My father was a Marine and crossed the Pacific one island at a time. Out of the 20 plus Marines who enlisted with him only he and two others made it through the war. Had Truman not had the balls to drop the bomb I doubt very much any of them would have made it. Speaking as a long in the future gleam in his eye at the time it happened I a very happy they dropped the bomb.
What few seem to understand that the need for complete and total surrender changed Japan for the good. They were humbled, lost face and humiliated. It destroyed the military and made them not seek a second war like the Germans did after WWI. Make no mistake about it if the military had been allowed to surrender with honor they would have been back for a second go around by now.
The war was about economics to them not anything else. They were willing to concur what they needed and were fine if they had to enslave all of the far east to get what they needed. How many Chinese, Koreans, Vietmanese, and other Asians did they kill? A hundred times as many as they did Americans. This was a war of greed not freedom and thank God we won it. Because if we did not they might be a stronger nation but they freedom over a third of the would would have been lost for ever. Two bomb saved millions.
