cypher745 wrote:
Rats, may ask if you think that the greater loss of life that would have
resulted from a direct invasion of Japan would have a been a better
alternative?

Not to mention how many would have come home alive but with severe
injuries. There was a batch of around 500,000 Purple Hearts made in 1945
in anticipation of the invasion of Japan. This batch lasted through
Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm and everything else along the way. AIUI, no
new ones were manufactured until 2000.

Cheers
David