Thank God for the atomic bomb

© 2007 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D.

“The Japanese government was by no means rational or ready to surrender… They were dictated to by Hirohito and the military, who believed they could inflict enough casualties to force the Americans to negotiate… As to the projected American casualties, they could have been higher than 800,000… Thank God for Harry Truman.” – Stephen E. Ambrose

Nothing gets peaceniks like the United States dropping not one but two atomic bombs on Japan to end World War II. The 16th of July is the 62nd anniversary of the first test atomic explosion at the Trinity Site in New Mexico. This led to the bombing of two Japanese cities weeks later.

In considering the decision to use the bomb, there are four core issues. Most importantly, should civilians ever be targets in war? Second, could the allies have won the war without nuclear bombs? Next, could America have stayed out of the war and, lastly, should the atomic bomb have been tested in New Mexico?

Working backwards on importance: It was never appropriate to open-air nuclear test on American soil. Those tests had unforeseen health consequences. Years ago my thyroid was removed due to cancer. My grandfather’s ranch was 23 miles downwind of the explosion. I do not know the reason for my cancer, but I have my legitimate suspicions.

Next, could America stay out of the war? No. The war came to us, not otherwise. We could have delayed entry, but we would have eventually had to fight because of the evil enemies.

The most violent and hateful war America has ever been in was the war in the Pacific during WWII. Mercy was not asked nor given by either side. If Japanese prisoners were captured unconscious, they survived. Most fought to the death, as did Americans since the Japanese typically did not keep prisoners. Americans were summarily beheaded.

Without the bomb, more would have died

The worldwide impression today is that the United States was wrong to use atomic bombs to end the war. Most people have little understanding of that decision. Sadly, the war is now described this way: We got in a fuss at Pearl Harbor and so dropped atomic bombs on helpless Japanese civilians.

Could the war have been concluded without an overwhelming show of force? Doubtful. The Japanese were prepared to bleed America dry while we tried to take their land. American deaths in WWII were 407,316. The projected American deaths for taking the Japanese mainland were 800,000. Japanese casualties would have eclipsed ours.

With that magnitude of loss, would America have had the will to finish the war? Conventional thinking is that support for Japanese unconditional surrender would have waned. Without unconditional surrender, we would have fought an ensuing war with the next generation. That was the mistake of the First World War. For lasting peace, we had to finish the war.

What today’s peaceniks do not address is that millions of Americans have given up a loved one to war. These families pay the price of freedom every day. Our heroes lie silently in their graves while peaceniks loudly attack the decision to end the war with atomic bombs. George Orwell said, “Good people sleep well in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to commit violence in their name.”

Our military was lined up to take on the task of finishing the war. Think of the millions of relatives who would have lost a loved one in an attack on the Japanese mainland. Think of the millions of Japanese who would have perished. While the losses from the atomic bombs were painful, they are minor in comparison to what they could have been.

Further, the military planners learned something from the surface explosion at Trinity Site, which left lots of radioactive debris. The two bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were both set to explode at 1,980 feet above the surface so as to not contaminate the surface as the Trinity explosion had done in New Mexico.

This is of little sympathy to those who perished, but it shows that the United States was trying to win the war in the least destructive manner. Critics may not concede that the airburst was a more humane approach, but it was.

Finally, should civilians be targets? As WWII progressed our military realized that there was no way to win the war without the injury or death of civilians. We did not start the war. We finished it.

In Japan, without a nuclear attack on the country that cost many civilians lives, we would not have defeated their military. It was the only choice. Thank God for Harry Truman and his use of the atomic bombs.

Swickard is a weekly columnist for this site. You can reach him at michael@swickard.com.