Flying Out of the Shockwave on that August Day

[mother of all machines]

For those that don't know, I've lived in Japan for over a decade. And one thing in particular that has always disturbed me about Japanese is that many have no knowledge of WW2. Of course, they know of the bombs but MANY do NOT know about Japan's invasion/occupation of mainland Asia and some of the Pacific islands and all the blood that it entails. I've asked many of my J-friends how they don't know this and the answer is ALWAYS...ALWAYS: "We didn't study it in school." That's an extremely disturbing thing to me.

 

Anyway, I don't want this to turn into a political discussion but I always think about this especially in the first week of August.

 

Here in the US we've been deceived about history in a similar way. When I was a kid we never learned about the Vietnam or Korean wars, and we learned that that Native Americans freely cooperated with the white "discoverers" of America.

 

I'm American. And you're right about those things. But sorry I believe this is different.

 

I'm curious, how is it different?

 

I see little difference. Depending on who is in Power at the time, schools will teach a certain "interpretation" of national history and world history. This is true for every nation and country on Earth.

 

It could be that Japan is just not ready to address its past crimes. Here in the USA, we're still struggling with our past crimes. We're still arguing over them, we're still debating what is still relevant and what we're truly "guilty" of doing.

 

Nationalistic pride is often so strong that people simply won't admit to having committed any crimes - past or present. It definitely happens in this country. It can happen anywhere.

Maybe it's a matter of interpretation. Some people believe it's better to dig the past and some to remember it forever...

[Lucas]

One of the most sickening, and ultimately, cowardly acts ever committed

 

I am proud to be an American, but the government and the military powers that be have done things that are reprehensible, and this atrocity was the coming out party

[Boston_E]

One of the most sickening, and ultimately, cowardly acts ever committed

 

I am proud to be an American, but the government and the military powers that be have done things that are reprehensible, and this atrocity was the coming out party

 

Perhaps, but what would have been much more reprehensible would have been to march another half a million American men to their death in a ground invasion.

[Perchance to Dream]

Hindsight is 20/20. None of us were there at the time, obviously.

 

If the atomic bomb was a viable option in early 1944, would it have been deployed on a German city in order to end the war in Europe? Dunno...

 

Possibly?

 

I have my doubts due to the Soviet advance on the "Eastern" Front.

[grep]

70 years ago today, the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Three days later, the B-29 Superfortress Bockscar dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, bringing an end to the Second World War.

 

It was my 21st wedding anniversary. Trying not to think about war.

 

May no one ever fire off a nuke, ever again.

[grep]

Hindsight is 20/20. None of us were there at the time, obviously.

 

If the atomic bomb was a viable option in early 1944, would it have been deployed on a German city in order to end the war in Europe? Dunno...

 

Possibly?

 

I have my doubts due to the Soviet advance on the "Eastern" Front.

 

It was considered, as I understand it.

 

 

The same way the Germans considered that one way trip nuking of NYC with that new prototype jet bomber of theirs.

 

Would have killed my parents. c***suckers.