"The CO" wrote in message
...

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It's always sad for the individuals involved. On any side of a
conflict.
However it's probably safe to say that many less died (on both sides)
through using the A-Bomb than through continued conventional bombing
(IIRC, more died in the firebombing of Tokyo than Hiroshima or Nagasaki)
and a conventional seaborne invasion afterwards. The casualty list from
that
continuation of the war would likely have been in the millions.

I think both sides of the debate should avoid being too sanctimonious.
It was a difficult decision in a war. No one alternative seems
perfect, and none seems totally wrong even with the benefits of nearly
60 years of hindsight.

Quite so. It's important to recall that at the time, this was, in the
minds of
those involved, just a really big bomb, the other effects, fallout,
genetic damage,
long term cancers etc were either unknown or at best speculative. We
have had
the cold war and 50 years of study on the effects of nuclear weapons on
which to
base our distaste.

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The CO

Probably one of the more cogent summaries of this situation that I have
seen. Well said, and illustrative of the difference between thoughts at that
time as opposed to modern revisiting of the situation. My father
participated in some of those incendiary attacks, and was still pulling B-29
missions even after the first atomic bomb was dropped--to this day he firmly
believes that their use was justified (and no, he is not one of those old
vets who still harbors significant animosity towards the Japanese--but
neither does he excuse them for their acts that ultimately led to
Hiroshima/Nagasaki) .

I would add that in regards to the comparison of Japanese casualties
resulting from the nuclear attacks versus those that would have resulted if
the war had been dragged out even further, even if Olympic/Coronet had not
occurred there would still have been untold numbers of Japanese civilian
casualties due to starvation, which was already reaching the level of being
a serious concern when the war ended when it did.

Brooks