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Joined: Nov 2017
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Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 324 Likes: 1 |
Operation Cornet and Olympic had the allies landing with 800K to 900K troops and equipment against over 700,000 Japanese who were dug in and had 7 months to get ready. Amphibious assault against well defended position it would have favored the defenders. IN 1945 American citizens were relieved that the war was over in Germany and the challenge was getting everyone to ramp for a war that would take 4 more years (remember we weren’t in the thick of the Europe theater for much more than two years.
Interview with Japanese officers had them saying that they had figured out the strategy and had time to get ready. The knew MacArthur would go island by island like an imperialist. They were afraid of a main island invasion of Tokyo but had figured out our plan.
The bombs worked and still work to this day as a deterrent unless some radical knotheads get ahold of one.
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Joined: Jan 2006
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,415 Likes: 9 |
A comparison of a mass attack by Jap troops or civilians might be found in the battle Rorke's Drift in So. Africa in 1876. 3 to 4,000 Zulu's armed with spears tried a mass attack on a British fort defended by about 150 soldiers with muzzle loaders. Discipline won the battle for the Brits. Even with flinters, they were able to hold off the attack by maintaining a steady rate of aimed fire directly into the faces of the attackers. You can imagine the fear experienced by the Brits but they held their ground and won. 1) They weren't flintlocks Muzzleloaders. They were Martini Henry rifles with brass cartridges. 2) In an invasion of Japan we would have taken the place of the Zulu. We would be attacking well defended positions. A well-defended position has about a 3 to 1 advantage over the attackers. Ok, I wasn't aware that they had 'modern' weapons at that time. Even at that, it took guts to stand there are reload with a forest of spears coming at you.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 4,661
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 4,661 |
It’s still early in the thread. I will wait for : “my grampie,dad, uncle Pete, etc helped with the surrender terms”
Cmon whoever, you can do it Ok, I'll go. When I was a little kid my Grandpa who was on the Sea Fox submarine in the Pacific told me that Macarthur asked to borrow his pen to sign the treaty!
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Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 344
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 344 |
I have a friend whose father was a marine in Pacific during WWll. Few years ago he went with his dad to reunion and tour battles he’d fought in. His dad finally broke down viewing Pelieu. He was devastated and heartbroken. He said “we fought and died to take it back only to have Japs return and buy it back with our money”. Not only true in Pacific but our entire west coast. Chinese are buying up or taking the whole damn country. Will we ever wake up?
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 19,495
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 19,495 |
On Jan 17, 1945 Chief of Staff Marshall and Admiral King sent a letter to the House Military Affairs Committe that 900,000 inductions were required by June 30th. JCS924 Operations Against Japan Subsequent to Formosa warned taking the Home Islands might cost us a half a million American lives and many times that number wounded. 1,531,000 Purple Hearts were produced for the war effort. In 2000, there remained 120,000 Purple Heart medals in stock. Read "Hell to Pay" by D. M. Giangreco. Thanks for recommending the book. It is a great read and really puts the kabosh on the revisionism.
Retired cat herder.
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 26,550 Likes: 3
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 26,550 Likes: 3 |
I have a friend whose father was a marine in Pacific during WWll. Few years ago he went with his dad to reunion and tour battles he’d fought in. His dad finally broke down viewing Pelieu. He was devastated and heartbroken. He said “we fought and died to take it back only to have Japs return and buy it back with our money”. Not only true in Pacific but our entire west coast. Chinese are buying up or taking the whole damn country. Will we ever wake up? I binge watched 'Pacific' this weekend, damn is about all I can say about any being there. Can never thank ANY who served enough!
FJB & FJT
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 9,920 Likes: 1
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 9,920 Likes: 1 |
My father was one of those troops waiting to invade. After the battle of manila he said he wished they dropped 100's of the a bombs on Japan on the first day
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,953
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,953 |
Less than 6.5 kilograms of plutonium 239 did all that damage. Anything 6.5 is unbelievably deadly and awesome at the same time.
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Joined: May 2016
Posts: 60,578 Likes: 26
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 60,578 Likes: 26 |
Less than 6.5 kilograms of plutonium 239 did all that damage. Anything 6.5 is unbelievably deadly and awesome at the same time. You jackwagon! Hahahahaha!
I am MAGA.
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,994
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,994 |
Less than 6.5 kilograms of plutonium 239 did all that damage. Anything 6.5 is unbelievably deadly and awesome at the same time. I see what you did there!
lightman
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,580
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2006
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Less than 6.5 kilograms of plutonium 239 did all that damage. Anything 6.5 is unbelievably deadly and awesome at the same time. 😂
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Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 1,130
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 1,130 |
Family friend was on Wake Island when it was captured. He was a civilian working for Morrison and Knutson.
Spent 4 years in a prison camp.
The cow is where you are, the bull is where you want to be.
No one gets something for nothing unless someone else got nothing for something.
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Joined: Feb 2007
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2007
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My dad was wounded on Okinawa. He was I believe in an army hospital when the bombs were dropped. Not sure if he would have eventually been part of an invasion, or not. He sure never had a good thing to say about Japs.
NRA Patron
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 15,885 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 15,885 Likes: 1 |
In the summer of '19, Union Parish honored it's WWII vets with a ceremony. Of the 19 living vets in the parish, 11 of them were able to attend. Each veteran was recognized, a short speech about where they served, and a short quote they said about their service was told at the ceremony. Dad's quote was, "If they hadn't dropped the bombs, I probably wouldn't be here today".
I've heard Dad say that deciding to drop the bombs was the only good decision Truman ever made.
Last edited by Oldman3; 03/02/21.
Old Turd- Deplorable- Unrepentant Murderer- Domestic Violent Extremist
Just "Campfire Riffraff and Trash"
This will be my last post! Flave 1/3/21
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Joined: May 2020
Posts: 2,644
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 2,644 |
My uncle was a P.O.W. of the Japanese....after reading and hearing about the treatment the POWs received I haven't felt a twinge of compassion for those who died under Fat Man and Little Boy. Nope, me either. My Great Uncle, Howard (Red) Roeder, and two of his team mates were KIA/MIA after their reconnaissance of Yap from the USS Burrfish!
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 17,830 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2010
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My Dad was a Tech Sergeant stationed at Los Alamos, he was in charge of a group of G.I.'s who drove tanker trucks hauling water to the base. At the end of his service he managed one of the base's assembly halls and movie theater.
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,010
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Those bombs killed a whole whole whole lot of Innocent people
Women, children, elderly people who did nothing wrong. And killed people from radiation induced cancer and illnesses for years after.
Those bombs though, saved more lives than could be imagined by helping to end the war. I read once that people stopped and looked at the devastation caused by those bombs, and began to realize how brutal war was. They took blinders off after that. I forget the exact number, but it was the largest loss of human life in less than 5 or 7 seconds I believe. Crazy isn’t it
What's crazy is your idea that innocents were killed in either attack. Every person in Japan was, by then, contributing to the failing war effort, and was prepared to die, fighting hand to hand to the last one. Innocent? You're a fool...
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 15,885 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2009
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Gonna change the subject just a little......
I knew several of the men in our community had served in WWII, but you never heard any of them talk about it. Not too long ago, I was talking to the widow of one of the men and found out the her husband and another man I knew, who lived in the community, had served together in the Pacific island hopping battles. This lady told me that her husband had said he wouldn't have been alive if it hadn't been for the other fellow. As they were fighting their way across these islands, the Japanese would have snipers in the trees. The lady told me that this other fellow killed quite of few of them, that her husband said the other fellow hunted them like squirrels.
My next door neighbor to the west was in Europe and he never mentioned the war, but one day an older friend said this neighbor was in some of the worse of the European campaigns. A few months ago, his nephew, now my neighbor, showed me a journal that his uncle had left. In it, was his thoughts about D-day and I suppose the rest of the war. It turns out my neighbor was in one of the first 2 or 3 boats that landed on the beach at Omaha. Everyone of his unit, except for himself, was killed on the beach. He listed some names, remarked that they were all gone, and wrote how scared and lonely he felt. At that point, I quit reading. I felt like I was prying into someone's private affairs, and I had no business doing it.
Last edited by Oldman3; 03/02/21. Reason: kant spel
Old Turd- Deplorable- Unrepentant Murderer- Domestic Violent Extremist
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 45,030 Likes: 26 |
Didnt kill enough of em. Wasnt the Nagasaki bomb off target somewhat and some of the effect was asorbed and deflected by surrounding terrian?
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Joined: Nov 2009
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Didnt kill enough of em. Wasnt the Nagasaki bomb off target somewhat and some of the effect was asorbed and deflected by surrounding terrian? IIRC, Nagasaki set in a bowl type terrain, thus a lot of the blast was directed upward. Everything in the bowl was gone, but outside the bowl there wasn't as much damage.
Old Turd- Deplorable- Unrepentant Murderer- Domestic Violent Extremist
Just "Campfire Riffraff and Trash"
This will be my last post! Flave 1/3/21
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