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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000001.txt from 2007/02
From: gtowle83@-----.net
Subj: Re: [DR-L] QOD
Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:44:37 -0500
Ed,
I was a little kid when the war ended, but based on all I have read on this subject you are spot on.
Best,
john
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Donald MacCourt <maccourt@-----.net>
> Ed,
> I remember ane I agree.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Lacy, Edwin" <el2@-----.edu>
> To: <doublereed@-----.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 11:21 PM
> Subject: RE: [DR-L] QOD
>
>
> > <<<This bombing (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) was not to end the war ... that
> > was already about to happen diplomatically. It was done to frighten the
> > Russians, with an object lesson.>>>
> >
> > I am very reluctant to enter this conversation, which undoubtedly is
> > about as far off-topic as we could get. However, I hate to see this
> > kind of assertion disseminated without being questioned.
> >
> > Undoubtedly, whoever wrote this is not as old as I am, and probably
> > doesn't have as clear a memory of the World War II era as I do.
> >
> > In fact, in the so-called "island hopping" that the US had been engaging
> > in, along with a few allies such as Australia and New Zealand and
> > others, was getting more costly and more tragic as the action moved
> > closer to Japan itself. As long as the disputed territories were
> > isolated islands in the Pacific, the fighting, while deadly and vicious,
> > did not reach the levels of fanaticism that were triggered when fighting
> > was taking place on areas that the Japanese considered their home
> > islands.
> >
> > By the time the fighting reached Iwo Jima, about 750 miles from Tokyo,
> > the slaughter reached higher proportions. The battle cost nearly 7,000
> > American lives, and those of 21,000 Japanese, essentially the entire
> > garrison there.
> >
> > The next step was Okinawa, only 350 miles from the mainland. Here, the
> > final toll was 12,281 Americans and over 110,000 Japanese. The Japanese
> > army had convinced the natives of Okinawa that the Americans intent was
> > to torture, kill and perhaps eat them. As a result, many Okinawans
> > killed themselves and their children.
> >
> > The next step would have been the invasion of the Japanese mainland. By
> > this time, the Japanese were training women, children and elderly men to
> > fight with any and all means at their disposal, including sharpened
> > sticks if necessary. It was assumed that every Japanese person with
> > whom the Americans would come into contact would fight to the death.
> > There would be no survivors. Estimates were that fatalities resulting
> > from this type of invasion might amount to between 500,000 and 1,000,000
> > Americans and as many as 10 million Japanese.
> >
> > It was after seeing the results of the campaigns on Iwo Jima and
> > Okinawa, and after receiving estimates and projections such as these
> > that Truman made the decision to use the atomic bomb.
> >
> > In fact, a few months previously, in May of 1945, a conventional bombing
> > campaign had decimated Tokyo, killing at least 100,000 people in one
> > night. Estimates were that at least 60% to 65% of Japan's cities and
> > industrial complex had already been destroyed. Yet, the Japanese
> > doctrine of "Bushido" would not permit any consideration of surrender.
> > In addition, certain fanatical high-ranking army officers would not even
> > allow any mention of ending the war to be presented to the Emperor.
> >
> > Under those circumstances, obviously highly condensed here, who can say
> > what decision any of us would have made in similar circumstances. To
> > many people, it seems entirely possible that Truman's decision may have
> > saved lives on both sides in the long run.
> >
> > I'm not an advocate for nuclear weapons, or for weapons of any kind for
> > that matter. However, it seems to me that we are more horrified by such
> > weapons of mass destruction because the instantaneous loss of so much
> > human life seems so tragic. This extends to other areas of our lives.
> > It always seems more traumatic when an airliner crash kills several
> > hundred people in one incident that it does that about 40,000 Americans
> > and nearly 1,200,000 people around the world are killed in automobile
> > accidents every year.
> >
> > Ed Lacy
> > University of Evansville
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
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