# It's 1945 and you're Harry Truman **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 28, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486 "2016-03-28T21:14:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/1 "2016-03-28T21:14:39Z")
Do you drop the bomb? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/2 "2016-03-28T21:16:07Z")
At the time, hell yes. In hindsight, yes, also, but the reasons can be debated. At the time, no debate was possible. The bomb had to be dropped. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/3 "2016-03-28T21:17:15Z")
If “drop the bomb” means “drop it on a major metropolitan area,” no. If “drop the bomb” means “drop it two miles offshore, and tell the Emperor that the next one lands on Tokyo,” probably. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/4 "2016-03-28T21:47:54Z")
A demonstration first. If no surrender, _then…_ ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/5 "2016-03-28T21:49:46Z")
They minted 500,000 Purple Hearts for the invasion of Japan. We’re still handing them out today. I wouldn’t have hesitated. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/6 "2016-03-28T21:57:21Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > A demonstration first. > If no surrender, _then…_ We didn’t have enough fissile material on hand to make that work. It was unknown whether they would surrender and we didn’t have a third bomb ready yet. Also, the more warning they get to tighten up their air defenses, the harder it would be to deliver a bomb. No, I don’t even see how there could be any question. Truman did the only right thing. He was 100% right at the time, and hindsight makes him even more right than that. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/7 "2016-03-28T22:00:50Z")
Another “in hindsight” of ending the war quickly (which the bombs certainly contributed), was that it prevented Joe Stalin from taking over even more parts of Japan, e.g., Hokkaido and maybe a good chunk of Honshu. Note that the parts he did take over are still under Russian control today. It’s not clear if the bombs affected the division of Korea, Stalin agreed to the split on Aug. 10 after the bombs but before Japan surrendered. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/8 "2016-03-28T22:01:17Z")
The question I have is would there be any Japanese people left had the invasion gone through. They were not interested in surrender and I think they would have gone down to close to the last man, woman, and child had the emperor not commanded them to stop. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/9 "2016-03-28T22:07:06Z")
The argument for dropping the bomb then has stood the test of time in retrospect. The Japanese were prepared for a very very long war and had no intention of surrender. They did indeed intend to fight to the death - theirs and that of their foes. The bomb was intended to bring that philosophy to a full stop, which in essence it did. It was a terrible burden for any man to bear, but thankfully we had Truman in the right place at the right time to be able to do just that. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/10 "2016-03-28T22:08:56Z")
It’s 1945. Two planned invasions of Imperial Japan are being prepared. The D-day of the first invasion is rapidly approaching. More U.S. soldiers may have to be called up for military service. Estimates suggest that more than a million people will die before Imperial Japan surrenders. I’m the POTUS and I’m assured that these new atom bombs will end WWII. I’m ordering that these new weapons be deployed as secretly (no warnings) and as destructively (military targets in populated cities) as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/11 "2016-03-28T22:12:17Z")
Of course, Operation Downfall would have used atomic bombs to soften up the battlefield before the actual invasion. So, the real question is whether you’d drop the bomb in August or wait until November. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/12 "2016-03-28T23:46:49Z")
[Hell yes](https://www.uio.no/studier/emner/hf/iakh/HIS1300MET/v12/undervisningsmateriale/Fussel%20-%20thank%20god%20for%20the%20atom%20bomb.pdf), with or without hindsight. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/13 "2016-03-28T23:51:40Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > If “drop the bomb” means “drop it on a major metropolitan area,” no. If “drop the bomb” means “drop it two miles offshore, and tell the Emperor that the next one lands on Tokyo,” probably. The bomb on Hiroshima didn’t get them to surrender; why would an offshore bomb have done so? ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/14 "2016-03-28T23:56:09Z")
Even knowing and feeling what I do now; in an instant. To paraphrase an expression - its a rotten alternative until you compare it to all the others. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/15 "2016-03-29T00:02:59Z")
In a New York minute. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/16 "2016-03-29T00:14:27Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > The bomb on Hiroshima didn’t get them to surrender; why would an offshore bomb have done so? It didn’t get them to surrender **unconditionally** and **fast enough**. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/17 "2016-03-29T00:15:21Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > It didn’t get them to surrender **unconditionally** and **fast enough**. Why would an offshore bomb have done so? ETA: An immediate and unconditional surrender was absolutely called for. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/18 "2016-03-29T00:24:26Z")
Given what was known by US officials at the time, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/19 "2016-03-29T00:29:04Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > The bomb on Hiroshima didn’t get them to surrender… Did they even understand what had happened at Hiroshima, before we hit them again, just three days later? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486/20 "2016-03-29T00:33:18Z")
You needed that second hit to make them understand it wasn’t some sort of fluke one-off. Japan is just about my favorite place in the entire world, but really, they were asking for it, and I see no need for any qualifications like “based on what we knew at the time.” The only answer is a good, hearty yes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-1945-and-youre-harry-truman/750486.md?page=2)