Japan is mountainous; to conquer it in World War II would take 30 years, for the mountains were riddled with tunnels, which were filled with new planes and supplies.
We could easily have lost. Our army had major troubles. Congress controlled military procurement. Every one of us agreed our equipment was the worst and could get you killed.
Drafted boys were smarter than the officers who often disappeared, kicked out and replaced by another dope who could get you killed. Some officers were shot by their own men.
The war was not popular with the American people who had suffered a major depression followed by the war with 12/7 work. In both the war and the Depression, citizens did without common items, shoes, cars et cetera. Much was rationed during the war including food.
Would the Americans stand for a million deaths and 30 more years of scarcity? Hardly.
Japanese civilians were all soldiers. There were official Japanese government training films, which showed their first-graders how to kill Americans with pointed sticks. Adult civilians were trained to use bikes, cars, kites, boats and other things to serve as suicide bombers.
Dropping the atomic bomb was no different than any other bomb; it did save my life.
Don’t lecture me about the morality of killing when our own country kills over a million of its citizens each year by abortion.
Back then, most mothers thought that unconditional surrender meant we could kill all the Japanese. Christian forbearance proposed an alternate: the Japanese people would be sold singly as slaves all over the world. The land of Japan was to be given to the Korean and Chinese people who had suffered 40 years of unspeakable horror.
