Talk to a Veteran who was his way to the Pacific. - Why Drop an Atomic Bomb? To Save Lives!

I''ve known two World War II veterans who had been shipped to the Philippines as their assembling area in preparation for the Invasion of Japan. They knew they were going to have 50% casualties if Okinawa and Iwo Jima were previews of what to expect. Even in the Philippines, in 1945, there were still Kamikaze air attacks.
If you ever get to talk to a veteran of WWII, if you see a VFW volunteer, who fought in WWII, asking for donations on Memorial Day or Veteran's Day, stop, donate, and talk to them. They will tell you what Harry Truman and the dropping of the A-Bombs meant to them. 
It saved their lives!
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Why Drop an Atomic Bomb? To Save Lives!
by BURT FOLSOM  on AUGUST 9, 2012 Posted by Anita Folsom

Today is the anniversary of the second use of an atomic bomb during World War II. On this date in 1945, the Japanese refused to surrender after the devastation of the first bomb, which had destroyed Hiroshima three days earlier. On August 9, a bomb containing plutonium-239 exploded over Nagasaki, causing at least 45,000 immediate deaths.

Each year on this anniversary, critics of America’s wartime policy chime in on the terrible consequences of President Truman’s decision to use atomic weapons. But what were the factors that influenced him to approve the bombings?

First, Truman needed to save the lives of American POWs. By the summer of ’45, hundreds of thousands of American, British and Australian soldiers had been prisoners-of-war for more than three years. These captives were being used as slaves at work camps throughout Japan, China, and southeast Asia. Truman knew that most were near death from malnutrition and overwork. When the U.S. had liberated some POWs in 1944, the conditions they found were indescribable, many had died, and Truman knew that other POWs must be freed soon or none of them would survive.

Second, Truman needed to save lives of American servicemen. Without the atomic bomb, the U.S. would have to invade the home islands of Japan. Casualty estimates ranged from hundreds of thousands to more than one million Americans wounded, killed, or missing in action. In the spring of 1945, the high casualty rates during the battles for Iwo Jima and Okinawa alarmed Americans and seemed to prove the gloomy predictions for an invasion of Japan.

Third, Truman knew that the carpet bombing of Tokyo on March 9-10 had led to a fire storm, killing as many as 100,000 civilians in a few hours. Would Japanese old men, women, and children die in larger numbers if he prolonged the war by authorizing an invasion without the use of atomic weapons? Possibly.

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