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Post by Man in Black on Oct 20, 2007 19:28:43 GMT -5
I chose Yes but it would haunt me... My Grandfather probably owes his life to the surrender of Japan (as I stated in another thread he was a GI on a ship in the Pacific that turned around after the surrender). I'm the kind of person that would find it hard to make that decision under any other circumstance because I just can't stand to kill anything. What a hard call that would have been. I just wish the Japanese had surrendered before it happened.
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Post by Drago on Oct 21, 2007 7:07:47 GMT -5
I went with definitely. As horrific and devastating as those bombs were, I feel that using them was the right choice. It's entirely likely that their use saved the lives of tens of thousands (quite possibly HUNDREDS of thousands) of American G.I.s. And remember that Japan was given the ultimatum of surrender after the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. They could have ended the War right then, but only surrendered after the bombing of Nagasaki. Their hesitance to surrender after Hiroshima only causes me to think that they were prepared to trod on in spite of what had happened. Their creedo after all, was one of never surrender and to fight until all soldiers (and cilvilians if necessary) were dead.
Would I have been haunted by the decision for the rest of my life? Perhaps, but I can't say for certain. The world was so different then and the War itself was such a tremendous weight for the world to carry. Being able to end the War and lift that weight could very well have been the saving grace from a lifetime of guilt.
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Post by Man in Black on Oct 21, 2007 13:46:49 GMT -5
Well said Drago, those bombs absolutely saved thousands of American lives... I'm just glad I didn't have to make the decision. I know there are thousands of us glad to have our Grandfathers.
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Post by 4C-696E on Oct 22, 2007 9:33:10 GMT -5
This just shows, MIB, how much we are like each other. Are we sure we're not related? I believe I would have been able to drop the bomb, but because the type of person I am, I know it would haunt me. I would have been able to continue on with live, but it would take some time to put it behind me, and even then, I know the decision would come back to haunt me for years. There are still days when images from 9/11 come back and I feel the emotions that day put me through, and I had nothing to do with it. I know nobody personally who was affected by it. Just the trauma of something like that happening on American soil. And it was 6 years ago! Just a side note, on Saturday, I was able to stand next to an A-bomb shell. Of course, I highly doubt it is a live bomb. Hill Air Force Base would not allow a live bomb in the museum. I'll have to scan in the pic and post it when we get it developed so you can see how big it is.
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Post by Man in Black on Oct 22, 2007 23:30:54 GMT -5
Lol, we may be related. I just can't stand to see anyone or anything suffer... I'm just a softie I guess. I'm looking forward to seeing the pics 4C, you never know it could be live, did you see the big story of the military messing up and accidentally flying live nuclear missiles around the country? news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071019/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/nuclear_mistake_20
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Post by 4C-696E on Oct 23, 2007 9:58:54 GMT -5
I didn't see that. That's bad.
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Post by Xenopaul on Oct 27, 2007 10:42:19 GMT -5
I would definitely do it, japan had a chance to surrender and didnt they also started the thing with the attack on pearl harbor
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