The Bomb That Rocked the World
On the tiny island of Tinian, the morning silence of August 6, 1945, was broken by the colossal roar of the engines of the B-29 Superfortress, the Enola Gay preparing for takeoff. Colonel Paul W. Tibbets prepared himself and his crew for the most historic flight of their lives. Neither Colonal Tibbets nor the rest of the men on board knew exactly to where they would be flying. What they did know was that the bomb they were about to deliver would change the world forever and quite possibly end World War II. As Tinian began to fade out of sight as the plane gained altitude, a radio transmission was made informing the crew of the designated target. They were to fly to Hiroshima, Japan, and drop the most devastating device the world had ever seen. As the plane leveled off above Hiroshima, the bomb bay doors opened and the bombardier released the first ever atomic bomb to be dropped for the purpose of total destruction. Minutes later thousands of Japanese were dead and Hiroshima, Japan, was nothing more than a pile of rubble. The bombing of Hiroshima was essential to show the world the supremacy of the United States armed forces; it was as justified as any other bombing throughout t
By developing and using the atomic bomb first, the United States was able to set a standard for itself as the greatest military power in the world. The Asian air war, climaxing with the atomic attacks, prevented an invasion of the main island that would have been inconceivably hellish. Gar Alperovitz said, "Their aim was political, not military; their target was not Japan but the Soviet Union"(qtd. The war ended, and the killing stopped. Harry Truman was responsible for saving the lives of the Americans who would have had to invade. The atomic bomb is no more inhumane than any other air attack made during the war. Intercepted Japanese Military messages revealed that the Japanese had about 10,000 planes, half of them kamikazes, to defend the home islands. In the years since Hiroshima and the second bombing in Nagasaki, nuclear weapons have not been used in warfare, and it is impossible that their first use helped deter a recurrence. Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain, had summarized the prevailing rationale, which was shared by President Harry Truman, who made the decision on dropping the bomb. Bombing Hiroshima with the atomic bomb was as legitimate as any other bombing made during the war. At the Potsdam conference, Truman resentfully felt that Stalin was pushing him around. Dropping the bomb accomplished the United States' political objectives with Russia; furthermore, the bombing of Hiroshima was the correct decision made by Truman and was as justified as any other bombing throughout the war. Only this way could a policy of intimidation of the Soviet Union be successful (17).
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Acceptance Essays
