LEST WE FORGET - TODAY 73 YEARS AGO

[Gil Boyd]

1945:At 8:15 am today 73 years ago, a US B-29 dropped a single bomb over Hiroshima, and the first atomic weapon used in warfare detonated with a 13-kiloton blast, destroying nearly 5 square miles of the Japanese city.

Over 70,000 died instantly, and tens of thousands will later perish from injury and sickness.

Information

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[CINDERS]

Always been controversy over Truman's decision to drop those bombs I have just watched a full length doco on the development and dropping of those devices I think his decision was based largely on the horrendous losses suffered by the U.S and other combatants taking back the island's (MacArthur got his way with Roosevelt for that campaign) they put losses of up to 2 million men to take Japan.
Right or wrong what ever you believe in it ended the war far quicker than the alternative sadly the affects of the radiation are still manifesting itself even today 0000's dieing from drinking the black rain which was really moisture laden dirt taken up to the upper atmosphere by the blast then coming back to earth.

Personally it had to be done I am quite sure the decision was not taken lightly even if Trinity did not set fire to the atmosphere.
As a side note Truman was going to drop his bomb at the conference which Stalin was attending as Truman had just gotten confirmation the bomb was a success sad thing is such was "Uncle Joe's" spy network Stalin already knew about the successful detonation of the worlds first Atomic Bomb......

[Gil Boyd]

Of course it was done twice on Japanese soil....................sadly I have to agree, they instantly surrended, and that one act saved thousands of American/British and Commonwealth lives in so doing, which would have been lost needlessly had it continued.

It was the sheer "Unknown" that worried the boffins. Noone really knew what would happen and they certainly never expected the fall out to kill more people than the actual strikes!!

[Paul S.]

The Australian government anticipated the war with Japan continuing to or through 1948.

[Gil Boyd]

Paul,
There is only so much Sushi one man can eat, THANK GOD it came to and end.
For some in distant jungles and islands they fought on not knowing the war was at an end.
What a bummer, being shot by a Jap years after it had ended

[CINDERS]

I have the book The Emperors Last Soldier have yet to read it think his name was Onada there were 3 of them he being the last survivor they had to get his commanding officer from WWII to hail him to come out of the jungle to surrender, gosh he would have got a hell of a back pay!!!!!!!!

[Gil Boyd]

Yes there was a true story of a Jap being found in the Borneo jungle some years back, all his comrades had since died. He too had to be convinced it was all over and mobile phones had taken the place of flags!!

[Cosine26]

On this day in 1945 I was a Radarman 3/c on a “picket” cruiser. We had just completed practice firing on the Island of Culebra and were enroute to the Panama Canal to join the fleet for the invasion of Japan. During the Okinawa campaign , the USN established a radar picket line between Okinawa and Japan to ward off Kamikazes. The line as formed by destroyers. At Okinawa the picket destroyers were lasting about 78 minutes. The plan for the Japanese invasion was to replace the picket destroyers with light cruisers. I do know whether it was thought that the light cruisers would last longer or if the USN was running out of destroyers. I, for one, applaud the use on the nukes. Considering the high casualty rate expected and the typhoon that occurred during the time of the scheduled invasion, it was fortunate that it never occurred.
Col. Paul Tibbits and POTUS Harry Truman have my eternal gratitude.
IMHO
FWIW

[Paul S.]

Gil,

I well remember reading in the newspaper or hearing on the news of seemingly dozens of Japanese soldiers being sighted or 'captured' back in the 1950s and very early 1960s. I remember that many of them were in the Philippines and all had their rifles, ammo and what remained of their kit ready to fight to the death. From the reports, most were sighted whilst stealing food or crops from native farms, or came out voluntarily because of illness or injury (including being wounded trying to avoid capture).

What struck me then as a teenager was two things; the total dedication they had to duty and emperor, and that they wasted a part of their lives for nothing, not knowing or believing the war was over. As I got into my teens and understood more, I realised that the former, their dedication, was absolutely total - that for them, there was no option duty to death. I also understood that Truman (and Roosevelt before him) given the belief that the entire Japanese nation shared that kind of Bushido mentality, with the Okinawa campaign to support that belief, had no option but to use the bombs and end the war then and there.

[browningautorifle]

IMHO
FWIW

Your words here mean tons because you're about our only member that was there. Those of us that soldiered followed your footsteps...you sir...