Militarily necessary, morally justified
In the “Making a Difference” column in your Aug. 20 edition, I must totally disagree with the author’s conclusion. In fact, dropping the atomic bombs on Japan was both militarily necessary and morally justified. There were no signs that the Japanese government would surrender. The facts are just the opposite. A significant defensive build-up was in progress for a decisive battle for the Japanese homeland.
On July 26, 1945, the Allied Powers issued the Potsdam Proclamation, which called upon the Empire of Japan to surrender unconditionally or face total destruction. The Japanese governmental news agency broadcast to the world that Japan would ignore the proclamation and would refuse to surrender.
The options President Truman faced were to invade the Japanese home islands with an overwhelming U.S. force, the first phase of which he approved on July 24, 1945, or drop the atomic bombs. His decision was based on empirical data, including the unprecedented American casualties during the recent battle for Okinawa, that showed not only would his order to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki save the lives of 1 million American servicemen, but also multiple millions of Japanese lives.
The author’s attempt to rewrite 1945 history is not factually supported. The reduction of nuclear weapons today is another subject.
G. Sullivan
Oahu
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