Operation DOWNFALL - the invasion that was never launched.

[carpriver]

Thank you for a great history lesson. Had the invasion taken place the world could be a very different place.

 

[cmort666]

Had the invasion gone forward, it would have been Americans with proto-M14s and .30-06 MG-42s against Girl Scouts with bamboo spears. Planning for the use of chemical weapons against the Japanese was at an advanced stage.

By the time the campaign was over, there might well have been more living ethnic Japanese in the United States and Brazil than in Japan itself.

Anybody who thinks that's a preferable outcome to the atomic bombings is a sociopath. The other alternative was de facto surrender to Japan's insane demands to retain their slave territories, and for the military to continue to rule the country.

The Japanese got off light because of the atomic bombs. Real justice would have been a fifty year Chinese occupation and mandate over the home islands.

 

[Collo Rosso]

My Father passed away in 2011 on his birthday. He was a naval veteran of 3 theaters of war in WWII. At the end of the Pacific war he was on a carrier (wish I could remember which one) off Okinawa. Stayed in the reserves and was one of the first called for Korea. Truly the greatest generation. I miss him.

 

[rwsmith]

I don't often disagree....

I don't often disagree with those who were 'there' but a Pearl Harbor Vet told me that we didn't have to drop the A bombs because Japan was already beaten. Well, as the above essay states, there is a long way from 'beaten' and 'surrendered', especially when talking about the Japanese in WWII.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I read they were planning for 500,000 US casualties. They ordered so many Purple Hearts they didn't need to order additional ones for Korea and Vietnam.
Serious consideration was given to massive use of The Bomb on both a strategic and tactical level. What finally induced the Japanese to surrender
was when their scientists told them this was a weapon against which there was NO defense, and its use could lead to the extinction of the Japanese as a race.

 

[REM 3200]

Quite a story. Take a few minutes for a history lesson about which you probably knew little.

Deep in the recesses of the National Archives in Washington, D.C., hidden for nearly four decades lie thousands of pages of yellowing and dusty documents stamped "Top Secret". These documents, now declassified, are the plans for Operation Downfall, the invasion of Japan during World War II.

Only a few Americans in 1945 were aware of the elaborate plans that had been prepared for the Allied Invasion of the Japanese home islands. Even fewer today are aware of the defenses the Japanese had prepared to counter the invasion had it been launched. Operation Downfall was finalized during the spring and summer of 1945. It called for two massive military undertakings to be carried out in succession and aimed at the heart of the Japanese Empire.

In the first invasion - code named "Operation Olympic"- American combat troops would land on Japan by amphibious assault during the early morning hours of November 1, 1945 - 61 years ago. Fourteen combat divisions of soldiers and Marines would land on heavily fortified and defended Kyushu, the southernmost of the Japanese home islands, after an unprecedented naval and aerial bombardment.

The second invasion on March 1, 1946 - code named "Operation Coronet"- would send at least 22 divisions against 1 million Japanese defenders on the main island of Honshu and the Tokyo Plain. Its goal: the unconditional surrender of Japan.

With the exception of a part of the British Pacific Fleet, Operation Downfall was to be a strictly American operation. It called for using the entire Marine Corps, the entire Pacific Navy, elements of the 7th Army Air Force, the 8 Air Force (recently redeployed from Europe), 10th Air Force and the American Far Eastern Air Force. More than 1.5 million combat soldiers, with 3 million more in support or more than 40% of all servicemen still in uniform in 1945 - would be directly involved in the two amphibious assaults. Casualties were expected to be extremely heavy.

Admiral William Leahy estimated that there would be more than 250,000 Americans killed or wounded on Kyushu alone. General Charles Willoughby, chief of intelligence for General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Southwest Pacific, estimated American casualties would be one million men by the fall of 1946. Willoughby's own intelligence staff considered this to be a conservative estimate.

During the summer of 1945, America had little time to prepare for such an endeavor, but top military leaders were in almost unanimous agreement that an invasion was necessary.

While naval blockade and strategic bombing of Japan was considered to be useful, General MacArthur, for instance, did not believe a blockade would bring about an unconditional surrender. The advocates for invasion agreed that while a naval blockade chokes, it does not kill; and though strategic bombing might destroy cities, it leaves whole armies intact.

So on May 25, 1945, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after extensive deliberation, issued to General MacArthur, Admiral Chester Nimitz, and Army Air Force General Henry Arnold, the top secret directive to proceed with the invasion of Kyushu. The target date was after the typhoon season.

President Truman approved the plans for the invasions July 24. Two days later, the United Nations issued the Potsdam Proclamation, which called upon Japan to surrender unconditionally or face total destruction. Three days later, the Japanese governmental news agency broadcast to the world that Japan would ignore the proclamation and would refuse to surrender. During this same period it was learned -- via monitoring Japanese radio broadcasts -- that Japan had closed all schools and mobilized its school children, was arming its civilian population and was fortifying caves and building underground defenses.

Operation Olympic called for a four pronged assault on Kyushu. Its purpose was to seize and control the southern one-third of that island and establish naval and air bases, to tighten the naval blockade of the home islands, to destroy units of the main Japanese army and to support the later invasion of the Tokyo Plain.

The preliminary invasion would begin October 27 when the 40th Infantry Division would land on a series of small islands west and southwest of Kyushu. At the same time, the 158th Regimental Combat Team would invade and occupy a small island 28 miles south of Kyushu. On these islands, seaplane bases would be established and radar would be set up to provide advance air warning for the invasion fleet, to serve as fighter direction centers for the carrier-based aircraft and to provide an emergency anchorage for the invasion fleet, should things not go well on the day of the invasion. As the invasion grew imminent, the massive firepower of the Navy - the Third and Fifth Fleets -- would approach Japan. The Third Fleet, under Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, with its big guns and naval aircraft, would provide strategic support for the operation against Honshu and Hokkaido. Halsey's fleet would be composed of battleships, heavy cruisers, destroyers, dozens of support ships and three fast carrier task groups. From these carriers, hundreds of Navy fighters, dive bombers and torpedo planes would hit targets all over the island of Honshu. The 3,000 ship Fifth Fleet, under Admiral Raymond Spruance, would carry the invasion troops.

Several days before the invasion, the battleships, heavy cruisers and destroyers would pour thousands of tons of high explosives into the target areas. They would not cease the bombardment until after the land forces had been launched. During the early morning hours of November 1, the invasion would begin. Thousands of soldiers and Marines would pour ashore on beaches all along the eastern, southeastern, southern and western coasts of Kyushu. Waves of
Helldivers, Dauntless dive bombers, Avengers, Corsairs, and Hellcats from 66 aircraft carriers would bomb, rocket and strafe enemy defenses, gun emplacements and troop concentrations along the beaches.

The Eastern Assault Force consisting of the 25th, 33rd, and 41st Infantry Divisions, would land near Miyaski, at beaches called Austin, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, and Ford, and move inland to attempt to capture the city and its nearby airfield. The Southern Assault Force, consisting of the 1st Cavalry Division, the 43rd Division and Americal Division would land inside Ariake Bay at beaches labeled DeSoto, Dusenberg, Essex, Ford, and Franklin and attempt to capture Shibushi and the city of Kanoya and its airfield.

On the western shore of Kyushu, at beaches Pontiac, Reo, Rolls Royce, Saxon, Star, Studebaker, Stutz, Winston and Zephyr, the V Amphibious Corps would land the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Marine Divisions, sending half of its force inland to Sendai and the other half to the port city of Kagoshima.

On November 4, the Reserve Force, consisting of the 81st and 98th Infantry Divisions and the 11th Airborne Division, after feigning an attack on the island of Shikoku, would be landed -- if not needed elsewhere - near Kaimondake, near the southernmost tip of Kagoshima Bay, at the beaches designated Locomobile, Lincoln, LaSalle, Hupmobile, Moon, Mercedes, Maxwell, Overland, Oldsmobile, Packard, and Plymouth.

Olympic was not just a plan for invasion, but for conquest and occupation as well. It was expected to take four months to achieve its objective, with the three fresh American divisions per month to be landed in support of that operation if needed. If all went well with Olympic, Coronet would be launched March 1, 1946. Coronet would be twice the size of Olympic, with as many as 28 divisions landing on Honshu.

All along the coast east of Tokyo, the American 1st Army would land the 5th, 7th, 27th, 44th, 86th, and 96th Infantry Divisions, along with the 4th and 6th Marine Divisions.

At Sagami Bay, just south of Tokyo, the entire 8th and 10th Armies would strike north and east to clear the long western shore of Tokyo Bay and attempt to
go as far as Yokohama. The assault troops landing south of Tokyo would be the 4th, 6th, 8th, 24th, 31st, 37th, 38th, and 8th Infantry Divisions, along with the 13th and 20th Armored Divisions.

Following the initial assault, eight more divisions - the 2nd, 28th, 35th, 91st, 95th, 97th, and 104th Infantry Divisions and the 11th Airborne Division -- would be landed. If additional troops were needed, as expected, other divisions redeployed from Europe and undergoing training in the United States would be shipped to Japan in what was hoped to be the final push.

Captured Japanese documents and post war interrogations of Japanese military leaders disclose that information concerning the number of Japanese planes available for the defense of the home islands was dangerously in error.

During the sea battle at Okinawa alone, Japanese Kamikaze aircraft sank 32 Allied ships and damaged more than 400 others. But during the summer of 1945, American top brass concluded that the Japanese had spent their air force since American bombers and fighters daily flew unmolested over Japan.

What the military leaders did not know was that by the end of July the Japanese had been saving all aircraft, fuel, and pilots in reserve, and had been feverishly building new planes for the decisive battle for their homeland.

As part of Ketsu -Go, the name for the plan to defend Japan -- the Japanese were building 20 suicide takeoff strips in southern Kyushu with underground hangars. They also had 35 camouflaged airfields and nine seaplane bases.

On the night before the expected invasion, 50 Japanese seaplane bombers, 100 former carrier aircraft and 50 land based army planes were to be launched in a suicide attack on the fleet.

The Japanese had 58 more airfields in Korea, western Honshu and Shikoku, which also were to be used for massive suicide attacks.

Allied intelligence had established that the Japanese had no more than 2,500 aircraft of which they guessed 300 would be deployed in suicide attacks. In August 1945, however, unknown to Allied intelligence, the Japanese still had 5,651 army and 7,074 navy aircraft, for a total of 12,725 planes of all types. Every village had some type of aircraft manufacturing activity hidden in mines, railway tunnels, under viaducts and in basements of department stores, work was being done to construct new planes.

Additionally, the Japanese were building newer and more effective models of the Okka, a rocket-propelled bomb much like the German V-1, but flown by a suicide pilot.

When the invasion became imminent, Ketsu-Go called for a fourfold aerial plan of attack to destroy up to 800 Allied ships.

While Allied ships were approaching Japan, but still in the open seas, an initial force of 2,000 army and navy fighters were to fight to the death to control the skies over Kyushu. A second force of 330 navy combat pilots was to attack the main body of the task force to keep it from using its fire support and air cover to protect the troop carrying transports. While these two forces were engaged, a third force of 825 suicide planes was to hit the American transports.

As the invasion convoys approached their anchorages, another 2,000 suicide planes were to be launched in waves of 200 to 300, to be used in hour by hour attacks.

By mid-morning of the first day of the invasion, most of the American land-based aircraft would be forced to return to their bases, leaving the defense against the suicide planes to the carrier pilots and the shipboard gunners.

Carrier pilots crippled by fatigue would have to land time and time again to rearm and refuel. Guns would malfunction from the heat of continuous firing and ammunition would become scarce. Gun crews would be exhausted by nightfall, but still the waves of kamikaze would continue. With the fleet hovering off the beaches, all remaining Japanese aircraft would be committed to nonstop suicide attacks, which the Japanese hoped could be sustained for 10 days. The Japanese planned to coordinate their air strikes with attacks from the 40 remaining submarines from the Imperial Navy - some armed with Long Lance torpedoes with a range of 20 miles -- when the invasion fleet was 180 miles off Kyushu.

The Imperial Navy had 23 destroyers and two cruisers which were operational. These ships were to be used to counterattack the American invasion. A number of the destroyers were to be beached at the last minute to be used as anti-invasion gun platforms.

Once offshore, the invasion fleet would be forced to defend not only against the attacks from the air, but would also be confronted with suicide attacks from sea. Japan had established a suicide naval attack unit of midget submarines, human torpedoes and exploding motorboats.

The goal of the Japanese was to shatter the invasion before the landing. The Japanese were convinced the Americans would back off or become so demoralized that they would then accept a less-than-unconditional surrender and a more honorable and face-saving end for the Japanese.

But as horrible as the battle of Japan would be off the beaches, it would be on Japanese soil that the American forces would face the most rugged and fanatical defense encountered during the war.

Throughout the island-hopping Pacific campaign, Allied troops had always out numbered the Japanese by 2 to 1 and sometimes 3 to 1. In Japan it would be different. By virtue of a combination of cunning, guesswork, and brilliant military reasoning, a number of Japan's top military leaders were able to deduce, not only when, but where, the United States would land its first invasion forces.

Facing the 14 American divisions landing at Kyushu would be 14 Japanese divisions, 7 independent mixed brigades, 3 tank brigades and thousands of naval troops. On Kyushu the odds would be 3 to 2 in favor of the Japanese, with 790,000 enemy defenders against 550,000 Americans. This time the bulk of the Japanese defenders would not be the poorly trained and ill-equipped labor battalions that the Americans had faced in the earlier campaigns.

The Japanese defenders would be the hard core of the home army . These troops were well-fed and well equipped. They were familiar with the terrain, had stockpiles of arms and ammunition, and had developed an effective system of transportation and supply almost invisible from the air. Many of these Japanese troops were the elite of the army, and they were swollen with a fanatical fighting spirit.

Japan's network of beach defenses consisted of offshore mines, thousands of suicide scuba divers attacking landing craft, and mines planted on the beaches. Coming ashore, the American Eastern amphibious assault forces at Miyazaki would face three Japanese divisions, and two others poised for counterattack. Awaiting the Southeastern attack force at Ariake Bay was an entire division and at least one mixed infantry brigade.

On the western shores of Kyushu, the Marines would face the most brutal opposition. Along the invasion beaches would be the three Japanese divisions,
a tank brigade, a mixed infantry brigade and an artillery command. Components of two divisions would also be poised to launch counterattacks.

If not needed to reinforce the primary landing beaches, the American Reserve Force would be landed at the base of Kagoshima Bay November 4, where they would be confronted by two mixed infantry brigades, parts of two infantry divisions and thousands of naval troops.

All along the invasion beaches, American troops would face coastal batteries, anti-landing obstacles and a network of heavily fortified pillboxes, bunkers, and underground fortresses. As Americans waded ashore, they would face intense artillery and mortar fire as they worked their way through concrete rubble and barbed-wire entanglements arranged to funnel them into the muzzles of these Japanese guns.

On the beaches and beyond would be hundreds of Japanese machine gun positions, beach mines, booby traps, trip-wire mines and sniper units. Suicide units concealed in "spider holes" would engage the troops as they passed nearby. In the heat of battle, Japanese infiltration units would be sent to reap havoc in the American lines by cutting phone and communication lines. Some of the Japanese troops would be in American uniform; English-speaking Japanese officers were assigned to break in on American radio traffic to call off artillery fire, to order retreats and to further confuse troops. Other infiltration with demolition charges strapped on their chests or backs would attempt to blow up American tanks, artillery pieces and ammunition stores as they were unloaded ashore.

Beyond the beaches were large artillery pieces situated to bring down a curtain of fire on the beach. Some of these large guns were mounted on railroad tracks running in and out of caves protected by concrete and steel.

The battle for Japan would be won by what Simon Bolivar Buckner, a lieutenant general in the Confederate army during the Civil War, had called "Prairie Dog Warfare." This type of fighting was almost unknown to the ground troops in Europe and the Mediterranean. It was peculiar only to the soldiers and Marines who fought the Japanese on islands all over the Pacific -- at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Prairie Dog Warfare was a battle for yards, feet and sometimes inches. It was brutal, deadly and dangerous form of combat aimed at an underground, heavily fortified, non-retreating enemy.
In the mountains behind the Japanese beaches were underground networks of caves, bunkers, command posts and hospitals connected by miles of tunnels with dozens of entrances and exits. Some of these complexes could hold up to 1,000 troops.

In addition to the use of poison gas and bacteriological warfare (which the Japanese had experimented with), Japan mobilized its citizenry.

Had Olympic come about, the Japanese civilian population, inflamed by a national slogan - "One Hundred Million Will Die for the Emperor and Nation" - were prepared to fight to the death Twenty Eight Million Japanese had become a part of the National Volunteer Combat Force. They were armed with ancient rifles, lunge mines, satchel charges, Molotov cocktails and one-shot black powder mortars. Others were armed with swords, long bows, axes and bamboo spears. The civilian units were to be used in nighttime attacks, hit and run maneuvers, delaying actions and massive suicide charges at the weaker American positions.

At the early stage of the invasion, 1,000 Japanese and American soldiers would be dying every hour.

The invasion of Japan never became a reality because on August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was exploded over Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Within days the war with Japan was at a close.

Had these bombs not been dropped and had the invasion been launched as scheduled, combat casualties in Japan would have been at a minimum of the tens of thousands. Every foot of Japanese soil would have been paid for by Japanese and American lives.

One can only guess at how many civilians would have committed suicide in their homes or in futile mass military attacks. In retrospect, the 1 million American men who were to be the casualties of the invasion were instead lucky enough to survive the war.

Intelligence studies and military estimates made 50 years ago, and not latter-day speculation, clearly indicate that the battle for Japan might well have resulted in the biggest blood-bath in the history of modern warfare.

Far worse would be what might have happened to Japan as a nation and as a culture. When the invasion came, it would have come after several months of firebombing all of the remaining Japanese cities. The cost in human life that resulted from the two atomic blasts would be small in comparison to the total number of Japanese lives that would have been lost by this aerial devastation.

With American forces locked in combat in the south of Japan, little could have prevented the Soviet Union from marching into the northern half of the Japanese home islands. Japan today could be divided much like Korea and Germany.

The world was spared the cost of Operation Downfall, however, because Japan formally surrendered to the United Nations September 2, 1945, and World War II was over.

The aircraft carriers, cruisers and transport ships scheduled to carry the invasion troops to Japan, ferried home American troops in a gigantic operation called Magic Carpet.

In the fall of 1945, in the aftermath of the war, few people concerned themselves with the invasion plans. Following the surrender, the classified documents, maps, diagrams and appendices for Operation Downfall were packed away in boxes and eventually stored at the National Archives. These plans that called for the invasion of Japan paint a vivid description of what might have been one of the most horrible campaigns in the history of man. The fact that the story of the invasion of Japan is locked up in the National Archives and is not told in our history books is something for which all Americans can be thankful.

As a side note, I was a member of the 158th Infantry, which was and is an Arizona National Guard unit. Of course, I was in it after the war. The 158th Regimental Combat Team, its predecessor, had a proud history during the war and was scheduled to play a key part in this invasion. Thankfully, the unit did not have to add this battle streamer to their colors.

John

My Dad was in the 11th ABN in the Philippines staged for Operations Olympic and Coronet. When the war ended and the Division went to Japan as occupation troops he stayed in the Philippines and my Mother and I came in country in Sept. 1946. We lived at a place called Base “R” just outside of Batangas, about 60 miles south of Manila. We lived in the Philippines until Oct 1947. Wasn’t a bad time to come home as the Huks were starting to get active against Americans.

 

[cmort666]

What finally induced the Japanese to surrender was when their scientists told them this was a weapon against which there was NO defense, and its use could lead to the extinction of the Japanese as a race.

More specifically, it was a weapon against which there was no possible RESPONSE.

Unlike the Germans, the Japanese never developed an effective nightfighter force or doctrine, and were pathetically backward when it came to radar.

We could have just sat back and dropped atomic bombs on Japan until they gave up or we ran out of lucrative targets. They would have had no options other than to just take it or throw in the towel. At MOST they could have switched from incendiary bombs to chemical or biological weapons on their balloon bombs. And given the near total blackout regarding the target effect of those balloons caused by censorship and the general failure of their instrumented telemetry balloons, they could hardly have any confidence in the efficacy of such a campaign.

The less insane military officers realized there wasn't a whole lot of "honor" in impotently waiting to end up as a million degree wisp of plasma.

 

[the ringo kid]

I read they were planning for 500,000 US casualties. They ordered so many Purple Hearts they didn't need to order additional ones for Korea and Vietnam.
Serious consideration was given to massive use of The Bomb on both a strategic and tactical level. What finally induced the Japanese to surrender
was when their scientists told them this was a weapon against which there was NO defense, and its use could lead to the extinction of the Japanese as a race.

Speaking of those Purple Hearts, those made in WWII are still being awarded today.

 

[REM 3200]

Serious consideration was given to massive use of The Bomb on both a strategic and tactical level.

I don't know how as the tests and the two on Japan were the only ones we had at the time. I have never seen anything on the time to build more for use on Japan.

 

[cmort666]

I don't know how as the tests and the two on Japan were the only ones we had at the time. I have never seen anything on the time to build more for use on Japan.

Read the book "Downfall". They were planning to use the new production in a tactical role for softening up the beach defenses.

Needless to say, there would have been a lot of long term radiation casualties on OUR side.

 

[Tony C.]

Every year in early August, there are gathering of people in major cities around the world to "protest" the use of atomic bomb by US against the Imperial Japan during WW2. What these mostly young, impressionable, misguided and naive souls fail to see is the atomic bomb save millions of not just American but also Japanese lives. President Truman's decision to use the bomb is correct and withstood the judgement of history.

Yes, 2 bombs killed hundred thousands in a few days,however, the firebombing of Tokyo killed eighty thousand in one night, and other cities has also been bombed for months, blockade is working, but the Joint Chiefs estimate the Japanese won't be completely subdue well into 1948 even if there are no major set back.

A number of years ago, one newspaper in UK reported a grade school student came home in tears, telling her grandfather, a RAF bomber crew in WW2, words to the effect of, history teacher said those fly bombing missions against Nazi Germany are nothing but murderer of innocent civilian.

In some academic circle, revising and twisting historical fact to generated publicity for oneself or advancing an agenda are rather common, without realize or care the damaged they've caused.

 

[kwselke]

I don't know how as the tests and the two on Japan were the only ones we had at the time. I have never seen anything on the time to build more for use on Japan.

A third bomb was expected to be operational later in August 1945. Plans were for three more in September and three additional in October.

 

[Mcwsky09]

Sad that we live in a world where use of nuclear weapons was the lesser of two evils.
I had previously heard/seen/read about the massive planned US invasion and expected casualties but not the extent or detail of the Japanese preparations for defense. While I had heard of all citizens being armed if only with sticks, I had not heard of the hidden airfields etc.
I did hear in at least one documentary that we had intercepted their radio commuications and it was clear that after the first bomb was dropped that they were at least some military leaders who advocated fighting on at that the mentality of many of them were that the only acceptable outcomes were victory or annihilation.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

The late Rutgers Professor Paul Fussell wrote an essay entitled "Hooray for the Atom Bomb!" When asked how he could write such a thing he said:
"It saved my life!"
He was a platoon leader in the 104th Infantry Division, when the shooting stopped in Europe the 104th and other later war divisions were shipped back to the States to train for the invasion of Japan. When he and his fellow soldiers learned of The Bomb, they realized the War was over.

 

[Beemerguy53]

My late uncle was a Marine on Okinawa, waiting to invade Japan when the bombs were dropped. To the day he died he swore Harry Truman saved his life.

Another man I know, a P-51 pilot in WW2, was so thankful for the Enola Gay's historic mission that he named his daughter 'Ferebee', after Tom Ferebee, the bombardier on the Hiroshima mission.

There's no doubt that the atomic bombing of Japan saved countless thousands of lives...

 

[Nightowl]

My dad was a navigator/bombardier with orders for the Japanese theater in August 1945 two weeks after the atomic bombs were dropped. He was frozen in California after Japan surrendered and discharged in February 1946. Without the bombs, our family might have been very different. Thank you Harry.

 

[RaceBannon]

Every year in early August, there are gathering of people in major cities around the world to "protest" the use of atomic bomb by US against the Imperial Japan during WW2. What these mostly young, impressionable, misguided and naive souls fail to see is the atomic bomb save millions of not just American but also Japanese lives. President Truman's decision to use the bomb is correct and withstood the judgement of history.

Here in Seattle, every year for as long as I can remember, people have gathered at a small lake in the northern part of town to set adrift floating candles as tribute to those killed by the atomic bombs. I was going to say, I wonder if people in Japan float candles in tribute to those killed by the Japanese Empire, but I don't really wonder. They don't.

I once read that during the last year of the war, the Japanese war machine was responsible for 10,000 deaths per week. Not just soldiers, but thousands of civilians murdered and laborers worked to death across China, Korea, the Philippines and the Pacific islands. I've never heard of anyone in Seattle lighting a candle for them.

If you're a civilian, and your government is committing atrocities and you are supporting that government, you're fair game.

Find a copy of a book titled The Rape of Nanking. Don't let your children see it.

and yes, thank God for the bomb. No sarcasm here.

 

[RaceBannon]

Thanks for the incredible story Paladin. My dad was in the Seabees in the south pacific and no doubt would have been in the thick of that horrible scenario. I'd heard that the dropping of the bombs was supposed to have saved lives by ending the war but had no idea of the magnitude of the potential if the bombs had not been dropped. Amazing.

rolomac

Which Seabee battalion? My grandfather, Lt.Cmd H.T. Griffith, was XO of the 105th. He wasn't a Marine Corps rifleman, he was an officer in the CB's and didn't expect to survive. What does that tell you?

 

[Mydogmax]

I've always thought that the use of the atomic bomb was the correct way to bring the war to an end. I believe that most, but unfortunately not all, people know that it saved more lives than it took. What I didn't know was that the story goes much deeper than that. Even more shocking is that this information has not been made public through the media. Many thanks to the OP for the education.

 

[cmort666]

Every year in early August, there are gathering of people in major cities around the world to "protest" the use of atomic bomb by US against the Imperial Japan during WW2.

When I was in the Army in the '80s, Studs Terkel used to have a "No More Hiroshimas Day" on his radio show.

My suggestion at the time was a "No More Nankings Day". Leftists (and their ultra-rightwing Japanese, and western neo-Nazi allies) weren't particularly receptive...