It always seems to amaze me that the editors of this paper allow such mindless banter to be printed into the pages of the Lantern; Sarah Topy’s article “A-Bomb questioned” presented readers with nothing other than a shallow look at the reasoning and forces behind the decision to drop the atomic bomb.
Paul Tibbits, the pilot she referred to, phrased the action perfectly, “a necessary evil.” That phrase explains the action very well and let me tell you why.
Germany had just surrendered to the Allies on May 7, 1945. This brought an end to the European battle and the focus could now be shifted on bringing the war in the Pacific closer to the Japanese homeland.
The Russians were hesitant to make a huge commitment in the Pacific due in part to what the European front had cost them: Almost 20 million dead, both soldiers and citizens alike perished as the Red Army defended its homeland against German aggression.
In the wake of such tremendous loss, the Russians were hesitant for more. But, even though their loss was great, Japan still was waging war against the United States and the Allies in the Pacific and something needed to be done. The United States had already been in this war almost four years and an ending needed to be found.
The decision to use the first atomic weapon was not done as a “surprise attack,” in fact written warning was sent to the Japanese Government that stated it would be in for a “rain of ruin” if Japan did not surrender unconditionally.
By this time of the war, the United States had already achieved air supremacy over Japan and was firebombing Japanese cities using conventional munitions. Obviously, destruction of their own cities by use of thousands of conventional bombs did nothing to persuade the Japanese to surrender. In fact, the military actively trained civilians in defense and use of weapons should the islands be invaded.
This would have turned the Japanese Islands into an island bent on defense, with many women and children carrying weapons to defend their homeland.
This would have been a very dangerous situation for allied troops (most would have been Americans) since many would not know who were combatants until it would be too late. The Allies would not have just been fighting soldiers, but also the entire Japanese population.
Because of this, the war department estimated that something on the order of one million American GIs would have given their lives in the conquest of Japan.
Something was needed to completely demoralize the Japanese population and convince them that it was futile to continue the war. That necessary evil was found in the atomic bomb. Topy’s reasoning regarding the Soviet Union entering the war is also flawed. The first A-bomb was dropped on Aug. 6, 1945. On Aug. 8, the Soviet Union declared war on the Japanese Government.
No response in the terms of an unconditional surrender was heard soon after the Soviets entered the war. Even after the second bomb was dropped, it took the Japanese five days to surrender.
The United States came into WWII giving its sons and daughters a hope and a chance to make something better of the world. In my opinion, Topy’s article slaps veterans in the face by trying to convince people that the U.S. was the major violator of morality in WWII.
The fact is that if we had not stepped in, we would be sharing the world with the Third Reich and the Japanese Empire. I do not believe “America will be forever stained” because we used the weapons.
In fact, I think America will be forever remembered as the country that came to the aid of others, fought tyranny and oppression, and found the “necessary evil” to bring the most destructive conflict in world history to a quick end.
Thomas E. Phillips Jr. Senior Aerospace Engineering
