Hiroshima, By Robert Lewis, Co Pilot Of Enola Gay

Human life is precious in the sense that it is all about survival. There are qualities found in humans that make survival possible. In the book Hiroshima, by John Hersey, readers experience the core of humanity found in the six survivors during the days, months, and years following the atomic bomb. Through inspiration, perseverance, and a sense of community, the Japanese people demonstrated the strength of the human spirit.

“We have to protect our Earth, so our children and grandchildren will never suffer like that,’ she said. And she looked ahead. ‘Maybe nuclear weapons won’t be abolished while I’m alive,’ she said. ‘But I will never give up.” (Hanley, NBC News). August 6, 1945 at 8:16 in the morning, the United States dropped the world's first atomic bomb on thousands of unsuspecting people in Hiroshima, Japan. Not only did this catastrophic event kill thousands of civilians, but it also resulted in other nations obtaining and learning how to create these deadly weapons, weapons that we still have today. In the book Hiroshima by John Hersey he gives readers a new look at that day, through the eyes of six victims who survived the horrific attack on Hiroshima, he shows how the entire city of Hiroshima suffered, and were left alone to fend for themselves.The book Hiroshima by John Hersey, sheds light on the immense dangers of nuclear warfare, and the government's responsibility for its people, affected by a war they aren’t fighting in.

Japan during the 1940’s was a nation that prided itself on the concept of never surrendering. It was something that they took fierce and obsessive pride in. Their culture dictated that they are never to give up, even if they fought until every single man,woman, and child living in Japan was slaughtered, they would never surrender. This doctrine was one of the key deciding factors that influenced Truman in making the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Several weeks before the Atomic bomb was dropped, The Untied States of Military issued a warning to the Japanese government. “It warned the Japanese to surrender immediately or face ‘prompt and utter destruction.” (Yes! Harry Truman’s Simple Decision) Unfortunately, a mere two weeks before the first atomic bomb dropped, the Japanese prime minister publically dismissed the warning and refused to surrender. Even after the bombing of Hiroshima, the Japanese government refused to stand down. Even though they had suffered over 225,000 civilian casualties in the attack, the Japanese military refused to surrender. It took until the second bombing of Nagasaki to finally force the Japanese to surrender on American

Before John Hersey’s novel, Hiroshima, Americans viewed Japanese as cruel and heartless people. This warped perspective caused the majority of American citizens to feel complacent about the use of the atomic bomb against civilians. Americans, in many ways, were blinded by their own ignorance to notice the severity of the destruction suffered by not only the city of Hiroshima but, more importantly, the people who lived there. The six testimonies in Hiroshima illustrate the strength and optimistic attitude of the Japanese people. In this essay, I will discuss the feelings towards the ethics surrounding the use of the atomic bomb, next I will look at two testimonies and how their lives

Japan had already admitted to being defeated and knew they were ready to surrender. “The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were

On the clear morning of August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima, Japan, the world was hit with a total shock, that went down in history as a day for the history books. This day, the city of Hiroshima was blasted by the world’s first atomic bomb, which sent the grounds quaking, and leaving thousands dead. The debates for years since the bombing were having us all wonder if the attack was a military necessity or not. Considering both sides of the argument, it is clear to me that the bombing was the best plan for ending the world war. The use of the bomb saved more lives than it took.

First, the bombings were a military correct decision. The Japanese Emperor, Hirohito stated publicly that Japan was not going to surrender. Japan proved that they were even more deadly when faced with defeat by inflicting numerous allied casualties. This created a large threat to America that needed to be dealt with. Furthermore, the dropping of the atomic bombs brought a quick and decisive end to the war. The Allies had already defeated Germany on May 7th, 1945, but could not completely conclude the war until the Allies defeated Japan. A few days after the second atomic bomb was dropped, Japan announced its surrender to the world. This was a humongous victory for the Allies because the second world war would finally come to an end. Pertaining to the decision to

Japan and killed over two thousand millions of Japanese citizens? The American soldiers knew that Japan was already defenseless; so why did they proceed with the plan to drop the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? The reason was obvious; they felt threatened when Japan rejected the Americans’ request to surrender. And, of course, Japan would have surrendered anyways if the atomic bombs had not been dropped. Instead of bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the United States of America could have settled the conflict in a different way other than violence and without causing destruction to the cities, such destructions to the cities causes the citizens to receive certain diseases when they had in contact with radiation, the use of the bombs when Japan had already

When the Atomic Bomb exploded over the city of Hiroshima, the people who experienced it were not expecting it to occur the way it did. We were given an insight of the lives of several characters on that fateful morning in August in 1945. Neighboring towns had all been bombarded by American B-29 raids, but so far Hiroshima had been spared and rumors spread that “something special” was in store for them. Every plane that flew overhead was a considered a threat and would set off the air raid warning, consequently that morning people even though the siren sounded earlier people were either going about their everyday routines or preparing for the worst. The people of Hiroshima were completely confused when the atomic bomb was dropped over their city because they were all expecting a warning of some kind, either from the U.S or the air-raid sirens but there was nothing heard before the bomb was dropped. Hersey describes it as a “noiseless flash,” which conjures the image of silence and a startlingly bright light as total buildings were decimated. With the dropping of the Atomic Bomb over Hiroshima, we ushered in a new age of

First of all, the dropping of the atomic bomb caused the Japanese to surrender and leading to the end of the war. For the reason that, after the first bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, yet Japan did not want to surrender. The Japanese empire surrender after that second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. According to Harrys S Truman’s Decision “One week later, on August 14, 1945, after the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered” . The results of the significant and brave decision that President Truman made; put a stop to many issues that may had occurred during the WWII. Nevertheless, the usage of the second atomic bomb made the Japanese realize that the United States had created a powerful weapon, and lead to their surrender. Second of all, the atomic bomb was the most proper manner in avoiding a Japanese invasion. The United States was mostly concern on an unexpected invasion or attack from Japan, such as the attack on Pearl Harbor. According to the article History, President Roosevelt commented “I believe I interpret the will of the congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.” Moreover, the unexpected attack on Pearl Harbor is a perfect example of the damages that they

Also throughout the article (Why Hiroshima could have been avoided), by it shows what the comments from Henry H. Arnold, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Air Forces, had commented on what he thought of the whole situation. Arnold stated, "The Japanese position was hopeless even before the first atomic bomb fell because the Japanese had lost control of their own air." and also when he remarked, “It always appeared to us, atomic bomb or no atomic bomb, the Japanese were already on the verge of collapse” (Freeman 1). Although, it can be arguable that Japan was strong and would not go down without a fight and it was just out of the question for them to show that they will surrender and that the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb in fact to as well save a million American lives (Freeman 1). Even though some may have the perspective of it this way, there is not real factual data on that vision, plus Japan was already at breakpoint because the Japanese were already short on many resources and were bound to give in eventually and could no longer last in the war. Some of these things consisted of food shortages but primarily oil (Weber 1).

Based on a detailed investigation, including the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders, it is the Strategic Bombing Survey's opinion that certainly before December 31, 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if the Soviet Union had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or prepared (Alperovitz. Pg. 81). Of course, President Truman had to make his choice based on information known to him at the time. No one knew how much longer the Japanese could continue their fight. Also American casualties were still averaging about 7,000 per week. Even after the atomic bombings some Americans were killed (Trueman, Chris. "The bombing of Hiroshima and

Hiroshima is an outstanding recreation of the complete annihilation and devastation of during the aftermath and the year following the United States’ dropping of the atomic bomb. As the war in the east carried on, many thought this desolated war might last a lifetime, all the while hoping for an end and praying it not mean their own end. To end the war, Americans had to pick a target that would leave the Japanese government with nowhere to retreat, allowing for a crippling effect that would essentially cause their collapse and surrender. In his writings, John Hersey proclaims that Hiroshima was a “… inviting target - mainly because it had been one of the most important military command and communications centres in Japan …” (HERSEY, P. 107). In the minds of American strategists, this must have seemed a flawless method to force the Japanese military into a corner, not allowing withdrawal without laying down of arms. There was surely no doubt that dropping this bomb of god-like destructive power would, at a minimum, tear into the souls of Japanese, causing catastrophic devastation.

Since April 1, 1945, the Japanese had fought with ferocity that mocked any notion that their will to resist was eroding. “As we understood it in July, there was a very strong possibility that the Japanese government might determine resistance to the end, in all the areas of the Far East under its control.” (Stimson 101). In July, the Japanese army was estimated to be about 5,000,000 men. The Allies would be faced with the task of destroying an army of five million men and suicide aircrafts, who were all ready to fight literally to the death. In an article in The Atlantic Monthly, Karl T. Compton, who was a scientist involved in the making of the bomb, stated that he was in a group of interrogators who were questioned a Japanese Army officer in Yokohama. When asked a question about surrendering, he stated, “We would have kept on fighting until all the Japanese were killed, but we would not have been defeated,” by which he meant they would not have been disgraced with surrendering. “A bulk of the Japanese people did not consider themselves beaten; in fact they believed they were winning in spite of the terrible punishment they had taken. They watched the paper balloons take off and float eastward in the wind, confident that these were carrying a terrible retribution to the United States in revenge for our air raids.” (Compton 55).

Some regard the atomic bomb as “the thank God for the atom bomb”. This places God on the U.S. side and regards the bombs as our saving grace. This bomb forced the Japanese to surrender which in turn proved the U.S. to be the heroes who saved the American’s lives.1 The Americans intended on ending the war but did not expect to end it with such a large number of casualties. The results of the atomic bomb and how it effected the Japanese people both emotionally and physically will be addressed. “The bombs marked both an end and a beginning—the end of an appalling global conflagration in which more than 50 million people were killed and the beginning of the nuclear arms race and a new world in which