Were The Hiroshima And Nagasaki Atomic Bombings Necessary?

Atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Wikipedia

Brian McGlinchey: Hiroshima, Nagasaki Bombings Were Needless, Said World War II's Top US Military Leaders 

The anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki present an opportunity to demolish a cornerstone myth of American history — that those twin acts of mass civilian slaughter were necessary to bring about Japan’s surrender, and spare a half-million US soldiers who’d have otherwise died in a military conquest of the empire’s home islands. 

Those who attack this mythology are often reflexively dismissed as unpatriotic, ill-informed or both. However, the most compelling witnesses against the conventional wisdom were patriots with a unique grasp on the state of affairs in August 1945 — America’s senior military leaders of World War II.  

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WNU Editor: Over the years I have changed my opinion on this subject. Growing up my father, who was in the Red Army at this time, told me that that a month before the bombings he was told that he was going to be deployed to the Far East to join in the war effort against Japan. He told me that he was filled with dread with the coming battle. The fanaticism of the Japanese soldier was known by everyone, and he felt that there was a very good chance that he was going to be killed in this deployment. So when the bombings happened he told me he was completely relieved and thankful for what the Americans did. 

 So were the bombings necessary? 

Because of my father I believed that it was necessary. After-all, the war did quickly end after Nagasaki. But with time more details have emerged, and we now know that many US Generals did not feel the bombing was necessary. They felt that the war was coming to an end, and there was no need to unleash such a weapon. 

So was the death of 200,000 Japanese necessary to push the Japanese to capitulate sooner rather than later? 

I now have some doubts and a hunger for more information. Maybe it was rushed. Maybe a delay of a week or two before unleashing the bombs should have been the decision. But I do know that if there was no surrender, the invasion of the Japanese islands would have been a bloodbath.

Hiroshima Marks The 74th Anniversary Of The Atomic Bombing

TIME: Hiroshima Marks the 74th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombing

Hiroshima marked the 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city with its mayor renewing calls for eliminating such weapons and demanding Japan’s government do more.

Mayor Kazumi Matsui raised concerns in his peace address Tuesday about the rise of self-centered politics in the world and urged leaders to steadily work toward achieving a world without atomic weapons.

“Around the world today, we see self-centered nationalism in ascendance, tensions heightened by international exclusivity and rivalry, with nuclear disarmament at a standstill,” Matsui said in his peace declaration.

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More News On Hiroshima Marking The 74th Anniversary Of The Atomic Bombing

Hiroshima marks 74th anniversary of atomic bombing -- AP
Japan marks Hiroshima anniversary; mayor warns against ‘self-centered nationalism’ around world -- FOX News
Here's why the pilot of Enola Gay had no regrets about dropping the first atom bomb -- Business Insider
Why the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima 74 years ago today -- Ryan Browne and Scottie Andrew, CNN

Hiroshima Marks The 72nd Anniversary Of The U.S. Atomic Bombing

People press their hands together at the memorial cenotaph for the atomic bomb victims at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima's Naka Ward on Aug. 6, 2017. (Mainichi)

The Mainichi: Hiroshima marks 72nd A-bomb anniversary with eyes on ban treaty

HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) -- Hiroshima marked the 72nd anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing on Sunday at its annual memorial ceremony, with Mayor Kazumi Matsui calling on the Japanese government to help realize a treaty banning nuclear weapons.

This year's ceremony at the Peace Memorial Park near Ground Zero follows the adoption by 122 United Nations members of the world's first treaty to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons.

The pact's preamble uses the Japanese term "hibakusha" in its mention of the "the unacceptable suffering" of survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings that killed an estimated 214,000 people by the end of 1945.

But Japan refused to participate in the treaty, along with the world's nuclear weapon states and other countries under the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

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WNU Editor: Here are a few links on Hiroshima that I have posted over the years.

* Photographing Hiroshima On August 6, 1945 (From The Ground)
* Hiroshima After The Atomic Bomb -- 360Cities – Panoramic Photography Blog
* An American Witness To The Hiroshima Bombing Who Was Not Suppose To Be There
* Hiroshima 1945 And Hiroshima 2010

Rare Footage Filmed By Soviet Researchers Shows The Utter Destruction Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki And Month After The Atomic Bombs Were Dropped

Daily Mail: Nuclear disaster as seen by the Russians: Rare footage filmed by Soviet researchers shows the utter devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki shortly after US atomic bombs flattened the cities in 1945

* Soviet Union researchers captured the footage of the flattened Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
* Harrowing video shows the devastation around a month after the US bombings took place in August 1945
* The footage was presented to Japanese PM Shinzo Abe in June by the chairman of the Russian State Duma
* It is the first time the cities have obtained footage of the aftermaths captured by Soviet Union researchers

This newly released video shows the utter devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki shortly after atomic bombs obliterated the cities in August 1945.

Soviet Union researchers captured the harrowing footage of the flattened Japanese cities around a month after the US bombings took place.

The black-and-white video, which is around five minutes in length, was presented to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in June this year by the chairman of the Russian State Duma, Sergei Naryshkin.

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WNU Editor: I asked my father on where was he when the bombs were dropped .... he was West of Berlin and near the American zone, and he heard it from German radio. He understood the importance of the bomb right away, and he knew that war as he knew it had now reached an even more destructive level. After the dropping of the second bomb, he was also relieved that the Japanese choose to surrender .... the Soviet Army was getting ready to participate in the war in Asia, and the last thing that my father wanted to do was to be involved in the land invasion of Japan.

Japan Marks The 71st Anniversary Of The Atomic Bombing Of Hiroshima

Photo: The Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima (Koichi Ueda)

DW: Japan marks 71st anniversary of atomic bombing of Hiroshima

Japan has marked the 71st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Its leaders called for a nuclear-weapon-free world and called on leaders to follow Obama and visit the bomb sites.

About 50,000 people attended the ceremony at Hiroshima's Peace Park near the bomb's epicenter on Saturday.

"[They need to have] the courage to escape the logic of fear and pursue a world without them," Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said, quoting part of US President Barack Obama's speech in Hiroshima in May
"We need to fill our policymakers with the passion to solidify this unity and create a security system based on trust and dialogue," he said. "To that end, I once again urge the leaders of all nations to visit the A-bombed cities."

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Update: Hiroshima marks 71st anniversary of its destruction in A-bombing (Asahi Shimbun)

WNU Editor: Never forget.

Non-Japanese Asians Are Not Pleased By President Obama's Visit To Hiroshima

Obama and Abe laid wreaths at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Friday [Carlos Barria/Reuters]

Chen Shilei, Xinhuanet: Obama's Hiroshima trip no occasion to whitewash Japan's WWII atrocities

BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The motive behind U.S. President Barack Obama's planned visit to Japan's A-bombed Hiroshima on Friday may seem noble, but in reality, it is nothing more than yet another opportunity seized by Washington and Tokyo to pursue their own ulterior motives.

At first glance, for a city falling as the first victim to an atomic bomb in human history, a visit by the first sitting president of the country that dropped the bomb does appear "historic."

However, the symbolic nature of the visit is not intended to bring the two allies come closer to Obama's nuke-free dream; politicians both in Washington and Tokyo clearly have other calculations on their mind.

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WNU editor: This editorial .... albeit with a Chinese bent ....  is also reflective on what many non-Japanese Asians feel about President Obama's trip to Hiroshima .... not impressed and in some quarters downright angry.

Should President Obama Have Apologized At Hiroshima?

Washington Free Beacon: CBS Calls It ‘Remarkable’ That Obama Didn’t Apologize for Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima

CBS correspondent Margaret Brennan said Friday it was “remarkable” that President Obama didn’t offer an apology in his Hiroshima speech for the U.S. dropping the atomic bomb.

Obama participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park honoring those killed in the blast in 1945. He spoke afterward about bringing an end to the nuclear age and promoting diplomacy over warfare.

“We stand here in the middle of this city and force ourselves to imagine the moment the bomb fell,” Obama said. “We listen to a silent cry.”

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WNU Editor: The poll in the above CBS video report (44% against the use of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima, 43% for it) makes me laugh. Every vet that I have talked to who served in the Second World War are grateful that the atomic bomb was used .... ditto from all my non-Japanese friends in Asia who had to live under the brutal occupation of the Japanese. My father who served in the Soviet Army also told me he was grateful that the bomb was used, for if it wasn't it would have meant a ground invasion of Japan and the huge loss of life (for both allied and Japanese) in the battles that would have followed. Flash forward to today .... for the younger generations ... many who have never served in the military .... I understand that they have a different perspective .... and so they feel good that they believe that the bomb should not have been used. I will also not be surprised if decades from now a U.S. President will apologize for the atomic bombings .... and do it convincingly because he (or she) will believe it. Sighhh .... history is always being rewritten .... this will be just another case.

President Obama Visits Hiroshima

Daily Mail: An embrace for Hiroshima survivor... but no apology: Obama calls for a world without nuclear arms as he becomes the first serving US president to visit site of atomic bomb attack that killed 140,000

* A US B-29 bomber dropped 'Little Boy' on Hiroshima at 8.15am on August 6, 1945 devastating the coastal city
* President Obama did not apologize for the attack while emphasizing a 'shared responsibility' by countries with nuclear stockpiles to 'curb such suffering' from ever happening again
* He said the attack in August 1945 'demonstrated that mankind possessed the means to destroy itself'
* Washington and Tokyo want today's historic gesture to restart the effort on international nuclear disarmament

President Barack Obama embraced a survivor of Hiroshima today - but stopped short of an apology for the United States dropping an atomic bomb on the city.

The U.S. president declared that the world has a 'shared responsibility' to review history and 'curb such suffering' from happening, as it did on August 6, 1945, when 140,000 residents of Hiroshima died when the town was leveled.

'Why do we come to this place, to Hiroshima?' he asked. 'We come to ponder a terrible force unleashed in the not so distant past. We come to mourn the dead.'

Obama solemnly reflected on the world's first atomic strike and said, 'We stand here in the middle of this city and force ourselves to imagine the moment the bomb fell. We force ourselves to feel the dread of children confused by what they see. We listen to a silent cry. We remember all the innocents killed across the arc of that terrible war.'

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More News On President Obama Visiting Hiroshima

President Obama Visits Hiroshima Live Updates -- New York Times
Text of Obama’s speech at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park -- AP
At Hiroshima Memorial, Obama Says Nuclear Arms Require ‘Moral Revolution’ -- New York Times
In Hiroshima 71 years after first atomic strike, Obama calls for end of nuclear weapons -- Washington Post
In Hiroshima, Obama honors 'silent cry' of bombing victims -- AP
Obama mourns dead in Hiroshima, calls for world without nuclear arms -- Reuters
Obama Calls for World Without Nuclear Bombs in Hiroshima Speech -- Bloomberg
Obama in Hiroshima calls for 'world without nuclear weapons' -- CNN
Obama Makes History, Confronts Past in Hiroshima -- VOA
Obama makes historic visit to Hiroshima -- DW
Barack Obama makes historic Hiroshima visit -- Al Jazeera
Sympathy for victims but no apology as Obama makes historic Hiroshima visit -- USA Today
'Mourn the dead,' but no apology: Obama's historic visit to Hiroshima -- RT
Obama defends his nuclear record on eve of Hiroshima visit -- AP
Obama's hug of Hiroshima survivor epitomizes historic visit -- AP
Obama's Hiroshima visit strengthens his call for nuclear disarmament -- Sharon Squassoni, The Guardian
How the Japanese view Obama's Hiroshima visit -- DW

Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Survivors Want President Obama To Apologize For The Bombing

Hiroshima survivor Hashizume Bun stands next to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 2011 (AFP Photo/Madeleine Pradel)

AFP: Hiroshima atomic bomb victims want apology from Obama

Tokyo (AFP) - Victims of the atomic bombings of Japan want an apology from US President Barack Obama when he visits Hiroshima next week, the head of a survivors' group said Thursday.

Obama will become the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945, killing about 140,000 people in total.

Tens of thousands were killed by the fireball that the powerful Hiroshima blast generated, with many more succumbing to injuries or illnesses caused by radiation in the weeks, months and years afterwards.

Vast swathes of the city, including many of its military and industrial installations, were flattened.

The southern city of Nagasaki was hit by a second bomb days later, killing 74,000 people, in one of the final acts of World War II.

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Update #1: A-Bomb Survivors Want Obama to Meet, Apologize in Hiroshima -- AP
Update #2: Hiroshima victims want Obama apology (The Hill)

WNU Editor: Not going to happen. An American apology would enrage the rest of Asia who are still fuming that Japan has not properly apologized and/or recognized the destruction that it caused before and during the Second World War. And as much as President Obama may want to apologize .... the disrespect and anger that will be directed at him from everyone else in Asia if he should do this is something that he does not want his Asian legacy to be remembered about.

President Obama To Visit Hiroshima On May 27

New York Times: Obama to Be First Sitting President to Visit Hiroshima

WASHINGTON — President Obama will become the first sitting American president to visit Hiroshima, Japan, the White House announced on Tuesday, making a fraught stop this month at the site where the United States used an atomic bomb at the end of World War II.

The visit, hotly debated within the White House for months as the president planned his coming trip to Vietnam and Japan, carries weighty symbolism for Mr. Obama, who is loath to be seen as apologizing for that chapter in American history.

“He will not revisit the decision to use the atomic bomb at the end of World War II,” Benjamin J. Rhodes, his deputy national security adviser for strategic communication, said in a blog post on Medium. “Instead, he will offer a forward-looking vision focused on our shared future.”

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WNU Editor: Did I call this one right .... More Talk On President Obama Visiting Hiroshima Or Nagasaki This Summer (May 9, 2016) .... and the media (as expected) are lapping it up.

More News On President Obama Visiting Hiroshima On May 27

Obama to make historic visit to Hiroshima -- Washington Post
Obama to visit Hiroshima as part of Japan trip -- AP
Obama to make historic Hiroshima visit, highlight nuclear security -- Reuters
Obama to visit Hiroshima to promote nuke-free world -- USA Today
No apology expected during Obama’s upcoming visit to Hiroshima -- Washington Times
Obama to Become First Sitting US President to Visit Hiroshima -- ABC News
President Obama to Make Historic Visit to Hiroshima -- NBC
Obama to Visit Hiroshima Seven Decades After Atomic Bomb Dropped -- Bloomberg
In Historic Step, Obama To Visit Hiroshima Later This Month -- NPR
A Historic Presidential Visit to Hiroshima -- Krishnadev Calamur, The Atlantic
A Look at Whether Obama Should Visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- ABC News

U.S. Secretary Of State Kerry: 'No U.S. Apology For The Atomic Bombing Of Hiroshima'

CNN: John Kerry at G7: No apology for Hiroshima

Secretary of State John Kerry's arrival to Hiroshima for a G7 meeting with his foreign counterparts marks the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state to the city, where the U.S. became the only country to use a nuclear weapon during World War II.

Looming over the two days of talks between Kerry and other G7 foreign ministers is the location itself, which was devastated when the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the city in August 1945. The bomb, which led to the end of World War II, killed 140,000 people.

Three days later, the U.S. dropped a second bomb on the port city of Nagasaki, killing about 70,000 people.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: My father served in the Soviet Army .... he (and many others) were told in the summer of 1945 that he was going to be deployed to the far east to wage war against Japanese forces in Manchuria. To him .... the atomic bombing of Japan saved countless Soviet lives .... he only just wished the Americans had the bomb a year or two earlier so that they could have used it against Germany. As to what's my take .... I have made a visit to Hiroshima on its August 6 anniversary ... and it is a moving ceremony. But its focus on the bombing ignores the reason for the why the city was bombed .... that the Japanese had shown little if any serious interest to end the war forcing Truman to make that final decision. The rest is now history .... the atomic bombings forced the Japanese to surrender hence saving countless American and allied personnel as well as the civilians in the occupied territories. Apologize .... hell no .... and on this issue there is rare unanimity among China, the Koreas, Philippines, Southeast Asia, etc. .... almost all of them have the same opinion on this subject .... thank God the atomic bombings forced the Japanese to finally surrender.

More News On No U.S. Apology For The Atomic Bombing Of Hiroshima

US Official: Kerry to Offer No US Apology for Hiroshima -- AP
Kerry plans no apology for wartime atomic bomb on Hiroshima visit -- Reuters
Kerry apology for Hiroshima bombing not on table: US official -- AFP
In Hiroshima, Kerry won’t apologize for atomic bombs dropped on Japan -- Washington Post
US official: Kerry to offer no US apology for Hiroshima -- Daily Mail
Sec. Kerry to visit Hiroshima memorial, but will not apologize for atom bomb -- CSM
Secretary of State John Kerry in Hiroshima for G-7 talks, memorial ceremony -- USA Today

Hiroshima 1945 And Hiroshima 2013

(Click Image To Enlarge)
The ruins of Hiroshima, as seen from the air, after the Japanese city was hit with an atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. The photo was taken a month later, in September 1945. Photo by Life/George Silk

(Click Image To Enlarge)
Hiroshima Today

My Comment: It is amazing how mankind can crawl out of the rubble, and rebuild everything (and more) within a few generations.

For me, the above two photos gives me the assurance that even if disaster should befall mankind, the survivors will always rise from the ashes to rebuild again.

Shocking 360º Panoramic Images Of Hiroshima After The Atomic Bomb Attack

PANORAMA. Photographed by Shigeo Hayashi from a watchtower of the Hiroshima Prefectural Commerce Association, October 5, 1945. Location: Moto-machi. Distance from hypocenter: approx. 260m.

Hiroshima After The Atomic Bomb -- 360Cities – Panoramic Photography Blog

One day last year, a friend of mine stumbled across one of these images. Knowing that I am always interested in seeing historical 360º photos, he sent me the link. Panoramic photography has existed for more than a century, but I had not seen these before. Looking at these images, turning them around in a circle, is the strongest reminder I have had in a very long time of the real power of photography. The image above, even more so than all the other ones, is one of the most heartbreaking images I have ever seen.

I contacted the man running the site where the image was located. His name is Steven Starr, and he teaches at the University of Missouri. His website, www.nucleardarkness.org, is a resource for anyone who is interested in the danger of existing nuclear arsenals currently held in the world.

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My Comment: The panoramic images of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb attack is a truly shocking thing to see. This is a must see.

Photographing Hiroshima On August 6, 1945 (From The Ground)

Click Image To Enlarge
Mr. Yamada took the above ground level photo from approximately a little over four miles northeast of Hiroshima a few minutes after detonation.

Hiroshima, 6th August 1945 -- Iconic Photos

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the dropping of the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima. Whether you agree with the decision or not, the facts were there: Hiroshima was an important army and navy base. Of about 350,000 people living there on that fateful day, the majority were women and children, since most adult men were fighting at the front.

Nuclear blast and wind destroyed buildings within its 1.5-mile radius. Yoshito Matsushige was barely out of this radius at a little over 1.6-miles from the ground zero. Heading out to the citycentre, Matsushige took the only photographs taken of Hiroshima on that calamitous day. Matsushige himself was not seriously injured by the blast, but the scenes of carnage and dying people prevented him from taking further pictures. (He had 24 possible exposures, in the 10 hours he spent wandering the devastated city, but only seven came out right)

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Update: Photographing Hiroshima -- Iconic Photos

My Comment: These pictures are very haunting.

70 Years Ago An Atomic Bomb Was dropped On Hiroshima

New York Times: Hiroshima Honors 70th Anniversary of Atomic Bombing

HIROSHIMA, Japan — To the surprise of many who witnessed its incineration by an atomic bomb 70 years ago on Thursday, this city, like Japan itself, rebounded vigorously after World War II.

The population, nearly halved by the new and terrifying American weapon nicknamed Little Boy, now exceeds 1.1 million, nearly three times what it was during the war. Mazda makes its sporty cars here. The company’s founding family owns the city’s baseball team, the Carp, which plays at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium.

Except for the bombed-out memorial dome at its center, on most days, Hiroshima looks and feels like any other Japanese metropolis.

But each year on Aug. 6, it again becomes a city of mourning. And one full of reminders — some delivered politely, some pointedly — of the most extreme dangers of modern warfare.

More News On Today's Remembrance Of The Atomic Bombing Of Hiroshima

Hiroshima marks atomic bombing, worries about steps toward war -- Reuters
Calls for nuke-free world mark Hiroshima anniversary -- CBS/AP
Prayers held as Hiroshima marks 70 years since bomb -- Al Jazeera
Hiroshima remembered as lanterns light up the night -- BBC
Hiroshima's 70th: As Japan remembers nuclear bomb, rising tensions in region -- CSM
Hiroshima 70th Anniversary: What to Know About Nuclear Weapons in 2015 -- NBC
Hiroshima: Where the worst-case scenario came to pass -- Al Jazeera
Photos: Hiroshima marks 70th anniversary of first atomic bombing -- Al Jazeera

Japan Observes The 69th Anniversary Of The Hiroshima Bombing

Japan Marks 69th Anniversary of Hiroshima Bombing -- RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, August 6 (RIA Novosti) - Japan marks the 69th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the United States on Wednesday, seeing tens of thousands of people in Japan coming together for peace ceremonies in remembrance.

Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui urged people to listen to the voices of survivors as he delivered a speech at a ceremony also attended by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy.

“‘Water, please.’ Voices from the brink of death are still lodged in the memory of a boy who was 15 and a junior high student,” Matsui said in his speech, referring to the memories of a survivor.

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More News On Japan Observes The 69th Anniversary Of The Hiroshima Bombing

Japan marks Hiroshima anniversary, invites leaders -- AP
Japan marks 69th anniversary of US bombing of Hiroshima -- Deutsche Welle
Hiroshima Marks 69th Anniversary of U.S. Atomic Bombing -- WSJ
Japan Observes 69th Anniversary of Hiroshima Nuclear Bombing -- VOA
Hiroshima commemorates 69th anniversary of atomic bombing -- Xinhau
Hiroshima Day - International Day of Nuclear Disarmament -- RIA Novosti
Hiroshima Anniversary: What Actually Happened When the Atomic Bomb was Dropped? -- IBTimes

Last Hiroshima Bomb Crew Member Of Enola Gay Dies At 93

Last Crewman Of U.S. Plane That Dropped First Atomic Bomb Is Dead At 93 -- CNN

(CNN) -- Nearly 69 years ago, Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk navigated a U.S. B-29 Superfortress called the Enola Gay over Hiroshima, Japan, on a sunny August day. Once over its target, the Enola Gay unloaded the first atomic bomb dropped in war.

A single bomb blast killed some 140,000 people and helped end World War II -- and pushed the world suddenly into the nuclear era.

On Monday, Van Kirk died of natural causes at the Park Springs retirement community in Stone Mountain, Georgia, according to his eldest daughter Vicki Triplett.

He was 93.

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More News On The Last Hiroshima Bomb Crew Member Of Enola Gay Dying At 93

Theodore Van Kirk, 93, Enola Gay Navigator, Dies -- New York Times
Last Hiroshima bomb crew member Theodore VanKirk dies. -- The Australian/AP
Last U.S. crew member of Hiroshima bomber dies - reports -- Reuters
Last surviving Hiroshima bomb crew member dies -- BBC
Theodore Van Kirk, last crew member of Enola Gay, dies in US aged 93 -- The Guardian
Last Survivor of Enola Gay Crew Dies -- VOA

Is Our Interest In The Hiroshima Anniversary And Our Fear Of Nuclear Weapons Fading? -- A Commentary

Bizarrely, Our Fear Of Nuclear Weapons Has Faded, And Our Interest In The Hiroshima Anniversary Has Dwindled Accordingly -- Daniel Hannan, The Telegraph

While the 70th anniversaries of Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain have been reported in intimate detail, the 65th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs is passing largely unremarked.

Agonising about the rights and wrongs of the world’s first atomic attack used to be a handy way of filling the August news pages. This year, though – despite the promising peg of formal representation from the Allied governments at the commemoration – coverage has been sparse.

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My Comment: My interest in the Hiroshima bombing anniversary probably started to decline right after 9/11. Why focus on another country's recognition of a terrible event when we have our own to be more concerned about. Continuous wars in Afghanistan and elsewhere, the threat of nuclear terrorism from groups like Al Qaeda and their allies .... yup .... I would have to say that we have more on our plate to be interested in than Hiroshima's anniversary.

As to our fear of nuclear weapons fading .... I will have to say yes and no. The tensions that marked the cold war are no longer there, and our fear of a global nuclear conflict has dissipated with the end of the Soviet Union. Instead .... our fears are now at a lower level .... from nuclear terrorism associated with groups like Al Qaeda to small countries with limited nuclear stockpiles (Pakistan and India) going to war against each other.

So .... should we still be concerned about nuclear war .... yes. Should we be as concerned about nuclear war and weapons as we used to be .... probably not.

Update: I posted this story three years ago .... and it is still applicable today.

August 6, 1945: The Day That Changed The World Forever

August 6, 1945: The Day The World Changed Forever -- Euronews

Something changed forever on August 6, 1945 when, for the first time, the world witnessed the explosion of an atomic bomb.

As that fateful day dawned, a B-29 American bomber named the Enola Gay took off from an island in the Pacific Ocean heading for Japan, which had prompted the US’ entry into World War II by attacking Pearl Harbour some three and a half years earlier. At 8:15 AM local time its crew dropped an atomic bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy” on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

Those aboard the Enola Gay watched as the city, inhabited by 350,000 people, disappeared into dust. Robert Lewis, the co-pilot of the American bomber commented in the flight log: “My God, what have we done?”

The bomb caused the immediate death of 70,000 people. This figure increased to an estimated 200,000 as more victims succumbed to nuclear radiation.

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More News On Hiroshima Commemorating The Atomic Bombing Of August 6, 1945

Hiroshima marks 68th anniversary of atomic bombing -- Global Post/Kyodo News
Hiroshima marks anniversary of US atomic bombing -- FOX News/AFP
Japan marks 68th anniversary of Hiroshima bombing -- AP
Japan marches in the prayer for peace on the eve of the 68th anniversary of Hiroshima -- Daily Mail
Sun sets on the eve of tragic Hiroshima anniversary -- NBC
Japan: Hiroshima struggles to preserve atom bomb heritage -- BBC
Japan looks to create historical archive of WWII atom bomb effects -- UPI

Last Enola Gay Flier Recalls Hiroshima

From CNN: "Dutch" Van Kirk, the last surviving crew member of the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima reminisces.