110000 Japanese Soldiers And 100000 Civilians example essay topic

The history over few centuries shows that the Japanese never gave up, that they always choose "death" than "surrender". These two articles which I was studying very carefully, shows two opposite opinions about the necessity of using the atomic bomb to the end of World War II. Gar Alperowitz, in his article, "Hiroshima Remembered: The U.S. was Wrong", the evidence to prove that America didn't need to use atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the war. Contrary to this article John Connor in his article "Hiroshima Remembered: The U.S. was Right" is trying to prove and convince reader that using atomic bomb on Hiroshima was necessary to end the war and it saved tremendous amount of American and Japanese lives. John Connor is using very emotional and very graphic language in his article. He called Japanese the "militarists" who are implacable, relentless enemies for "whom surrender was worse than death!" Their resistance was "savage" to the end in each battle they participate.

As a proof of this, he mentioned the battle in Tarawa in 1943 where only 17 soldiers remain alive out of 5,000 soldiers "when the island was taken". Another example is the battle in Saipan where only one thousand soldiers of 32,000 defending Japanese survived; 10,000 civilians were killed, among them a lot of children. Japanese "bashed their babies' brains out of rocky cliff sides... children threw grenades at each other". 17,000 Americans loose life in this battle. Another example is Okinawa where 110,000 Japanese soldiers and 100,000 civilians died. "Kamikaze alone cost American Navy 10,000 lives, and Army and Marine casualties were more than 50,000 soldiers.

He is mentioning the fact that in 1945 American intelligence intercepts a message about Japanese desire for piece but this was "irrelevant because the Japanese government remained in the hands of militarists: Their message indicated a willingness to fight to the death". Japanese gathered 5,000 aircraft as suicide weapons. They willingness to die was not only empty word. He mentioned that several of his colleagues at Kyushu University told him that "as boys of 14 and 15, they were being trained to meet Americans on the beaches with little more than sharpened bamboo spears". How determined the militarists were shows the fact that after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on August 10, when they debated about capitulation the militarist still insist that "Japan should hold out for terms for better than unconditional surrender".

The language Alperowitz is using in his article is very sterile. He is presenting historical documents, the official records to prove that bomb were dropped for diplomatic purpose, not to end the war. He quotes President Truman's secret diaries about intercepted message that Japanese "open surrender negotiations through Moscow". He refers also to other documents, including "memorandum from William J. Donovan" which shows that "Mr. Truman was personally advised of Japanese peace initiatives". He also refers to other official records, including minutes of the top level White House planning meetings. This record showed that President was clearly advised of the importance of Soviet declaration of war.

He is quoting General George Marshall who told Truman that if Russia attacks Japan, the Japanese will surrender. He also quotes General Eisenhower and William Leahy, President over the Joint Chief of Staff, who both stated that using of atomic bomb was not necessary because Japan was "already defeated and ready for surrender". Looking from the point of view of authority John Connor is presenting the first hand information because he was "attached to General MacArthur's headquarters in Tokyo in 1949 and 1950. He was able to learn Japanese mentality and Japanese willingness to die from his colleagues at Kyushu University. Alperowitz, in his article, is presenting gathered information, from different sources. In both articles authors are presenting facts, some are the same, and some are different.

They also present their opinions that are completely opposite. However, Mr. Connor because of his first hand information makes me believe that he was right that atomic bomb was needed, even if it was that horrible for thousand of Japanese civilians, but it also saved thousands, or maybe millions of American and Japanese lives.