I am Become Death the Destroyer of Worlds

All day this quote from Robert Oppenheimer the father of the atomic bomb has been stuck in my head. I would just type it, but I don't think you can really feel the gravity of his words, unless you watch this video of him speaking about the first nuclear explosion. The link is below, but what I wanted to ask is, do you think that nuclear weaponry was a necessary evil to prevent more death during World War II? And was it necessary as a preventer of war in following years, including today? Or was it a mistake to bring that power into the world? Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8H7Jibx-c0

I'm a very big WWII buff, you could say it's one of my specialties, and this is a topic that I've thought about. To your three questions, my short answers would be yes and yes for the first two, but the last one I'm not certain about.

Do you think that nuclear weaponry was a necessary evil to prevent more death during World War II? Yes. Absolutely one-hundred percent yes. I do not understand how anyone can dispute this fact. In preparation for the expected casualties the US manufactured close to 500,000 Purple hearts. Now 65 years later there over 100,000 left, enough that purple hearts that they are kept on hand by combat units. The effect on the troops on who knew were preparing to invade Japan was immediate when they heard the news of the surrender. They were ecstatic. They were dead men that had suddenly been give back their lives. I don't think that a single man set to invade Japan expected to comeback alive or in one piece.

The invasion of Japan itself would have been incredibly costly not just for the invaders, but also for the defenders. The US army was expecting "That operations in this area will be opposed not only by the available organized military forces of the Empire, but also by a fanatically hostile population." As one school girl, Yukiko Kasai, had been told after being given an awl "Even killing one American soldier will do. … You must aim for the abdomen." Children were being trained to run under American tanks to detonate satchel charges strapped to their chests. The Empire had been stockpiling kamikaze planes, midget subs, manned torpedoes, and suicide boats. They were planning on fighting to the last man, woman, and child. Admiral William Halsey has been to reported to have said "Before we're through with 'em, the Japanese language will only be spoken in hell." Japan would have turned into a burnt-earth campaign to rival any that had occurred in Europe. If we had invaded the Japan, then today there would be no Japan, at least not the kind we know and love today.

Another factor to remember is that Japan still held significant amounts of territory in Asia and the Pacific. Without the unconditional surrender of the Japanese Empire, these lands would have had to have been invaded and liberated by force of arms. By this point the Soviet Union had entered the war against Japan and the prolonging of the war could have seen a Soviet invasion of Japan, with the country being divided much like Korea and Vietnam were. Ultimately the fast surrender of the Japanese Empire that resulted from the dropping of the two Atomic bombs ended the war, ultimately saving lives. There are also three more points I would like to make on the dropping the bombs and the prolongation of the war. One is the fact that neither Hiroshima or Nagasaki were the worst bombing raids of the war. Those would go to the Allied fire-bombings of German and Japanese cities. Second is the fact of just how fanatical the Japanese soldiers were. When my mom was living on the Island of Guam in the early seventies there was still a Japanese holdout on the island. There were many holdouts throughout the Pacific. It often required great lengths to get the to surrender, in at least one case they had to find a man's old commanding officer for him to talk to, and one in the seventies was killed in a gun battle. To any who say that the Japanese might have surrendered if they had been invaded I say that you do not know and understand the nature of the average Japanese soldier from the era. Last is that the full effects of the Atomic bombs were not understood at that time. Ultimately the US was desperate to bring an end to a war that had gone on far to long and had no end in sight.

At this point I don't really have the time to post an in-depth response to the other to question (And I'm sure you guys probably wouldn't want to read all of it, lol). I will however say that I do feel the possession of nuclear weapons by multiple countries have averted wars, for good and/or bad. I also so that the discovery of atomic and nuclear energy has been a mixed blessing and only time will be able to tell if it was worth it. Also, if anyone wants to ask me any questions or get some of the sources for my thought, ideas and quotes, don't be afraid to ask. Thanks for reading.