The WW2 Attack that Was Too Destructive for America to Use

The American forces had conquered the island of Okinawa at a tremendous cost. Germany had surrendered, but the fight was not over yet in the Pacific. The Army, Navy, and Marines still had a job to do: the invasion of mainland Japan.

Rumors were quickly spreading. Some said the Japanese were training over 30 million civilians for a fight to their last breath. Others speculated the Imperial Navy was preparing more than 100,000 troops for suicide attacks aboard aircraft, ships, boats, submarines, and even underwater frogmen operations.

However, the Marines and Army soldiers felt most puzzled about the fact that the military had already made over 500,000 Purple Heart medals for the wounded in combat and tens of thousands of crosses and stars of David for those who would not return.

Unfortunately, these last rumors would prove to be true. The US military was preparing for Operation Downfall, the largest in military history: the occupation of Japan at any cost.

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[alexius]

My Fathers best friend was in the First Marines. He had fought since Guadalcanal. He was training for the Invasion of Japan. They knew what they were facing. Many were very cynical about their survival. Then they heard about Hiroshima & Nagasaki. They had hopes that none dare speak.
After the surrender their was an intense sense of relief. As my Dad’s friend said….no more tropical diseases, no more Banzai charges, no more watching their friends getting blown apart. Instead he would go home, marry his fiancée & build a life of his own choosing.

[peteboll]

My father a USMC veteran, and member of a machine gun crew, was slated for the invasion of Japan. He told us repeatedly, as children, he had no illusions of surviving the invasion. He knew crew-served weapons were primary targets. I have no problem with Truman's decision.

[charlessaint]

My grandmother served as a nurse in the Imperial Japanese Army. Her family witnessed Hiroshima. Yet she was never angry about the Bombs or their surrender. She just said, "It was war."

[richardhenry]

My Father WWII U.S. Army was getting prepared for the Invasion of Japan, had no illusions of surviving the invasion, knowing how the Japanese fought at the time. My father stated this; if it wasn't for the A-Bomb, he wouldn't be here today. It was them or us. For all that Served & Serving today, Thank you! 🍀

[haskelldavis]

My Dad was in Washington state preparing for the invasion having just left Europe 3 weeks before. He had been 'in the war' since Africa. He had no problem with Truman's decision. They dropped the bomb and 3 weeks later he was a civilian.

[AMX]

My Dad was an amphibious landing craft coxswain (1940-1946), training with US Marines for the Japan landings. He survived Gauadalcanal, Pelielu, Tarawa, Siapan and Philippines but he said he was never more worried than the impending invasion of Japan. Thank God it didnt happen. God bless every Allied sailor and soldier of WW2.

[moncorp]

My grandad on my moms side didn't serve in ww2. He was classified as 4f. Had flat feet, could barely see with glasses, and couldn't completely straighten one arm out because of a farm injury he sustained as a kid. He had tried to enlist and they told him thanks, but no thanks.

Back when I was a teenager and he was still alive we were going through some tools in his garage and came across some unused rationing coupons that I still have to this day. So I started talking to him and asking about ww2. The one thing he said that always stuck with me was that after the Germans were defeated he was contacted by the draft board. He was in shock. He knew that if they were about to take him into the military, that our invasion of Japan was going to be an incredibly costly and deadly endeavor with untold loss of life.

[normmcrae]

My Dad volunteered for "Tiger Force" - the Commonwealth contribution to the invasion of Japan. After 3 years of combat experience in Europe - he might not be alive if the Bombs hadn't been dropped.
The number of Bodybags, and Purple Hearts that were stockpiled for the Invasion are STILL being issued. EVERY US soldier who gets a Purple Heart, or comes home in a bodybag since then, has received one from 1945. There's STILL LOTS

[navret]

My father’s tin can was on its way to Japan from the North Atlantic via the Panama Canal. Fortunately, Japan surrendered before he got there. Might be the reason I’m here to write this. Thank you President Truman.

[wildweasel]

My father was drafted in the latter days ow WWII at the age of 28. He was training at Camp Pendleton' when the War ended, the happiest day of his life!

[oldgrunt]

In terms of casualties on both sides, Truman made a difficult but wise decision. Including all the bad later effects of the radiation and fallout the total casualties were minor compared to a land invasion. Yes we did have the option of a total blockade of the Japanese islands, but how long would it have taken and how much would it have cost in lives on both sides? Remember how much that war cost on all sides and hope you never have to do the same.

[bwilliams]

My grandfather was a Sherman tank commander who had four tanks blown out from under him on Iwo Jima, and he had no conflicts about using the nuclear bombs. He would tell me of the hundreds of kamikaze boats he saw in the harbor where he landed for the occupation, and believed they would have turned any amphibious assault into a bloodbath.

[johntrottier]

My father was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in the US Army in 1942. He was sent to MacArthur's Army in Australia and worked in G4 (Supply). As the islands were taken, he followed up the chain with the logistics tail and ended up in the Philippines in 1945. He was heavily involved with the preparations for Downfall and was well aware of what was being ordered and stockpiled.
When asked about the published estimates that were available in the mid 50's, his answer was very short. "Those are the LOW end estimates. The real estimates were twice that."
The Atomic Bombs saved millions of lives.

[kmbbmj]

My dad was in the lead division slated for the invasion. He didn't expect to survive. He, nor my other relatives who fought in the Pacific, never had any qualms about using the bomb. Knowing the numbers, it was the right decision.

[scrappydoo]

I don't think the decision to drop the nukes needs to be debated at all.
The people who disagree just dont fully understand the extent of the situation.

Edit: this is something I should have added before.
A good proportion of people who disagree want to judge the action on either simplistic terms or the ways things would be dealt with today ie:
Through politics.
Through the now known after effects of nuclear weapons.
Through serious oversimplification.
Through the lense of left Vs right or colonialism.


All of those are incorrect.
The only way you can judge a past event is through the mindset of that specific past time

[curtiscolgate]

My father was a radioman attached to the Marines during WW2. He survived Iwo Jima but knew he wouldn’t survive the invasion of Japan and wrote home accordingly. There is no debate about the atomic bomb saving lives.

[jonthebru]

I had a friend I worked with years ago who had served in Europe and was onboard a troop ship heading for the Pacific through the Indian Ocean when the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. He understood the danger and said the entire contingent onboard the troop ships were ecstatic when they heard the news of Japans surrender.

[garymathena]

My uncle, Russel, was preparing to go for the invasion of Japan, he was also stationed there for the occupation. He told me that they had found more weapons that anyone had foreseen. It would have been a bloodbath. Who knows how the US postwar population would have been, with so many casualties, how many children would have been unborn.

[bobertjones]

The Atomic Bomb saved many Japanese lives if they were truly going to fight to the last civilians.

[goldgeologist]

When one considers the horrific loss the Japanese civilians endured from the fire bombing of their cities, there can be no doubt about their fanatical devotion. Hence the atomic bombs usage makes sense.