"My God, what have we done?"

[Country Roads]

I won't link the original story from, usatoday.com, because it may be deemed political but...

Seventy-five years ago Thursday, the U.S. became – and remains – the only country in the world to detonate a nuclear weapon against an enemy.

At 8:15 a.m. local time on Aug. 6, 1945, an American Boeing B-29 aircraft named Enola Gay dropped a 9,700-pound uranium bomb nicknamed "Little Boy" over Hiroshima, Japan. About 70,000 people were killed instantly by the explosion, which had a radius of around a mile.

Three days later, on Aug. 9 at 11:02 a.m. local time, a second atomic bomb, named "Fat Man," was unleashed by the U.S. over Nagasaki, Japan. This time, 40,000 people died straight away – within five years, the number of deaths approached 140,000, according to archived estimates by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Hiroshima death toll reached an estimated 200,000 by 1950 as those who survived the blast succumbed to fatal burns, radiation sickness and various cancers.

On an NBC show called "This Is Your Life", Capt. Robert Lewis, co-pilot of the Enola Gay, the American Boeing B-29 that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, with tears welling up in his eyes, the pilot said that he had written in his flight log on Aug. 6, 1945: "My God, what have we done?"


Within the story you'll find this. It's animation is quite interesting.

Nuclear annihilation:See what would happen if a nuclear blast hit your ZIP

What would happen if a nuclear bomb went off in your backyard?

Experience the power of a low-yield nuclear weapon in your area

outrider.org

 

[Brett]

I won't link the original story from, usatoday.com, because it may be deemed political but...

Seventy-five years ago Thursday, the U.S. became – and remains – the only country in the world to detonate a nuclear weapon against an enemy.

At 8:15 a.m. local time on Aug. 6, 1945, an American Boeing B-29 aircraft named Enola Gay dropped a 9,700-pound uranium bomb nicknamed "Little Boy" over Hiroshima, Japan. About 70,000 people were killed instantly by the explosion, which had a radius of around a mile.

Three days later, on Aug. 9 at 11:02 a.m. local time, a second atomic bomb, named "Fat Man," was unleashed by the U.S. over Nagasaki, Japan. This time, 40,000 people died straight away – within five years, the number of deaths approached 140,000, according to archived estimates by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Hiroshima death toll reached an estimated 200,000 by 1950 as those who survived the blast succumbed to fatal burns, radiation sickness and various cancers.

On an NBC show called "This Is Your Life", Capt. Robert Lewis, co-pilot of the Enola Gay, the American Boeing B-29 that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, with tears welling up in his eyes, the pilot said that he had written in his flight log on Aug. 6, 1945: "My God, what have we done?"


Within the story you'll find this. It's animation is quite interesting.

Nuclear annihilation:See what would happen if a nuclear blast hit your ZIP

What would happen if a nuclear bomb went off in your backyard?

Experience the power of a low-yield nuclear weapon in your area

outrider.org

right, the "doomsday" clock has been advanced the past couple of years because of ____________

Lots of books and articles on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

 

[bbodb1]

What was done that day saved millions of lives - not only Allied but also Japanese lives because of the events that did not need to occur next. If you understand the culture of Japan, you understand that every last man, woman, and child would have died defending the home islands and the Emperor from an invading force.

Yes, the horrors of war are beyond description but they should serve as a reminder to take every reasonable step to avoid war in the future.

Perhaps Capt. Lewis should have reviewed the lessons learned by Commander Mitsuo Fuchida......

 

[SmithOp]

What was done that day saved If you understand the culture of Japan, you understand that every last man, woman, and child would have died defending the home islands and the Emperor from an invading force.
......

I don’t think this is true, it was a stereotype from propaganda of the times. The Japanese government was taken over by the hawkish military leaders that advocated the war but not every “man, woman, and child” was so disposed.

I just started reading a fascinating book about the mission to assasinate Admiral Yamamoto, the architect of the Pearl Harbor attack. It paints a very different picture than the war propaganda of that era. Dead Reckoning by Dick Lehr.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Country Roads]

right, the "doomsday" clock has been advanced the past couple of years because of ____________

Lots of books and articles on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

"... because of_____________" ?

 

[Old Hickory]

"... because of_____________" ?

You know, Communist dictatorships and Marxists who have previously mass murdered their own citizens.

 

[rapmarks]

In the eighties our local newspaper wrote about the bombing, but changed the name to Enola Homosexual in an attempt to be politically correct. I believe Enola Gay was the pilots mothers name

 

[Brett]

I don’t think this is true, it was a stereotype from propaganda of the times. The Japanese government was taken over by the hawkish military leaders that advocated the war but not every “man, woman, and child” was so disposed.

I just started reading a fascinating book about the mission to assasinate Admiral Yamamoto, the architect of the Pearl Harbor attack. It paints a very different picture than the war propaganda of that era. Dead Reckoning by Dick Lehr.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

I've read that book (epub). It's more about the pilots and mission that shot down Yamamoto's plane.
There are other books that make the case for Japan agreeing to surrender before the A bombs were dropped. One recent book is "The Apocalypse Factory" by Steve Olsen - plutonium was only discovered in Dec 1940 and Leslie Groves was determined to use that $3 billion baseball size small chunk of metal !

 

[billymach4]

How about Nazi Germany? Hitler and his associates knew in late 1944 it was a total loss. Germany was squeezed from both sides. Why did they have to force civilians to fight to the death. If we dropped the A bomb in early 1945 on Hitler ( If it had been available?) would the Nazi's have surrendered? Maybe?

One can also argue that just as much destruction if not more was done via convention bombing over Germany. Prime example "Dresden" was literally obliterated by conventional means.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Japan wouldn't surrender. They were warned, which is something we didn't get, when they attacked Pearl Harbor. That is history, real history. I feel badly that those two islands were bombed, but the second one didn't even need to happen. Really, we are living at a time when our parents and grandparents who lived through it are mostly gone. So to second guess that decision seems like hindsight. You have no idea what would have happened, had they not dropped those bombs, but my dad told me that he couldn't believe the Japanese wouldn't surrender after the first one. That was the general sentiment at the time.

 

[easyrider]

I think the main reason that the USA used the nuke option on Japan was to show Russia that the USA had these in the arsenal. Japan was pretty much a defeated country by the time the bomb was dropped.


Bill

 

[e.bram]

I think the main reason that the USA used the nuke option on Japan was to show Russia that the USA had these in the arsenal. Japan was pretty much a defeated country by the time the bomb was dropped.

The aftermath of the nukes used on Japan killed people for years after the use because of the radiation. My mom was outside Nagasaki growing up when these were used. It took years, but like many in her family she died young from leukemia. More people died from the aftermath of these weapons, imo.

Bill

Japan victim????????? How about all the people(civilians) the Japanese killed in China, Philippines etc.
The Japanese started it and got what they deserved.

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

@SmithOp For a balanced view of the Pacific War, I recommend The Rising Sun, by John Toland. It starts with the 2/24 incident, to the bitter end. It used many Japanese resources and documents. (Written in 1970).

 

[chellej]

I think the main reason that the USA used the nuke option on Japan was to show Russia that the USA had these in the arsenal. Japan was pretty much a defeated country by the time the bomb was dropped.

The aftermath of the nukes used on Japan killed people for years after the use because of the radiation. My mom was outside Nagasaki growing up when these were used. It took years, but like many in her family she died young from leukemia. More people died from the aftermath of these weapons, imo.

Bill

Bill

Sorry for what your mom went through.

My dad served in Germany during the war and they were on ships about to head home and at last moments were going to be diverted to the Pacific theater. He was relieved that the bombs were dropped and the war was ended so he could go home. I don't think anyone had any idea of the ramifications the bombs would have going forward on the exposed population.

 

[easyrider]

Japan victim????????? How about all the people(civilians) the Japanese killed in China, Philippines etc.
The Japanese started it and got what they deserved.

***************************

Bill

 

[e.bram]

How can a child start a war ? Yes, there are many victims of the radiation from the nuke used against Japan, many of whom were not even born when the during the war.

Bill

The Japanese should have thought of that before they started it killing many children themselves.How would you suggest stopping the Japanese from killing others.

 

[easyrider]

The Japanese should have thought of that before they started it killing many children themselves.How would you suggest stopping the Japanese from killing others.

I don't know and I know you for sure don't have a clue. Do you consider the nuke a viable weapon to be used on an entire population ? In the post nuke wars, we use sanctions, blockades and other means to achieve our objectives.

FYI, you sound a bit offensive using the derogatory word Jap. Japanese if you please.

Bill

 

[e.bram]

I don't know and I know you for sure don't have a clue. Do you consider the nuke a viable weapon to be used on an entire population ? In these post nuke wars we use sanctions, blockades and other means to achieve our objectives.

Bill

Those who died in the The Nanjing Massacre(including women and children) died a better death at the hands of the Japanese because it was not nuclear? HUH?
That was OK?

 

[jacknsara]

I won't link the original story from, usatoday.com, because it may be deemed political but...

Seventy-five years ago Thursday, the U.S. became – and remains – the only country in the world to detonate a nuclear weapon against an enemy.

At 8:15 a.m. local time on Aug. 6, 1945, an American Boeing B-29 aircraft named Enola Gay dropped a 9,700-pound uranium bomb nicknamed "Little Boy" over Hiroshima, Japan. About 70,000 people were killed instantly by the explosion, which had a radius of around a mile.

Three days later, on Aug. 9 at 11:02 a.m. local time, a second atomic bomb, named "Fat Man," was unleashed by the U.S. over Nagasaki, Japan. This time, 40,000 people died straight away – within five years, the number of deaths approached 140,000, according to archived estimates by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Hiroshima death toll reached an estimated 200,000 by 1950 as those who survived the blast succumbed to fatal burns, radiation sickness and various cancers.

On an NBC show called "This Is Your Life", Capt. Robert Lewis, co-pilot of the Enola Gay, the American Boeing B-29 that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, with tears welling up in his eyes, the pilot said that he had written in his flight log on Aug. 6, 1945: "My God, what have we done?"


Within the story you'll find this. It's animation is quite interesting.

Nuclear annihilation:See what would happen if a nuclear blast hit your ZIP

What would happen if a nuclear bomb went off in your backyard?

Experience the power of a low-yield nuclear weapon in your area

outrider.org

For those interested in perusing an authoritative publication on the effects of various size nuclear explosions, the official U.S. Gov document is available free on the web: https://www.dtra.mil/Portals/61/Documents/NTPR/4-Rad_Exp_Rpts/36_The_Effects_of_Nuclear_Weapons.pdf
I actually own a mid 1960's printed earlier version of this. Its been a long time since I perused it.
Jack

 

[easyrider]

Those who died in the The Nanjing Massacre(including women and children) died a better death at the hands of the Japanese because it was not nuclear? HUH?
That was OK?

*************************************

Bill

 

[e.bram]

What do you think ? Do you think that anyone thinks killing anyone is right ? I am wondering why you are bringing these other deaths up ? Did one of your relatives die in the war or Japanese conquests of Asia ? If so, me and my mom had nothing to do with it, lol.

Bill

The Japanese started it and should have no complaints on the outcome , attack Pearl Harbor and take the USA revenge. Should have known better than to start a war with the UNITED STATES of AMERICA.

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

Please calm down, or else this thread is going to be locked.

 

[easyrider]

Please calm down, or else this thread is going to be locked.

Sometimes the hate is so deep that it just doesn't matter i guess. Just let it go.

Bill

 

[e.bram]

In a private convo ebram has explained the reason why for the posts. I also explained my thoughts. Sometimes the hate is so deep that it just doesn't matter i guess. Just let it go. Most of ebrams posts are interesting. These last post not so much, imo. It must be the covid , lol.

Bill

Does not have to be private.
My problem is that every August the Japanese portray themselves as victims of a war they they started with no mention of the many more deaths the Japanese caused in the Japanese Conquest of Asia. They are the victims of Japanese aggression.
Never mentioned!!! Dead is Dead nuclear or otherwise.

 

[Brett]

In a private convo ebram has explained the reason why for the posts. I also explained my thoughts. Sometimes the hate is so deep that it just doesn't matter i guess. Just let it go. Most of ebrams posts are interesting. These last post not so much, imo. It must be the covid , lol.

Bill

yes, let it go. some people are completely locked in their thinking
.... or blame covid