The Hiroshima Bomb

Today is the 63rd anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. More than 70,000 men, women and children died in the immediate attack, which came ten days after an Allied ultimatum to Japan for an unconditional surrender. Also killed in the attack were 20 captured US airmen and some 2,000 Japanese-Americans stranded there since the start of the war.

Now, I’m not a peacenik who wrings his hand over the dropping of the bomb. I believe it had to be done. What else could Truman do? There were other options. First, he could invade the Japanese islands. The military had come up with several plans for invasion, such as Operation Downfall and Operation Coronet, and the “one million American casualties” figure started to be floated about. Or, he could stay the course. Continue the traditional war with traditional methods. It is said that simply by maintaining the B-52 firebomb raids Japan could eventually be brought under submission. In fact, it’s estimated that more Japanese were killed during such firebombings than were killed by the two atomic bombs. The downside, though, would be a prolonged war with far too many American casualties. A third option would be to sit back and see what Russia could and would do. However, after the Potsdam conference the previous month, the Allied leaders were unsure of Soviet Russia’s motives, and determined she couldn’t be trusted. So, conventional wisdom goes, Truman had no choice but to drop the bomb.

What doesn’t sit well with me is the fact that a civilian population was targeted. Yes, Hiroshima was a military manufacturing city, and yes, many of those citizens were actively participating in the furtherance of the war. And yes, both sides were guilty of civilian bombings. So in a weird amoral world of pure relativism, yes, we could be justified in dropping two atomic bombs on Japanese cities.

The question that keeps returning to me is: why wasn’t the Hiroshima bomb used instead as a demonstration? I can think of two ways this could be done. First, as a “weak” demonstration: detonate one over or near Tokyo bay, close enough for the shock and awe but far enough where the loss of non-combatant life would not be excessive. Or, a “stronger” demonstration: drop one on a Japanese battleship or an aircraft carrier, as close to their mainland as possible. I would have no problem with either option. So, why drop it on a city filled with civilians?

The justification given by the military is simple. Over $2 billion dollars had been spent on developing the bomb, and there was tremendous pressure to follow through to completion, as devastating to the enemy as possible. More importantly, in a practical sense, we only had two operational atomic bombs. The technology involved was still far from certain, and the possibility of a “dud” during a demonstration could not be risked.

However, groups of scientists, Einstein included, petitioned Truman not to use the bomb. The loftiest argument given was that America would lose its moral authority with the world, all the goodwill that we had amassed over the past four years as a reluctant liberator. More innocence would be lost, so to speak, than those thousands of civilians who were in no way connected with the war effort of the Japanese empire.

Perhaps I need to further research this complicated and intriguing aspect of American history; I admit I am no expert. But I think I’m influenced by those scientist positions and fall somewhere between the weak and strong demonstrations I explained above. I do believe America slipped morally on August 6, 1945. When a second bomb was dropped over a second Japanese city three days later, we slid down even further.

One of the best things you can do if you are interested in this event is to read Hiroshima by John Hersey. It’s a slim book, only about 120 pages, and it’s quite moving and surreal. Hersey, an American journalist, journeyed to the Japanese city in the aftermath of the bombing and told the story of six Japanese men and women. We follow their lives from the hour or so before the atomic bomb dropped to their experience of the explosion and how these men and women survived in the minutes, hours, and days after. A couple suffered and eventually overcame extraordinary pain; a few actually prospered. Some died young of cancer brought on by the radiation. I was completely engrossed as I read, pages turning, half in horror, half in wonder, a small, hidden part of me wondering what I would do in similar circumstances and whether I would have what it takes to keep myself and my loved ones alive in the event of a nuclear explosion.