NationStates

Imperium Sidhicum wrote:

Libertarian California wrote:
All World War II veterans will die by the 2030s. But something I think is amazing is that the last Civil War veteran died in 1956.

Must have been amazing for him to witness the technological advancement within his life. In his youth, he probably didn't even know what electricity was and fought his battles with nothing but a black-powder muzzleloader and bayonet - and by the time he died, people were fighting wars with supersonic jets and atomic bombs. It must have felt pretty strange for that man to recall his early youth.

Just over another decade and he would have lived to see us go to the moon. That's crazy to think about.

http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v16/v16n3p-4_Weber.html

Is an article stating that the atomic bombs were not necessary at all in affecting Japan's surrender.
Operation downfall would not have occurred as Japan was on the way to surrendering anyway.
I don't mean that the Americans were war criminals or anything just that the Atomic Bombs didn't end the war.

Salute to the guys who dropped the bombs though all veterans should be, whether they are German, British, Italian, American, Kiwi, Australian, Chinese or Japanese (saluted that is).

Washington Resistance Army wrote:

Imperium Sidhicum wrote:
Must have been amazing for him to witness the technological advancement within his life. In his youth, he probably didn't even know what electricity was and fought his battles with nothing but a black-powder muzzleloader and bayonet - and by the time he died, people were fighting wars with supersonic jets and atomic bombs. It must have felt pretty strange for that man to recall his early youth.

Just over another decade and he would have lived to see us go to the moon. That's crazy to think about.

Very true.

I was doing some more research into the Allied Fleet composition for Operation Downfall, and it would consist of 42 Aircraft Carriers, 24 Battleships, 400 Destroyers and Frigates, and quite a few more supply ships.

http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v16/v16n3p-4_Weber.html

Is an article stating that the atomic bombs were not necessary at all in affecting Japan's surrender.
Operation downfall would not have occurred as Japan was on the way to surrendering anyway.
I don't mean that the Americans were war criminals or anything just that the Atomic Bombs didn't end the war.

Salute to the guys who dropped the bombs though all veterans should be, whether they are German, British, Italian, American, Kiwi, Australian, Chinese or Japanese (saluted that is).

Ethirus wrote:http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v16/v16n3p-4_Weber.html

Is an article stating that the atomic bombs were not necessary at all in affecting Japan's surrender.
Operation downfall would not have occurred as Japan was on the way to surrendering anyway.
I don't mean that the Americans were war criminals or anything just that the Atomic Bombs didn't end the war.

Salute to the guys who dropped the bombs though all veterans should be, whether they are German, British, Italian, American, Kiwi, Australian, Chinese or Japanese (saluted that is).

What's with the double post?

Operation Downfall, would have occurred. The IJA had the Emperor under the illusion that they could still win the war, even to the point where they deliberately hid information from him to continue the war. Their surrender was not going to come anytime soon. The Atom Bomb was the weapon that convinced the Emperor that the continuation of the war was futile.

Libertarian California wrote:

Point Breeze wrote:There are still hundreds of WWII vets alive in the US... but they're fading fast. I once had the pleasure of meeting someone who was in the Navy before Pearl Harbor occurred. He survived the entire World War, Vietnam, and Korea. Simply incredible.

All World War II veterans will die by the 2030s. But something I think is amazing is that the last Civil War veteran died in 1956.

Well, ya never know. Some tough old guy or gal may end up setting a new world record for longest living person by making into their 123's+.

Organized States wrote:

Washington Resistance Army wrote:
Just over another decade and he would have lived to see us go to the moon. That's crazy to think about.

Very true.

I was doing some more research into the Allied Fleet composition for Operation Downfall, and it would consist of 42 Aircraft Carriers, 24 Battleships, 400 Destroyers and Frigates, and quite a few more supply ships.

Talk about fire support.. You gotta love that wartime production the US had going on.

Washington Resistance Army wrote:Talk about fire support.. You gotta love that wartime production the US had going on.

Dependent on the degree of resistance the Japanese people showed against an Allied (US, Russia, China) landing on the home islands, the casualties would have been grievous - into the tens of millions, if not more.

Couasia wrote:

Washington Resistance Army wrote:Talk about fire support.. You gotta love that wartime production the US had going on.

Dependent on the degree of resistance the Japanese people showed against an Allied (US, Russia, China) landing on the home islands, the casualties would have been grievous - into the tens of millions, if not more.

Based on what happened at Okinawa, it's pretty accurate to say it would have been horrible.

Washington Resistance Army wrote:

Organized States wrote:Very true.

I was doing some more research into the Allied Fleet composition for Operation Downfall, and it would consist of 42 Aircraft Carriers, 24 Battleships, 400 Destroyers and Frigates, and quite a few more supply ships.

Talk about fire support.. You gotta love that wartime production the US had going on.

Not including the ground based aircraft coming out of the Marianas, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. It would have been an awesome sight of destruction...

Organized States wrote:

Washington Resistance Army wrote:
Talk about fire support.. You gotta love that wartime production the US had going on.

Not including the ground based aircraft coming out of the Marianas, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. It would have been an awesome sight of destruction...

Unfortunately it probably would have ended up killing or grievously wounding my paternal grandfather.

Napkiraly wrote:

Organized States wrote:Not including the ground based aircraft coming out of the Marianas, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. It would have been an awesome sight of destruction...

Unfortunately it probably would have ended up killing or grievously wounding my paternal grandfather.

Really?

Quite a few of my relatives were pilots (not very many in the Pacific however).

Organized States wrote:

Napkiraly wrote:Unfortunately it probably would have ended up killing or grievously wounding my paternal grandfather.

Really?

Quite a few of my relatives were pilots (not very many in the Pacific however).

Heh, my families pretty odd. My grandfather on my dad's side served in the Heer while my grandfather on my mothers side was a Marine in the Pacific.

Ethirus wrote:http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v16/v16n3p-4_Weber.html

Is an article stating that the atomic bombs were not necessary at all in affecting Japan's surrender.
Operation downfall would not have occurred as Japan was on the way to surrendering anyway.
I don't mean that the Americans were war criminals or anything just that the Atomic Bombs didn't end the war.

Salute to the guys who dropped the bombs though all veterans should be, whether they are German, British, Italian, American, Kiwi, Australian, Chinese or Japanese (saluted that is).

They were feeling out the Soviets for conditional surrender before the USSR declared war, and tried to surrender several times, but the Allies demanded unconditional surrender and the relinquishing of the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere.

The nuclear blasts did, however, disabuse the Japanese government of that notion rather swiftly.

They were not necessary to end the war, but rather to end it on terms more favourable to the Allies (and to Japan's conquered territories).

Often ignored is the Pacific Theater of WWII.

Organized States wrote:

Napkiraly wrote:Unfortunately it probably would have ended up killing or grievously wounding my paternal grandfather.

Really?

Quite a few of my relatives were pilots (not very many in the Pacific however).

Yep. Grandfather was transferred from interrogating and overseeing German POW's in Ontario to the 6th Canadian Infantry Division. Was in Vancouver when the bombs fell and Japan surrendered iirc.

Lalaki wrote:Often ignored is the Pacific Theater of WWII.

Ignored, kind of. It's not really as glorified as the European Theater (especially considering the heinous crap the Nazis did), due to the fact that, "We stopped those evil guys!" sounds a bit better than, "We beat the living crap out of people that were socially and economically different than us!".

I am sorry for his loss.

Organized States wrote:

Lalaki wrote:Often ignored is the Pacific Theater of WWII.

Ignored, kind of. It's not really as glorified as the European Theater (especially considering the heinous crap the Nazis did), due to the fact that, "We stopped those evil guys!" sounds a bit better than, "We beat the living crap out of people that were socially and economically different than us!".

It's not like Imperial Japan wasn't guilty of some terrible stuff too.

Napkiraly wrote:

Organized States wrote:Really?

Quite a few of my relatives were pilots (not very many in the Pacific however).

Yep. Grandfather was transferred from interrogating and overseeing German POW's in Ontario to the 6th Canadian Infantry Division. Was in Vancouver when the bombs fell and Japan surrendered iirc.

So, he might have taken part in the Invasion, as the 6th was in the First Wave for Operation Coronet.

Organized States wrote:

Napkiraly wrote:Yep. Grandfather was transferred from interrogating and overseeing German POW's in Ontario to the 6th Canadian Infantry Division. Was in Vancouver when the bombs fell and Japan surrendered iirc.

So, he might have taken part in the Invasion, as the 6th was in the First Wave for Operation Coronet.

Yup. So, I'm rather happy it didn't go down.

The Greater Hyperborean Realm wrote:

Organized States wrote:Ignored, kind of. It's not really as glorified as the European Theater (especially considering the heinous crap the Nazis did), due to the fact that, "We stopped those evil guys!" sounds a bit better than, "We beat the living crap out of people that were socially and economically different than us!".

It's not like Imperial Japan wasn't guilty of some terrible stuff too.

True, but it was just simply that beating the Nazis sounds better in the history books.

Lalaki wrote:Often ignored is the Pacific Theater of WWII.

Not in Singapore here. World War II has exerted a considerable influence on our national psyche and policy-making.

Although admittedly yes; people tend to remember grand battles like Barbarossa, the Normandy Campaign and North Africa better than forgotten distant places like Guadalcanal or Saipan.

Also, the dropping of the bombs showed the world what nuclear weapons can do. Perhaps if they hadn't been dropped, the Cold War could have been a lot hotter.