The atomic bombs were unspeakably horrific. They mark the zenith of Man’s cruelty to others. But, for the life of me, I cannot imagine a better/more definitive and rapid way to end WWII. Without the drastic use of those weapons, we would have been sending more troops to fight, island by island, in a prolonged, brutal war. My cousin was in charge of driving those troop carriers from ship to shore, and that alone was horrifying, not to mention the battles that ensued. War IS hell. War IS obscene. But I still think Truman did the right thing to make use of weapons that brought a swift end to the war. The thing about aggression that must be remembered: Don’t start something you can’t finish.
The atomic bombs were unspeakably horrific. They mark the zenith of Man’s cruelty to others. But, for the life of me, I cannot imagine a better/more definitive and rapid way to end WWII. Without the drastic use of those weapons, we would have been sending more troops to fight, island by island, in a prolonged, brutal war. My cousin was in charge of driving those troop carriers from ship to shore, and that alone was horrifying, not to mention the battles that ensued. War IS hell. War IS obscene. But I still think Truman did the right thing to make use of weapons that brought a swift end to the war. The thing about aggression that must be remembered: Don’t start something you can’t finish.