Hiroshema Essay Research Paper War is an

Hiroshema Essay, Research Paper

War is an ever changing, advancing type

of combat. From swords to guns, the weapons used are always developing

and becoming much more powerful. Nuclear bombs are one of the most

forceful weapons that exist today. On August 6, 1945, during World

War II, the United States dropped an Atomic bomb on Hiroshima, a Japanese

city and Military center. About 130,000 people were reported dead

injured, or missing. Another 177,000 were left homeless. It

was the first Atomic bomb ever used against an enemy. The effects

of this explosion were so devastating and long lasting that they are still

felt today. Was the United States justified in the dropping

of the atomic bomb?

On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was deliberately

attacked by the Japanese. Reports show that 2,400 people were killed and

1,300 were wounded. The reason Japan bombed, Pearl Harbor was because that

was where all of the U.S. Navy ships were kept. They were hoping to take

out the Navy and were almost successful. They expected the aircraft carriers

to be in the harbor, but luckily were not. Although the attack may have

been a success to the Japanese, it became a huge mistake in the end. One

reason it was a mistake was it caused the U.S. to enter the war. The United

States was the ultimate cause to Japan losing the war. Secondly it made

the Americans angry and determined to destroy the Japanese. Recruiting

offices were flooded with young patriots who wanted to help their country

out. This attack was just an example of what could have happened if the

war had continued. If the war had continued another attack on U.S. soil

could have taken place. This could have turned the 6,000 dead American

civilians into 9,000 dead civilians. That is one of the main reasons the

war needed to be stopped immediately.

The United States made the thought of the

Atomic bomb and the building of it possible. The power behind such

a weapon was just what the United States needed. Many scientists

manufactured and constructed the Atomic bomb, including Enrico Fermi, J.

Robert Oppenheimer, and Harold Urey. The group was headed by a United

States Army engineer, Major General Leslie Groves.

The United States came up with a list of

cities that could be possible targets for the detonation of the bomb.

The list included Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata, and Nagasaki. They

later decided that Hiroshima would be the first target. Then in the

early hours of August 6, 1945, the B-29 bomber Enola Gay, along with three

other B-29’s, headed out from Tinian Airbase to Hiroshima. They equipped

the Enola Gay with the A-bomb, a single 4-ton nuclear device with 12 pounds

of uranium. At 8:15 a.m. (Japanese standard time) the Enola Gay let

the Atomic bomb fall to the ground. The bomb exploded around 2000

feet above the ground. The explosion caused all wooden buildings

to collapse within a radius of 1.2 miles. The blast itself demolished

three fifths of the city within seconds. The United States scientists

estimated that only 20,000 Japanese would die, instead 75,000 people perished

instantly.

Three days after the bombing of Hiroshima

it was decided that another Japanese town must be hit with am A-bomb.

Three targets remained, the city of Kokura was the chosen target.

Because visibility was so poor, due to smoke and pollution they changed

the target to the city of Nagasaki. The smoke and pollution were

just as bad over Kokura, but through a gap in the smog the bombardier spotted

the target. They then released the 4.5 ton bomb, at 11:02 a.m., killing

30,000 people instantly. A day after the Nagasaki bombing the Japanese

government offered to surrender. This ended the first ever nuclear

war.

Yet, while the first atomic bomb was a

success, it raised many ethical and controversial issues. Most of

the people in the United States of America supported the use of the atomic

bomb, even President Truman commented on what a great invention it

was. Many people, including the scientists that developed the

bomb, opposed the bombings and felt that killing that many innocent people

just to get an influence in the war was immoral. One famous figure,

Albert Einstein was quoted saying, “I made one great mistake in my life,

when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that the atomic

bombs be made.”

The atomic bomb was considered a “quick”

and even economical way to win the war; however, it was a cruel and unusual

form of punishment for the Japanese citizens. The weapon that we refer

to as “quick” was just the opposite. On one hand, it meant a quick end

to the war for the United States, and on the other hand, a slow and

painful death to many innocent Japanese. The effects of radiation

poisoning are horrific, ranging from purple spots on the skin, hair loss,

nausea, vomiting, bleeding from the mouth, gums, and throat, weakened immune

systems, to massive internal hemorrhaging, not to mention the disfiguring

radiation burns. The effects of the radiation poisoning continued to show

up until about a month after the bombing. In fact the bomb also killed

or permanently damaged fetuses in the womb. Death and destruction come

hand in hand with war; however, a quick death is always more humane.