Last Surviving Enola Gay Crew Member Who Nuked The Japs Over Hiroshima Dies

[Vandalshandle]

It didn't have to be done.

Quite right, we could have continued a campaign of fire bombing, and then eventually a ground invasion which would have been protracted, and would have cost the lives of thousands of GI's, and in the end would have probably led to an ebbing support back home, and would have ended up in a vague defeat of the Japanese military.

Or we drop a bomb the world had never seen, and so convincingly broke the back of the enemy, that they surrendered in just a handful of days after both targets were obliterated.


In the end, it's fortunate for America and the American people that war protesters were scarce during WWII.

There was one other major reason for our dropping those two bombs on Hiroshima and Nagisaki; the US government was out of money and may not have been able to sustain a continuing war against Japan.

Not to mention that the USA was seriously war weary. The truth is that if Truman had not used the bomb, and thousands of US soldiers had become casualties, he would have been impeached.

 

[NLT]

So sad that a true hero gets remembered here by a bigot pig like StevieG.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/polit...nd-avoid-looking-too-liberal.html#post9526043

 

[Peach]

Yeah, the America haters are out...it is nice to be able to second guess decisions made in a time of global warfare with the benefit of having years of research after the war when it can be comfortably studied from our easy chair...here is an article looking at the attempt to lie about Japan's willingness to surrender...

History News Network | The Greatest Hoax In American History: Japan?s Alleged Willingness to Surrender During the Final Months of World War II

Japan had three days between Hiroshima & Nagasaki. The tragedy cannot be brushed off, but the choices at the time were limited.

 

[Mad Scientist]

The Soviets had just declared war on Japan, and were advancing rapidly from the East. Our failure to end the war quickly would have given the Soviets an opportunity to spread their influence over the Pacific, just like they did in North Korea and China. Truman did the right thing.

Using the War Materials the US sold to them perhaps?

 

[Delta4Embassy]

My Wife's Grandparents were at Hiroshima. Her Grandpa said: "It had to be done!"

Here's a thread I made about it a while back.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/history/238808-my-wife-s-grandparents-were-hiroshima-survivors.html

No it didn't. Japan was already in negotiations to surrender. The claim they wouldn't have without being nuked, twice, is false. But after spending over $20 billion (in 1996 dollars) they had to have something to show to justify that expense.

The Costs of the Manhattan Project

The conventional bombing of military targets which frequently resulted in civilian casualties could at least be justified as unavoidable. But using an atomic weapon knowing full well the area of devastation (as per the first bomb's test at Alamagordo) was a deliberate assault on a civilian population and unforgiveable.

If it was so necessary to assure victory, why didn't they use the 4th atom bomb? 4 were produced and available, 1 test detonated, 2 used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but a 4th was available. Could it be they realized this was abhorrent and shouldn't continue and wasn't even necessary?

 

[Vandalshandle]

The Soviets had just declared war on Japan, and were advancing rapidly from the East. Our failure to end the war quickly would have given the Soviets an opportunity to spread their influence over the Pacific, just like they did in North Korea and China. Truman did the right thing.

Using the War Materials the US sold to them perhaps?

I have no problem with that. The Soviets lost 10,000,0000 soldiers fighting Germany. better them than us.

 

[M14 Shooter]

And at the judgement he shall have to answer for innocent children, women, and men.

Which shall be nothing compared to the judgement for the Nip bastards that brought the war upon them.

 

[R.C. Christian]

Nip, Jap = RACIST! LOL.

 

[Pennywise]

My Aunt Harriet told me when I was a kid that Hiroshima was George W. Bush's fault.

Aunt Nostradamus.

 

[M14 Shooter]

Nip, Jap = RACIST! LOL.

Only to the small minded that do not understand the meaning of the term.

 

[DigitalDrifter]

And by the way to you libs that are so appalled America dropped these bombs, it's really easy to second guess an America that was at war 60 years ago, from your living room in 2014.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

My Wife's Grandparents were at Hiroshima. Her Grandpa said: "It had to be done!"

Here's a thread I made about it a while back.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/history/238808-my-wife-s-grandparents-were-hiroshima-survivors.html

No it didn't. Japan was already in negotiations to surrender. The claim they wouldn't have without being nuked, twice, is false. But after spending over $20 billion (in 1996 dollars) they had to have something to show to justify that expense.

The Costs of the Manhattan Project

The conventional bombing of military targets which frequently resulted in civilian casualties could at least be justified as unavoidable. But using an atomic weapon knowing full well the area of devastation (as per the first bomb's test at Alamagordo) was a deliberate assault on a civilian population and unforgiveable.

If it was so necessary to assure victory, why didn't they use the 4th atom bomb? 4 were produced and available, 1 test detonated, 2 used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but a 4th was available. Could it be they realized this was abhorrent and shouldn't continue and wasn't even necessary?

Japan was NOT going to surrender all they offered was a cease fire a return to Nov 1941 lines and then for the war to stop. After the first bomb they demanded that no disarmament occur no troops on Japanese soil and that they keep their 41 border.

After the second bomb The emperor intervened and ordered the surrender because the Army which controlled the Government refused to. Even then the Army staged a Coup to stop the surrender.

I have provided you with source documents that all prove this happened.

Here try again to deny these facts....

The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II: A Collection of Primary Sources

 

[Peach]

My Wife's Grandparents were at Hiroshima. Her Grandpa said: "It had to be done!"

Here's a thread I made about it a while back.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/history/238808-my-wife-s-grandparents-were-hiroshima-survivors.html

No it didn't. Japan was already in negotiations to surrender. The claim they wouldn't have without being nuked, twice, is false. But after spending over $20 billion (in 1996 dollars) they had to have something to show to justify that expense.

The Costs of the Manhattan Project

The conventional bombing of military targets which frequently resulted in civilian casualties could at least be justified as unavoidable. But using an atomic weapon knowing full well the area of devastation (as per the first bomb's test at Alamagordo) was a deliberate assault on a civilian population and unforgiveable.

If it was so necessary to assure victory, why didn't they use the 4th atom bomb? 4 were produced and available, 1 test detonated, 2 used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but a 4th was available. Could it be they realized this was abhorrent and shouldn't continue and wasn't even necessary?

Japan was NOT going to surrender all they offered was a cease fire a return to Nov 1941 lines and then for the war to stop. After the first bomb they demanded that no disarmament occur no troops on Japanese soil and that they keep their 41 border.

After the second bomb The emperor intervened and ordered the surrender because the Army which controlled the Government refused to. Even then the Army staged a Coup to stop the surrender.

I have provided you with source documents that all prove this happened.

Here try again to deny these facts....

The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II: A Collection of Primary Sources

I saw one of the original warnings leaflets, encased for preservation, the US dropped hundreds of thousands in as many diffferent dialects as the Allies could find:

On August 1, 1945, five days before the bombing of Hiroshima, the U.S. Army Air Force dropped one million leaflets over Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and 33 other Japanese cities warning that those cities were going to be destroyed within a few days and advising the residents to leave to save their lives. One side of the leaflet had a photo of five U.S. bombers unloading bombs and a list of the targeted cities. The other side had the text. The English version of the leaflet is included in an article at the CIA website, “The Information War in the Pacific, 1945,” by Josette H. Williams. OWI stands for Office of War Information:
Front side of OWI notice #2106, dubbed the “LeMay bombing leaflet,” which was delivered to Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and 33 other Japanese cities on 1 August 1945. The Japanese text on the reverse side of the leaflet carried the following warning:
“Read this carefully as it may save your life or the life of a relative or friend. In the next few days, some or all of the cities named on the reverse side will be destroyed by American bombs. These cities contain military installations and workshops or factories which produce military goods. We are determined to destroy all of the tools of the military clique which they are using to prolong this useless war. But, unfortunately, bombs have no eyes. So, in accordance with America’s humanitarian policies, the American Air Force, which does not wish to injure innocent people, now gives you warning to evacuate the cities named and save your lives. America is not fighting the Japanese people but is fighting the military clique which has enslaved the Japanese people. The peace which America will bring will free the people from the oppression of the military clique and mean the emergence of a new and better Japan. You can restore peace by demanding new and good leaders who will end the war. We cannot promise that only these cities will be among those attacked but some or all of them will be, so heed this warning and evacuate these cities immediately.”

(See Richard S. R. Hubert, “The OWI Saipan Operation,” Official Report to US Information Service, Washington, DC 1946.)

 

[jasonnfree]

No. There's never a good reason to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people.

Like Bush and Iraq - its just wrong.

The US should better than this and I'm very sorry we're not.

But this bomber crew was taking orders. It was a dangerous mission, and japan and usa were at war. Iraq was always about the bushes and oil. No comparison.

 

[R.C. Christian]

Nobody was climbing Mt. Niitaka that day, LOL

 

[jasonnfree]

Quite right, we could have continued a campaign of fire bombing, and then eventually a ground invasion which would have been protracted, and would have cost the lives of thousands of GI's, and in the end would have probably led to an ebbing support back home, and would have ended up in a vague defeat of the Japanese military.

Or we drop a bomb the world had never seen, and so convincingly broke the back of the enemy, that they surrendered in just a handful of days after both targets were obliterated.


In the end, it's fortunate for America and the American people that war protesters were scarce during WWII.

There was one other major reason for our dropping those two bombs on Hiroshima and Nagisaki; the US government was out of money and may not have been able to sustain a continuing war against Japan.

Not to mention that the USA was seriously war weary. The truth is that if Truman had not used the bomb, and thousands of US soldiers had become casualties, he would have been impeached.

True, republicans are always looking for ways to impeach.

 

[M14 Shooter]

There was one other major reason for our dropping those two bombs on Hiroshima and Nagisaki; the US government was out of money and may not have been able to sustain a continuing war against Japan.

Not to mention that the USA was seriously war weary. The truth is that if Truman had not used the bomb, and thousands of US soldiers had become casualties, he would have been impeached.

True, republicans are always looking for ways to impeach.

Your partisan bigotry aside.... such an action would have been led by Republicans and Denocrats alike.

 

[shart_attack]

I wished I would have got around to shake this brave American patriot's hand for a noble deed he did for the United States of America.

I fail to see the instant murder of 80,000 innocent civilians with no military value as a "noble deed" or even the least bit heroic. ...

Says a guy with a picture of the rails to Auschwitz in his avatar.

 

[Steven_R]

No. There's never a good reason to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people.

Like Bush and Iraq - its just wrong.

The US should better than this and I'm very sorry we're not.

Those innocent people were being armed and trained to make suicide attacks against US troops. You think it was wrong to pop some canned sunshine to save US troops, but DC wasn't the one putting those innocents in harm's way.