Atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945
Eighty years ago this week, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the deadliest war in human history. For decades since, some have revisited that decision with regret, offering calls for apology and handwringing about American power. What few have offered, however, is a sober reckoning with the full truth: those bombs saved lives. And perhaps even more remarkably, they were never used again.
The Manhattan Project, the effort to build the bomb, remains one of the most extraordinary achievements of science, strategy, and logistics the world has ever seen. In less than four years, American engineers, physicists, and military planners, many of them immigrants fleeing totalitarian regimes, developed a weapon that could end a war in seconds. They did so in secrecy, racing not against Japan, but against Nazi Germany, which had been pursuing the same technology.
By mid-1945, Germany had fallen. But Japan, despite having lost nearly all its Pacific holdings, refused to surrender. Their fanatical military leaders demanded death before dishonor. Civilians were being trained with bamboo spears. Kamikaze pilots still crashed into American ships.
The Japanese home islands, if invaded, promised to become a blood-soaked graveyard. General Douglas MacArthur’s staff projected about 105,000 U.S. casualties in the first 90 days of Operation Olympic, the planned invasion of Kyushu in southern Japan. One figure often cited in internal discussions was 500,000 to 1,000,000 American dead and wounded to secure the entire country – along with untold millions of civilian deaths from fighting and mass ritual suicide.
This harrowing possibility was the future President Harry S. Truman faced. So, he made the most agonizing, yet morally sound, decision available: he dropped the bomb.
Hiroshima was destroyed on August 6. Nagasaki followed on August 9. Japan surrendered days later. The war was over.
Critics insist that Japan was already beaten or that an offshore demonstration might have sufficed. But that analysis fails to account for the full gravity of the situation. Japan didn’t surrender after Hiroshima. It didn’t surrender after the firebombing of Tokyo. It surrendered only after the second bomb and the quiet intervention of Emperor Hirohito, who broke with his war council and accepted unconditional surrender. Only the destructive power of the bombs could break through to the Japanese leadership.
In the end, an estimated 210,000 Japanese died from the initial atomic blasts and subsequent radiation sickness. As horrific as that tally was, it pales in comparison to what a conventional ground war on the home islands would have cost.
Second Lieutenant Paul Fussell was just 21 when he received orders while in Europe to prepare to join the first wave to invade Japan. When he heard the bomb had been dropped and the invasion was canceled, he wept with joy. “We were going to live. We were going to grow to adulthood after all. The killing was all going to be over, and peace was actually going to be the state of things,” he recalled.
His tears weren’t unique. They were shared by thousands of American boys who were spared machine-gun fire and mass suicide charges on Japanese beaches.
And yet, the significance of the bomb goes far beyond 1945. For 80 years since, no nuclear weapon has been used in war. Not once. Despite decades of Cold War brinkmanship, regional conflicts, proxy wars, and provocations, the United States—the only nation ever to use such weapons—has shown extraordinary restraint.
This is not how empires behave. Historically, great powers use great weapons. Rome used its legions. Britain, its navy. The Soviets crushed uprisings with tanks. But America? We built the most fearsome arsenal in history, and we put it in a lockbox. That speaks volumes about who we are.
The American people don’t seek conquest. We don’t glorify destruction. We value peace, not pacifism; strength, not savagery. The same nation that created the bomb also chose not to use it again despite provocation, despite opportunity, and despite military superiority. That’s not cowardice. That’s character.
Too often, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are miscast as monuments to American guilt. In truth, they are monuments to American resolve. They remind us of what it takes to win a war and what real moral leadership looks like. Modern Japan stands today as a testament to both destruction and resilience. Its skyline is full of life. Its streets are safe and orderly. Its people, once taught to hate Americans, are now among our closest allies. Japan’s transformation from a militaristic empire to a peaceful, prosperous democracy further demonstrates that dropping those two bombs was the correct decision, even if it was a horrific one.
That’s a legacy worth solemn commemoration. The bomb is not something to celebrate, but the peace it secured, and the restraint we’ve shown since, is something to admire. It reflects a national character rooted in strength, responsibility, and the conviction that American power should serve a higher purpose.
That character is not just a relic of the past. It’s the foundation we must draw from to confront the rising threats of today. China’s aggression, Russia’s revanchism, and Iran’s nuclear ambitions demand more than diplomacy and wishful thinking. They require the same resolve and clarity that brought World War II to a close. President Donald Trump recently exemplified that kind of leadership in striking at the heart of Iran’s nuclear program to destroy a looming threat to peace. Trump reminded the world that America will use its arsenal to stop greater bloodshed if necessary.
It will take courage and character again to stand tall as we face future challenges. So today, remember a world in flames before August 1945. And thank God it was America that first built the greatest superweapon in human history – and that we have had the restraint to only deploy it in the most dire of circumstances.
W.J. Lee has served in the White House, NASA, on multiple political campaigns, and in nearly all levels of government. In his free time, he enjoys the “three R’s” – reading, running, and writing.
Since the late 40’s : We were told the world would all blow up because of this.
But the ignition keeps being restrained!
““And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.”
Matthew 27:51
Those who know by 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 that the “lawlessness” of total destruction cannot make its presence known on the world stage until the Lord removes His restraining force, which is the presence of the Holy Spirit in true believers.
The failure of the nations to agree is just another indicator of the Lord’s current restraint on world events.
Even though we see wickedness and lawlessness expanding exponentially around us, He alone currently restricting the full formation of the coming world order over by which “the destroyers of worlds” will assume control.
My father was captured just off Hawaii by the japanese. He first was taken to the philipines where he survived malaria and the Batan death march. He was eventually shipped to japan where he endured horrendous conditions. The japanese were putting the pows he was with in caves then setting them on fire. The moment the group dad was with was to be burned alive the bomb was dropped and this saved them. Hard for me to have any empathy for those soldiers, their cruelty saw no boundaries. Dad went on to be a father of 7 and give us kids a good life.
Great article! One can almost guarantee that if the United States had not already developed the A-bomb and Germany developed it first the whole world would today be speaking german and NAZIs would rule everywhere as it is very doubtful they would have any moral decency to restrain from its continued use.
My father was a paratrooper on Okinawa with the 1st Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment awaiting orders to invade Japan when those bombs were dropped. Sad as it may sound, if that invasion would have happened, I most likely wouldn’t have had the life I have enjoyed for the last 73 years. Thankfully, instead of an invasion, my father was deployed in the occupation of Japan and returned safely home following that deployment.
The ignorantly arrogant pacifists (past, present and future) will never understand why we used the A-bombs, and they will go to their graves blaming and hating America because of it. Typical arrogant and clueless left-wing mentality.
Praise for your excellent writing with this article W.J.Lee – the use of the atomic bomb will no doubt always be controversial with some people – it was not a choice that presented a clear course to follow in 1945 and that is what people are faced with sometimes. All of the. ” IFS ” can be added up and there will be different opinions . Decisions made under circumstances that required respect for the lives of everyone who was trying to bring victory of good over evil must have been one of the main considerations then .As you wrote “… the peace it secured and the restraint we’ve shown since is something to admire. It reflects a national character rooted in strength, responsibility and the conviction that American power should serve a higher purpose.” This event in history is important in many ways, on different levels and this article is a great reference for understanding what it was all about.
Those bombs were not dropped out of the blue, only after the attempt to reason fell, It destroyed thousands en masse, that is the reason for gasp of horror. Were they allowed to die slowly over the years in Soviet gulags and Mao’s reeducatoinal camps all would be well with the leftists, what’s a few hundred millions, bomb comes handy, every so often it’s brushed off and used as an example of American aggression and militarism, it’s only because of America that there is some semblance of peace around the world.
Important comment Paula – it is important to keep in mind the crimes committed by the Japanese during the war . I had an uncle who was in the Army in the invasion of the Philippines in 1944 ,he was not captured, not a POW , but was severely wounded . during the war.My dad was injured during basic training in 1942 and was given a medical discharge , he was not overseas. Remembering the experience of people like your dad is important whenever the issue of the use of the atomic bomb use is the topic of discussion.
The explosion at Chernobyl in 1986, as Russian engineers were attempting to weaponize uranium released as much as six Hiroshimas full of radiation. The resulting fallout is still in the soil and the river beds. If you believe the lowball cancer and death statistics from the WHO and various governments, I’ve got a new vaccine to sell you.
The German’s were not the only enemy working on the Atomic Bomb. Japan was too and had a base in Korea working to develop it. They would have too if their base was not “compromised” by the Allies efforts. I strongly recommend the book “Japan’s Secret War: Japan’s Race against Time To Build Its Own Atomic Bomb” by Robert K. Wilcox, particularly the updated version. This dispels yet another narrative beloved by the Left!
Football icon Woody Hayes, a staunch republican, was asked to eulogize Harry Truman. Woody delivered a heartfelt speech. Asked later about apparent contradiction he explained that he and his shipmates didn’t expect to survive the invasion of japan. Woody, like hundreds of thousands of servicemen assumed the war would drag on and consume their lives. The saying was ‘golden gate in 48’. Trumans moral clarity saved uncountable lives and enabled the fifties baby boom and economic expansion.
They were going to ship troops from the German Front to the Japan Front for the landing on Japan. That is one of the reasons that they decided to drop them, because they knew that there would be a mutiny, as croups just wanted to go home as they had fought and won their battle. God bless Harry Truman and the rest of them for doing this,. as it had to be done for we would have lost thousands of men.
Seed for WW3: Ez 38/39 OT Bible prophesy Gog Magog War