On Mon, 29 Dec 2003 04:04:02 +0000 (UTC), Merlin Dorfman
wrote:


I know the Luftwaffe was pretty well decimated by late 1944, so
fighter opposition was probably light; but if you were doing tactical
ground support missions I expect AA fire was still formidable.
Likewise fighter opposition to flights over Japan was not too
bad by mid-1945, as the Japanese were saving their aircraft, pilots,
and gasoline for Kamikaze attacks on the invasion force. But if you
were to be providing close support for the invasion, you certainly
would have been at risk from ground fire.
We're grateful that the war ended when it did so that ETO veterans
did not have to face a second war, and PTO veterans the ultimate in
suicidal resistance.

and lets be honest-- with hindsight that IJA and Japanse civilains
didn't have to face what probably would have been a catostrophic
invasion for Japanese civilization.
I've read that one of the great things about the occupation was how
the troops found the Japanese mindset to be completely different from
what they expected, and that this led to a far more "friendly"
occupation. Had it occured after a savage invasion however...