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Thunderbolt NEWS Aug. 7, 2015
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This week in history

Aug. 6, 1945: Hiroshima, Japan

Seventy years ago yesterday, President Harry S. Truman the U.S. had 82,000 casualties. More than 110,000 Japanese U.S. Army photo
RUGHUHGWKHÀUVWXVHRIWKHDWRPLFERPE+HZDQWHGWRHQG military died. The U.S. captured another 7,400. Additionally,
World War II as soon as possible. there were more than 142,000 Okinawan civilian casualties. A giant mushroom cloud hovers over Hiroshima, Ja-
pan, Aug. 6, 1945, after an atomic bomb was dropped
At 8:15 a.m. on that day, Col. Paul Tibbets and the Enola 'XHWR-DSDQ·VÀHUFHGHIHQVHRI2NLQDZDDOOLHGSODQQHUV IRUWKH¿UVWWLPHHYHU
*D\ FUHZ GURSSHG WKH XUDQLXPÀOOHG /LWWOH %R\ RQ +LUR- expected they would defend their four home islands just as
shima, Japan. ÀHUFHO\.\XVKXZDVWKHVRXWKHUQPRVWLVODQG0LOOLRQVRI people died, approximately half that day. Very few people
people lived on the 13,700 square-mile island. The Allies set knew that the third atomic bomb would not be ready for ten
Earlier that year, the allies invaded two islands and November 1945 as the Kyushu invasion date. days. Also on that day, the Soviets broke the Neutrality Pact
ÀUHERPEHG -DSDQHVH FLWLHV 6WLOO WKH -DSDQHVH DSSHDUHG with Japan and entered the war.
fanatically resistant. Estimates showed the invasion of the home islands would
take a year. Allied casualty estimates varied wildly. Most Six days later, Emperor Hirohito’s recorded voice broad-
In February, U.S. Marines invaded the island of Iwo Jima expected at least 500,000 allied casualties, some doubled FDVWRQ-DSDQHVHUDGLRIRUWKHÀUVWWLPH+HDQQRXQFHGKLV
defended by 22,000 Japanese. Iwo Jima was a previously that number. Japanese society was highly militarized and country’s surrender.
XQLQKDELWHGLVODQGRIHLJKWVTXDUHPLOHV,QÀYHZHHNVWKH some Japanese expected up to 20 million Japanese deaths
U.S. lost 26,000 men. About one-quarter of them died. More from a full invasion of the homelands. Courtesy of Rick Griset,
than 18,800 Japanese died. Only 216 surrendered during WK)LJKWHU:LQJ+LVWRU\2I¿FH
the battle. Planners chose Hiroshima because the allies had not
bombed it, and it had military targets. Hiroshima would
To weaken Japan’s resolve, Maj. Gen. Curtis LeMay or- show clearly the full impact of the atomic bomb.
GHUHGODUJHÀUHERPEPLVVLRQVDJDLQVW-DSDQHVHFLWLHV2Q
the night of March 9, the raid on Tokyo, the Japanese capital, )LIW\ VHFRQGV DIWHU UHOHDVH /LWWOH %R\ H[SORGHG DERXW
was the single most destructive bombing raid in history. Only 2,000 feet above the ground. Approximately 150,000 died
RI%VUHDFKHGWKHWDUJHWDUHD7KHLUREMHFWLYHZDV from that atomic bomb. About half died that day. The other
to deliver at least 8,333 500-pound incendiary cluster bombs half died over the next year from burns, radiation sickness
ÀOOHGZLWKMHOOLHGJDVROLQHSHUVTXDUHPLOH7KH\GHVWUR\HG and other injuries.
one-quarter of the city and killed 83,000 people.
The Japanese did not surrender. Three days later, the
7KH%DWWOHIRU2NLQDZDODVWHGGD\V7KHÀJKWIRUWKH 509th Composite Group dropped its second atomic bomb,
VTXDUHPLOHLVODQGHQGHGLQODWH-XQH%\WKHHQG WKH SOXWRQLXPÀOOHG )DW 0DQ RQ 1DJDVDNL $ERXW

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