My father, Lt JG US Navy, wounded off Omaha Beach on an LST and father-in-law, 30+ missions over Germany as a B17 Pilot both owe thier lives to the dropping of the Atomic Bombs on Japan. As a Nuclear Engineer and 'War Baby' I have had an interest in the 'Bomb', its developement, use and deployment. While never having done Weapons Development, I have talked to many in the Industry, some who were at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Projet and most notibly met Bock's Car Pilot. I asked Fred Bock what he felt when the Bomb went off, meaning what emosions. He replied , " Well the ride was very smooth". Dropping the Bomb for these men and all our citizens was just a means to an end of ridding the world of these cultures that subvert individuals in the name of the state. Unfortuneatly, we are now facing the same type of mentality but except for Iran, don't have very good targets.
BTW, Germany and Japan never even came close to a working 'Bomb' and any 'Dirty' Bomb would have no real effect. The Press would have you believe that a dirty Bomb of Cobalt would devastate a major City. In reality,the cleanup would consist of water flushing the material and at most coatings to fix what's left in place.
I have Japanese friends, both US and Japanese citizens. I was Best Man when a Japanese friend studying in the US married a US citizen. The culture is facinating and the people can be warm and friendly if you are percived as a friend. A non-Japanese can never be assimilated into the culture but it is my feeling that the Japanese hold no grudges.
The Greatest Generation will soon be gone. Both my father and father-in-law have past on. I fear we will never again see thier like, but it is our responsibility to carry on as they would have.-Dick
Last edited by Dick_dup1; 08/08/07 10:25 AM.
