With time and reflection he found the notion that the atomic bombings saved many lives was a myth. military personnel were in favor of it because they felt it would bring a quick end to what could have been a prolonged, bloody conclusion to World War II. The reaction in Guam was positive he said. I recently asked him about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. children to end the war early?” Obviously we wouldn't.Ī friend, the late Samuel Becker, was in Guam in August 1945 preparing for the invasion of Japan. Historian Howard Zinn asked, 'Would we have sacrificed as many U.S. The idea that dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved tens of thousands of allied forces lives by ending the war early is a myth perpetuated by those who would absolve our country from a decision to kill tens of thousands of Japanese children and as many or more other non-combatants. The book based on his research is 847 pages. 'To what degree did (the president) understand that the force of a Russian declaration of war might itself bring about an early end to the fighting?”

'To what degree did (the president) understand that a clarification of the officially stated demand for ‘unconditional surrender' specifying that Japan could keep its Emperor would be likely to end the war?” Historian Gar Alperovitz, in his book The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb, asked two well-known questions about Truman's decision. Ultimately Truman made the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and on Aug. They recommended further that it should be used without specific warning and against a target that would clearly show its devastating strength.” 'It was their recommendation that the bomb be used against the enemy as soon as it could be done. On June 1, 1945, the committee of government officials and scientists made their recommendation, which Truman recounts:

For that reason the military advised that we go ahead with the existing military plans for the invasion of the Japanese home islands.”Ī committee had been established to evaluate use of the atomic bomb once testing was successful.

'We were not ready to make use of this weapon against the Japanese, although we did not know as yet what effect the new weapon might have, physically or psychologically, when used against the enemy. Truman wrote about this meeting with Stimson in his memoir: Secretary of War Henry Stimson flew to Potsdam, Germany where President Harry Truman was meeting with Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee and Josef Stalin to determine the fate of Germany which had surrendered unconditionally on May 8. Army July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project on what is now part of White Sands Missile Range. The first test explosion of an atomic bomb, called Trinity, was conducted by the U.S. President Harry Truman did not need to drop the atomic bomb to end World War II.

Atomic bomb for kids