Truman & Hiroshima

Published on August 5, 2004 By stevendedalus In History

'Tis the season for Monday morning quarterbacks to throw their annual bombs at Truman for ordering the atomic attack on Japan fifty-nine years ago. As a marine who had experienced bloody Okinawa and having witnessed the Kamikaze off shore assaults on the Navy which lost 8,000 sailors as a consequence, I am reluctant to believe as reported years later that the Japanese were ready to surrender before, according to five out of seven five star officers who in hindsight disagreed with the Hiroshima and Nagasaki decision.

Some of the top brass might have resented Truman’s pulling the rug from under them as they were preparing for the glory of the greatest beachhead in history, dwarfing even the Normandy invasion. Moreover, in Guam where marines had been convalescing after Okinawa, were ready to embark either to Formosa or the Japanese mainland and fully aware that the “fanatics” would never surrender their cherished homelands; for the closer the island landings approached Japan — Iwo Jima and Okinawa — the bloodier they got.

And if indeed the Japanese reportedly sent “feelers” to the Soviets, how is it on the day of Hiroshima, Russian soldiers by the tens of thousands crossed the Manchurian border? I say hogwash to these Monday morning quarterbacks. For decades after the fact critics never mention that the Japanese had ample warning of the terrible weapon and given time to surrender, yet their leaders chose to sacrifice the people of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Furthermore, the prior and continual waves of B-29 napalm attacks on Yokohama — the entire city burned out — were far more destructive than both atom bombs but apparently never enough destruction for the Japanese to yield. Nor do critics ever mention that contrary to popular belief of an unconditional surrender, had MacArthur not agreed to the condition not to hold the Emperor responsible, the war would have continued.

I just wish this annual ritual of blame be put to rest and realize that untold destruction and millions of lives were spared, thanks to Truman.

Comments

Madine

on Aug 06, 2004

I agree.

War always presents us with difficult choices that carry terrible consequences.

Draginol

on Aug 06, 2004

I suspect to Truman that the atomic bomb was just like any other bomb but bigger.

stevendedalus

on Aug 06, 2004

Indeed, war is serious business.

Draginol, I suspect you're right; no one really was aware of the extent of its might or that it would even work.

InfoGeek

on Aug 06, 2004

The Trinity Test, July 16, 1945 gave them a clue. Even Oppenheimer knew what they had created.

http://www.atomicarchive.com/Photos/Photo3.shtml

IG

stevendedalus

on Aug 07, 2004

I was speaking in the context of the general public and GIs; when we first heard of it in Guam, everyone was perplexed wondering what the hell was an atom bomb?

InfoGeek

on Aug 07, 2004

I was speaking in the context of the general public and GIs

True, the general populus did not know. I was responding to Drag and the articles idea about FDR and Truman. The upper echelon had an idea, the citizenry did not.

IG

cactoblasta

on Aug 08, 2004

Do you have any sources for this new information? I recently did a unit on WWII at uni and according to the lecturers the Japanese had been sending out feelers for months but the US refused everything except unconditional surrender. It was only after they dropped the nukes for the benefit of the Russians that the Americans accepted surrender. At least, that's what I read/heard a year ago.

stevendedalus

on Aug 08, 2004

The feelers may be true but I doubt it was over a period of months, since Okinawa wasn't secured till July. But unconditional surrender was paramount inasmuch as Japan devastated Asian countries for decades, let alone the sneak attack on us and the bloody resistance in the Pacific. It took hard bargaining even to let the emperor off the hook.

kingbee

on Aug 08, 2004

would 'another bomb only bigger' have justified greenlighting the extraordinary expense and effort involved or diverting resources from the larger war effort? truman (or anyone else other than the scientists) may not have anticipated all the consequences, but his correspondence evidences he was more than a hick storekeep.

from what ive been able to gather, japanese efforts to arrange a truce were, in the best light, reluctant and hardly realistic. ive seen interviews with former japanese soldiers who were prepared to defend the islands to the last man and for whom the surrender was unfathomable til they saw hiroshima's aftermath for themselves.

it's difficult for me to conclude the horrific consequences are totally offset by projections of lives saved unless those two bombs prevent others from ever being used. on the other hand, i realize truman had to choose the lesser of two evils and i dont envy him the decision nor feel there should be any recriminations. it was a shitty job but someone had to do it and he did.

its a very good thing you survived that terrible war. the world and ju have both benefited as a result.

stevendedalus

on Aug 08, 2004

King: Excellent reservations implied here and balanced with the tensions of worse consequences at a difficult time.

Thanks for your kind personal addendum--much appreciated. []

SSG Geezer

on Aug 08, 2004

There was a great piece on the surrender of Japan on either the History channel or Discovery, that showed how an attempted coup
almost prevented the Emperor's surrender recording from being released. There was an attempted coup but the emperor was
not on the palace grounds at the time. His assistant who had hidden the recording was beaten and if the recording had been found,
probably would have been shot.
20/20 hindsight can certainly give different answers based on your angle of view.

stevendedalus

on Aug 09, 2004

Yes, Tojo and his thugs would have opted for hari kari of all its people rather than surrender.

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