75th Anniversary of the End of "The Good War"

                                      1945: Washington

The Winners On Winning

“Probably more persons lost their lives by fire at Tokyo in a 6-hour period than at any [equal time period] in the history of man.”

—U.S. War Department on the firebombings of Japan

“One of the most ruthless and barbaric killings of non-combatants in all history.”

—Brigadier General Bonner Fellers, a key aide to General MacArthur, commenting on the firebombings

“We scorched and boiled and baked to death more people in Tokyo on that night of March 9-10 than went up in vapor at Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.”

—Major General Curtis LeMay on the firebombings

“I suppose if I had lost the war, I would have been tried as a war criminal. Fortunately, we were on the winning side.”

—Curtis LeMay on WWII

"[T]he use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender. . . . [I]n being the first to use it, we . . . adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children."”

—Admiral William D. Leahy on the atomic bombings⁵⁹

 "Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts . . . it is the Survey's opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945, and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated." 
 ----Conclusion of U.S. War Dept's Strategic Bombing Survey

Sources:

Gar Alperovitz, "The Decision To Bomb Hiroshima, " Counterpunch, August 5, 2011

Stephen Shalom, "VJ Day:  Remembering The Pacific War," Z Magazine, July/August 1995

Michael Zezima, "Saving Private Power: The Hidden History of 'The Good War,'" (Soft Skull, 2000)