parent’s sacrifices and our nation’s goodness seem to be fading into the contemporary fog of a few lost generations trying to find an excuse for their own shortcomings… real and imagined. Japan’s loss of WWII to the America of my parent’s generation was a blessing… No other victor nation had the ability or inclination to forgive and rebuild their former foes.

By: Bill Arnold

Bill Arnold — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:15:06 +0000

There is now ample evidence that Japan was developing nuclear weapons and they were extremely close to success.

What is your source on this? Is there anything more than the 1946 Snell story described in this WIKIpedia article and links?

The 1946 Snell story is weird, because the history and documentation also indicate an underfunded Japanese research program mostly going down dead-end research paths.
Perhaps it was an attempt to manufacture a justification for the U.S. use of the bomb, and other mundane theories also come to mind, e.g. a Japanese “curveball”.

Right, Bill. According to Richard Rhodes Pulitzer winning book “The Making of the Atomic Bomb” which was exhaustively researched, the Japanese were where we were in 1940 with atomic research. They had no large scale projects to enrich uranium to bomb grade levels indeed they had no plans for such enrichment facilities. To say the Japanese were “close” to getting the bomb is absurd.

ed.

By: Drewsmom

Drewsmom — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:13:35 +0000

Oops, what can I say. It’s 4:13 A.M. My new BP meds are messing with my sleep.

By: Drewsmom

Drewsmom — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:12:43 +0000

Rick, wonderful, what can I see. You are on spot once again.
Thanks for enlightening me on daily basis.

By: Roger Mansell

Roger Mansell — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:36:33 +0000

There is now ample evidence that Japan was developing nuclear weapons and they were extremely close to success. Using nuclear bombs as mines, they could have easily destroyed entire invasion fleets. Could you imagine the outcry in America if they used the bomb first and we had delay for purposes of “humanity”?

The peaceniks in 1945 and modern day revisionists would have us believe we could “wait out” the Japanese, clearly ignoring the Allied casualty rate of some 7000 soldiers every week. One historian says these, “would have been small”, clearly ignoring the families of each casualty. Hindsight by college historians becomes laughable in their ignorance.

Japan not only continued to wage war after the “bombs” but accelerated the beheading and execution of dozens of American aviators. Their intention to execute all POWS, if their homeland was invaded, was already known. The massacre of POWS on Palawan during the Philippine campaign was well known.

The bomb saved millions of Japanese lives and those who preach we are guilty of inhumanity ignore the millions who died as a direct result of Japan’s desire to rule all of Asia.

It is not history that repeats but human nature. Dictators and fanatics always seek control over others and, unless countered, they spread death and destruction.

By: mannning

mannning — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:46:50 +0000

An excellent post!

In the end, however, we will continue to stock and make ready for use the more modern versions of nuclear weapons, in case of need. There may be no more Hiroshimas, which is much to be wished, but it is entirely possible that there will be other cities to feel the heat, if only in retaliation for a first strike on the US.

I do believe that the “triad” is still in service and available 24/7: that is, nuclear-armed bombers; land-launched missiles; and sea-launched missiles. Today, I suppose, the triad has been extended or elided to include nuclear-armed air, land, and sea-launched cruise missiles.

We must remain prepared to do what is necessary to defend our nation.

By: David M

David M — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:08:06 +0000

The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the - Web Reconnaissance for 08/14/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.