The Truth About Why America Dropped Atomic Bombs on Japan

The atomic bomb proved to be the most devastating weapon used in any war, past or present, but was the United States justified in dropping two nuclear warheads on Japan for their unconditional surrender? Check out today's insane new video and maybe your opinion will change on whether or not the US should have nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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[joshbeasley]

I think that one thing that gets overlooked in this debate a lot is the fact that at the time the after effects of radiation exposure was not fully understood. The US sent in 250k troops to occupy the bombed cities, with a great number of them suffering the rest or their lives or even dying prematurely. A vast amount of the citizens were killed not from the initial explosion, but from radiation afterwards. Now knowing the effects 80 years later, it changes how we view the decision vs how it would have been viewed and justified back then. I think with history we look at it from our standpoint too much, and don't consider the views, culture, and morals at the time enough.

[ltensail]

It was not mentioned in this video but I can confirm Wolverine survived the bombing.

[dkvupsi]

I am Japanese, and there is one thing I want to say to the people of America. My grandfather worked in an ammunition factory in Nagasaki when he was in his teens, and he was exposed to radiation at that time. It seems that his friends have passed away, but my grandfather is still healthy, even in his 90s.

What I want to say is that, although I have lived in Japan for more than 30 years, I have never met a single person who harbors resentment towards Americans, including my grandfather. This is because the current generation is not responsible for what happened. Personally, I think America is now the best friend of Japan. I believe many Japanese people feel the same way.

I don't want this to be misunderstood, but I am not trying to justify the cruel acts that Japan committed against America, Asia, and the surrounding countries in Oceania in the past. It is absolutely unforgivable, and it must never happen again. Personally, I always carry a sense of apology towards America and other countries.

However, what's important is the future, and I believe that we need to continue to convey the horrors of war and the fear of nuclear weapons to future generations. I am not sure if I can confidently say that Japan is doing this, but personally, I am determined to pass this message on to future generations.

It is sad that wars are still happening right now, but I sincerely hope and pray that one day, we will have a truly peaceful world.

Please forgive me if my English is strange since this is a machine translation.

[USSENTERPRISE-D]

I think it should be mentioned that there has not been a single Purple Heart medal created since WW2. The military had stockpiled hundreds of thousands of them in preparation for all the US casualties expected when invading the mainland. Every single Purple Heart that has been awarded from Korea through today has been pulled from that stockpile.

[BradSchmor]

It's really easy to sit here with 75 years of hindsight and judge a decision that was made in order to bring a war that had killed 80 million people to a swift end. The horrors of WW2 are beyond the scope of most people alive today. We would have done practically anything to bring that train wreck to a stop.

[crystalratclffe]

My grandfather was a GI engineer at Whitesands making the atomic bomb. They had no idea of the effect of nuclear at the time. He lowered the nuclear payload into the bomb with his BARE HANDS I saw it in the film Fat Man and Little Boy I believe the title was called. He survived a few years later having the largest cancerous tumor removed from that side of his rib cage. When he died at age 72 in 1970, he had 5 different forms of cancer in his body.

[josephvanucchi]

Well, if they still wanted to fight AFTER the first was dropped, why would they have stopped the war from a simple demonstration? Kinda kills the argument 🤔

[Super_Death]

My wife and i (Americans) visited Tokyo and Kyoto and it's a beautiful country and we loved it. Everyone was very polite and helpful towards us and we didn't feel any ill will towards us and neither we towards Japanese people. I feel like American and Japan are good friends and may that be the case for many many years.

[ihaveshellytricks]

While you mention that together the US and Soviet Union could have invaded Japan without the bombs, however the Soviet’s declaring war was actually another reason for the bombs. The USSR was quickly spreading through northeast China and towards the Korean Peninsula, and the Americans were looking for a quick end to the war to stop a joint occupation of Japanese territory and the spread of communism. While the USA and USSR were allied, their relationship was tenuous at best, and the Cold War was already starting when WW2 ended in Europe.

[trostorff]

My grandfather was a US Army paratrooper, with the 11th Airborne. Among other fights, he fought at Okinawa. I asked him when I was younger what he thought about the A Bombs vs continuing to fight and occupy the Japanese home islands.

He very briefly described the brutality of the fighting at Okinawa and how he and the rest of the allied forces weren't just fighting the Japanese military...but the entirety of the Japanese populace.

He could only speculate, but he figured that fighting to occupy would've extended the war another 2 to 3 years.

[MrDanielvass]

This is one of the most fascinating channels on YouTube. Often the topics are grim, but very educational and I can’t stop watching.

[mixedbytc]

I think it's important to note that the two bombs set a precedent for future wars and contributed to the concept of deterrence. If the USA hadn't used the bombs in Japan, the Cold War might have been a lot hotter, and nuclear warfare might have even become normalized. Not a justification by any means, just an observation.

[PostmanPat]

The dropping of the *First Atomic Bomb* was inevitable. Had it never been used in WWII on Japan then it would’ve been used else-where by the USA or a different country. This series of events ultimately caused the worldwide scare of the Atomic Bomb & having countries agreeing never to use one again.

[PJthePlayer]

One thing the video left out and not a lot of people realize is the fact that the US didn't have an unlimited supply of bombs. In fact it was said at the time that they had enough material for only one more bomb after Nagasaki and after that the time required for building more was significant. That's a solid argument for why a "demonstration" bomb wasn't considered viable.

[TheNuclearGeek]

People that claim bombing an uninhabited island would have been enough to get Japan always seemed ridiculous to me. The still didn't surrender after dropping the bomb on a city. That is the only reason a second bomb was dropped. So, if a bomb on a city didn't get them to surrender, why would a demonstration bomb convince them to do anything?
People also have to remember that there were no "smart weapons" at that time. There was no way to make a tactical nuke strike.

[truthseeker]

I went to Hiroshima yesterday, and today, I just left Nagasaki... It's sad to see what happened to so many children.

[harleymccartney]

"War is cruelty, there's no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is the sooner it is over. Then generations will pass untill they again appeal to it." - William T. Sherman

[gregkelly]

One other point not mentioned was the fear that if the war had continued, the Soviets would have invaded and occupied parts of the Japanese home islands (Kuril islands as an example). We would have ended up with a North and South Japan just like Korea. This was definitely not a desirable outcome and thus the US dropped the bombs to force immediate surrender. Keep in mind, the prevailing US view at the time was that the Japanese were irrational and might not surrender without the threat of complete and total annihilation. Regardless, the results were beyond tragic and we can only hope that it never happens again.

[aum]

The arguments that the US could have forced Japan to surrender with less deadly attacks are greatly undermined by the fact that even the attack on Hiroshima was insufficient to convince the Japanese to end the war.

It was reasonable for advisors at the time to have believed there was a better way. But given what we know now, there clearly was not.

[emeraldtawiah]

The Chinese and Koreans were grateful. What Japan did to China and Korea was terrible.