Coming up on the 71st anniversary of Iwo Jima

[regent]

If the Democrats had not made and used the bomb think of these boards today. They would be full of Republicans criticizing FDR and Truman for not making and using a weapon that could have ended the war. Military graveyards, with miles of white crosses would be shown to illustrate the Democrats failure. Many husbands and young lads came home to live out their lives because of those bombs. Many children were born to fathers that would not have been here had we not used that weapon.
I wonder how the American people of that period felt about using the bomb? And maybe we should leave that decision to those people of that age that were living it?

 

[whitehall]

It was a part of justifying the use of the Bomb.

In 1945- no one was very concerned about justifying the use of the Atomic bomb.

While there were a few concerned about the morality of using the atomic bomb, that I believe was mostly ignorance- ignorance of the massive bombing campaigns over Tokyo and other Japanese cities. Most Americans had no qualms with inflicting any harm to Japan- and FDR was a master of the pulse of the American people. He didn't have to justify using a weapon that he didn't live to authorize the use of.

Was Iwo Jima a mistake? Very possibly- certainly we committed to very many other costly battles that in hindsight accomplished little- and to our point of view- should have been foreseen.

Is your thread intended to be a warning of how governments can commit to make strategic errors- or is it just another attack on FDR?

The one thing that we should absolutely remember about the Battle of Iwo Jima is the bravery and sacrifice of the Marines who believed that they were making a difference in the battle to defeat Imperial Japan.

Of course they were concerned about justifying the use of the Bomb. The eggheads who developed it were dying to try it out on humans but they needed to convince the elected officials (and the media) that it was justified. The Marines were the perfect test case. The stated intention for taking Iwo Jima was to suppress Japanese fighter planes from harassing American bombers. No where in the mission was it specified to use the landing strip for crippled bombers. That was a propaganda invention after 7,000 Marines were KIA in a month. The Navy had nowhere else to go but they did not bomb the island for the time requested by the Marines. The only reason is that they didn't want to kill all the Japanese defenders. After the battle the excuse makers claimed that poor intelligence resulted in so many Marine casualties but the intelligence people knew that the Japanese had been fortifying the island for forty freaking years and it could be reasonably assumed that every square foot was plotted by Japanese mortars and that was the case.

 

[Syriusly]

It was a part of justifying the use of the Bomb.

In 1945- no one was very concerned about justifying the use of the Atomic bomb.

While there were a few concerned about the morality of using the atomic bomb, that I believe was mostly ignorance- ignorance of the massive bombing campaigns over Tokyo and other Japanese cities. Most Americans had no qualms with inflicting any harm to Japan- and FDR was a master of the pulse of the American people. He didn't have to justify using a weapon that he didn't live to authorize the use of.

Was Iwo Jima a mistake? Very possibly- certainly we committed to very many other costly battles that in hindsight accomplished little- and to our point of view- should have been foreseen.

Is your thread intended to be a warning of how governments can commit to make strategic errors- or is it just another attack on FDR?

The one thing that we should absolutely remember about the Battle of Iwo Jima is the bravery and sacrifice of the Marines who believed that they were making a difference in the battle to defeat Imperial Japan.

Of course they were concerned about justifying the use of the Bomb. The eggheads who developed it were dying to try it out on humans but they needed to convince the elected officials.

Fascinating fan fiction.

Has nothing to do with the reality but fascinating fan fiction.

 

[Unkotare]

If the Democrats had not made and used the bomb think of these boards today. They would be full of Republicans criticizing FDR and Truman for not making and using a weapon that could have ended the war. Military graveyards, with miles of white crosses would be shown to illustrate the Democrats failure. Many husbands and young lads came home to live out their lives because of those bombs. Many children were born to fathers that would not have been here had we not used that weapon.
I wonder how the American people of that period felt about using the bomb? And maybe we should leave that decision to those people of that age that were living it?

What an illogical cop-out.

 

[regent]

If the Democrats had not made and used the bomb think of these boards today. They would be full of Republicans criticizing FDR and Truman for not making and using a weapon that could have ended the war. Military graveyards, with miles of white crosses would be shown to illustrate the Democrats failure. Many husbands and young lads came home to live out their lives because of those bombs. Many children were born to fathers that would not have been here had we not used that weapon.
I wonder how the American people of that period felt about using the bomb? And maybe we should leave that decision to those people of that age that were living it?[/QUOTE

If the Democrats had not made and used the bomb think of these boards today. They would be full of Republicans criticizing FDR and Truman for not making and using a weapon that could have ended the war. Military graveyards, with miles of white crosses would be shown to illustrate the Democrats failure. Many husbands and young lads came home to live out their lives because of those bombs. Many children were born to fathers that would not have been here had we not used that weapon.
I wonder how the American people of that period felt about using the bomb? And maybe we should leave that decision to those people of that age that were living it?

What an illogical cop-out.

Of course it's illogical if you want the other side to win.

 

[Unkotare]

If the Democrats had not made and used the bomb think of these boards today. They would be full of Republicans criticizing FDR and Truman for not making and using a weapon that could have ended the war. Military graveyards, with miles of white crosses would be shown to illustrate the Democrats failure. Many husbands and young lads came home to live out their lives because of those bombs. Many children were born to fathers that would not have been here had we not used that weapon.
I wonder how the American people of that period felt about using the bomb? And maybe we should leave that decision to those people of that age that were living it?[/QUOTE

If the Democrats had not made and used the bomb think of these boards today. They would be full of Republicans criticizing FDR and Truman for not making and using a weapon that could have ended the war. Military graveyards, with miles of white crosses would be shown to illustrate the Democrats failure. Many husbands and young lads came home to live out their lives because of those bombs. Many children were born to fathers that would not have been here had we not used that weapon.
I wonder how the American people of that period felt about using the bomb? And maybe we should leave that decision to those people of that age that were living it?

What an illogical cop-out.

Of course it's illogical if you want the other side to win.

That comment was also illogical.

 

[elektra]

In 1945- no one was very concerned about justifying the use of the Atomic bomb.

While there were a few concerned about the morality of using the atomic bomb, that I believe was mostly ignorance- ignorance of the massive bombing campaigns over Tokyo and other Japanese cities. Most Americans had no qualms with inflicting any harm to Japan- and FDR was a master of the pulse of the American people. He didn't have to justify using a weapon that he didn't live to authorize the use of.

Was Iwo Jima a mistake? Very possibly- certainly we committed to very many other costly battles that in hindsight accomplished little- and to our point of view- should have been foreseen.

Is your thread intended to be a warning of how governments can commit to make strategic errors- or is it just another attack on FDR?

The one thing that we should absolutely remember about the Battle of Iwo Jima is the bravery and sacrifice of the Marines who believed that they were making a difference in the battle to defeat Imperial Japan.

Nobody was concerned about justifying the use of the Atom bomb? Why should of Truman been concerned about using our most powerful bomb, a very odd choice of words, I think in says much about Syriusly, Syriusly believes we should of justified the use, yet the use was justified. Japan started a war with us, it is very bizarre and revisionist to state we had no "concern", in "justifying" our actions? Self Defense requires no justification.

Syriusly posted otherwise, if you notice the latest post syriusly poses against me, it has nothing to do with anything I have stated and completely obfuscates syriusly's position.

Most Americans had no qualms with inflicting harm? Again, another clever statement that ignores that we were at WAR with Japan which started the war. Syriusly, I am surprised you have no qualms inflicting harm on somebody poking you in the eye.

Syriusly is seriously pompous and thinly accusing the USA of being the, immoral, non-justifiable, no concern, aggressors?

And certainly according to syriusly, Iwo Jima was a huge mistake, like so many other immoral battles, but lets remember how brave the USMC was.

And certainly it was good to get rid of the Emperor, but not so much the defeat of the entire Military, or the entire nation of Japan that was at War with us.

Yes, the USMC only believed they were making a difference, not that they were, and we should remember they were brave.

Pompous revisionism with zero understanding of what happened and why, is syriously.

Syriously believes the USA is the bad guys, that is what I get when I read his/her post. Anybody can read it, and see for themselves.

syriously is a disgrace, as many americans are, who prefer the Marines to have died, instead of the people of Japan who were at war with us.