Hiroshima facts for term paper please

[Glenn Barbaritz]

hey Guys, Glenn here. my step son is doing a 10th grade term paper on a WWII contraversy. He is going to do it on the dropping of the BOMB. the debate will be for saving countless lives from ongoing war for the mass destruction and death in a seconds time. does anyone out there know of a good website to find facts on the dropping. any information would be greatly appreciated. thanks, Glenn

[Steve Sherlock]

I haven't checked any websites, but old fashioned libraries, with real books, are generally fruitful sources. It's amazing what one finds there, and it will be in much more depth than your usual internet source.

ss

[Vadim K]

I am with Steve 100%. I am all for internet research but you cant do any halfway decent paper without actual books.

[helsel,j]

Here is a link for you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima And google or use wikipedia for enola gay etc.

[Homer Hodge]

Hiroshima

I would highly recommend the book, Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire, by Richard Frank. He provides an excellent, comprehensive discussion of the controversy over President Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan.

[TMurray]

hey Guys, Glenn here. my step son is doing a 10th grade term paper on a WWII contraversy. He is going to do it on the dropping of the BOMB. the debate will be for saving countless lives from ongoing war for the mass destruction and death in a seconds time. does anyone out there know of a good website to find facts on the dropping. any information would be greatly appreciated. thanks, Glenn

That's ONE argument, others will argue he authorised use of atomic weapons in an effort to deter the Soviets from territorial claims. The Aliies had a stranglehold on Japan in August 1945, no shipping, no imports, in time the population would have starved.

[Dallas]

It's not a case of arguements here as there were other side benefits to the decision. Keeping the Soviet Communists out of Japan was a part of the whole. The allies wanted to end the war. Operation Olympic would have gone forward. Many more wuold have perished than what happened historically. Tough decision, but the right one.

[Erich B.]

A strong argument may certainly be made for either side of this controversial subject. There is much research and evidence that has been released in the years since 1945.
Erich

[Bcarver]

I was watching the History channel a few months back and they did a story on the dropping of the bomb. One fact they brought out was that Japan was trying to surrender since July 45. I was kind of lost in thier story as they made it sound like Japan was wanting to end the war on Allied terms but we dropped the bomb anyway. Did anyone else see that show? I wasn't watching closely and I know they brought up Stalin who was at peace with Japan and they were trying to go through the Russians as messangers. I would agree with the books for research, nothing beats reading.

[Perry Floyd]

I was watching the History channel a few months back and they did a story on the dropping of the bomb. One fact they brought out was that Japan was trying to surrender since July 45. I was kind of lost in thier story as they made it sound like Japan was wanting to end the war on Allied terms but we dropped the bomb anyway. Did anyone else see that show? I wasn't watching closely and I know they brought up Stalin who was at peace with Japan and they were trying to go through the Russians as messangers. I would agree with the books for research, nothing beats reading.

I remember it...
The Japanese were "testing the waters" so to speak by trying to barter through the Russians. To see if a conditional surrender would be considered by the US under terms Japan could live with and keep honor.

[Chaser]

There are a couple good books out there. "Hiroshima" is one. There is a new one out there and for the life of me I cannot remember the name. Counterstrike maybe? At any rate it shows all sorts of photos, including bombardier views pre- and post-detonation.

If you would like information, I can provide you with facts regarding both. Its been a while, but I do remember a lot of the information that was told to me when I had interviewed a B29 bomber crewman who was shot down and taken as a POW with Pappy Boyington. He provided quite a bit of insight on this, and also his views on this "revisionist history bull....." Drop an email or PM and I will send you what I have for both pro-bomb and pro-invasion.
Jon

[Bobwirtz]

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[bodes]

Bob, And it's sincerely my belief that we could've accomplished the same thing by stepping up strategic bombing with incendiary bombs.....With a large section of the populace living in wooden houses, it would've been just as bad (perhaps worse in terms of human lives lost) in the long run.....Truman merely speeded up the process.....He did the right thing by bringing a terrible war to a successful conclusion.....And finally, It was Japan who was the aggressor nation.....They started and expanded the war and brought the US into the conflict.....Of course, with the revisionist historians out there, they'll say the US was also responsible for that.....Bodes

[Bobwirtz]

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[bodes]

Bob, The sad reality though is many people today think the A-bombs were unnecesary.....Like I said, revisionist thinking.....Many don't realize just how fanatical the Japanese military factions were.....They even tried to intercept Hirohito's plea to give up the fight, in a speech to his people.....And in Hirohito's speech, no where did he once admit the word defeat.....Sad as it is, alot of people try to mix 21st century ideas with 20th century reality.....Ask any American GI, living with death day in and day out, how he felt about the bomb.....I guarantee the majority looked at it as a blessing.....Bodes