The Effects Of The Bombing Of Hiroshima

Eamon Barkhordarian

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Villalobos World History 3/8/09

It was a beautiful morning on August 6, 1945 in a highly populated Japanese city. It was just after 8 AM and people were beginning to rise from their beds, fill up the streets, and go to work like any other day. At 8:15, the people on the street all stopped to look up at a plane in the sky. The plane was followed by a black speck falling toward the ground. In that instant a dark mushroom cloud rose to the sky and within seconds the shockwave followed that expanded to the perimeters of the city destroying everything in its path. Buildings collapsed and people that were lucky enough to survive were scarred for life. “Within minutes 9 out of 10 people half a mile or less from ground zero were dead” (Gosling, 1999). The black pellet was actually the first atomic bomb ever used as a weapon in war and was codenamed “Little Boy,” and the Japanese city was Hiroshima. In this incident, around 70,000 people were instantly killed in the zone of impact, and an additional 150,000 deaths followed in the years due to the effects of radiation. The controversy surrounding the use of Little Boy has brought up a lot of heated debate on whether or not it was the appropriate decision by President Truman. The bombing of Hiroshima was a horrible act for it brought about many severe health effects on the targeted community in Japan, but at the same time the attack was beneficial because it saved countless American lives and billions of dollars by quickly ending WWII. This controversy brings about a lot of important questions, with “Was the bombing of Hiroshima really necessary?” as being one of the most common. A lot of patriots in the United States might have been proud to use Little Boy on Hiroshima because it saved a lot of American soldier’s lives, soldiers whose mothers were waiting for them at home, praying every night that their son or daughter was safe and would eventually come home. Also, many believed that the bomb was effective in forcing Japan to surrender, which quickly brought the war to a close. As a

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result, the bomb prevented the further deaths and casualties America would have otherwise faced. Many important reasons weighed on President Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The United States had learned the hard way that Japan was not going to surrender the war easily. Before bombing Hiroshima with Little Boy, the allied forces demanded for an absolute surrender from Japan, which was outright rejected. Thus, America should not have been blamed for their attack because they had spelled out the consequences of rejection prior to the bombing. America also knew of Japan’s perseverance from previous battles involving the country during the course of the war. One important example was during the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the bloodiest battles in WWII. In the battle, the United States was fighting over the control of the Japanese pacific island, and it was not easy. “The Japanese defense was ferocious-their military code viewed surrender as a disgrace, and their commanders told them the Americans would kill them if they gave up” (Frank, 2004). Although Americans were victorious in The Battle of Iwo Jima, the victory came at a high cost, resulted in 26,000 injuries and 6,800 deaths on the American side. Another factor that contributed to President Truman’s decision, as reported by some recently declassified documents, was that if America was to invade Japan using a full force ground assault, estimated deaths would exceed over one million American troops. This fact baffled President Truman, for he knew that he could not make a decision that could resolve in the deaths of so many American soldiers. Reports indicated that prior to the bombing of Hiroshima, the number of American deaths ran around 400,000. There was no way Truman would risk more than twice as many lives that had been already lost in the course of the entire war for a single battle that did not even guarantee Japan’s surrender. To the President, too many lives were at stake given the report, and by deciding for the use of the nuclear bomb, he believed he was picking “the better of the two evils.” Another reason that led to his decision was the fact that the Manhattan project had cost over two billion dollars. The Manhattan Project was the nuclear

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project that led to the successful construction and detonation of the first atomic bombs. With the project having such a high development cost, it was something the United States had to use. Opponents to the decision say that there were alternatives to the bombing, with one being a demonstration of the nuclear bomb. President Truman was well aware of that, saying that a demonstration was a possibility to display to the Japanese government, but there was no guarantee of surrender on the Japanese side even if the demonstration was a success. The price of creating a nuclear bomb was too high for it just to be demonstrated and for the Unites States not to be guaranteed surrender from Japan. As a result, the bombing of Hiroshima benefited the United States in a number of ways that eventually led America to victory in WWII. On the other side of the argument, many wonder if it was an ethical decision that the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese citizens should have been taken away so that Americans could retain their sense of freedom and security. The bombing of Hiroshima not only took Japan by surprise, but America as well. Many scientists that had participated in the Manhattan Project failed to see the short and long term effects of radiation sickness, since Little Boy was the first (and only) nuclear bomb ever used in war. Once the bomb had hit, a huge explosion erupted over the center of the town, destroying close to everything in the city. Almost all the buildings up to a mile from ground zero had been completely destroyed. Also, more than two-thirds of all the buildings in the entire city had been destroyed following the blast. Apart from those closest to the epicenter that were instantly incinerated, those slightly farther developed third degree burns at the minimum. Soon, hospitals were filled with thousands of patients waiting to be taken care of. Unfortunately, the medical services in the city were also affected by the nuclear bomb that had so recently hit. Ninety percent of the doctors in the city of Hiroshima died of radiation, while 80%-93% of the pharmacist and nurse population was considered as casualties. “Eighteen emergency hospitals and 32 first-aid clinics were also

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destroyed, and most of the workers needed to restore these health facilities were killed or injured as well” (Atomic Bomb Museum, 2006). Some short term symptoms to the bombing were: vomiting, diarrhea, and anemia, where the amount of red blood cells in a human decreased. Many people noticed a loss of hair two months following the explosion. For the late effects of radiation exposure, diabetes and somatic mutation occurred in the victim population. Although some victims of the explosion experienced non-penetrating radiation, those that developed internal defects had been exposed to some form of penetrating radiation. Penetrating radiation damages the victim once the rays enter the body and deposit radioactive energy into the tissues. Once enough radioactive energy is taken in, the victim’s cells become damaged or destroyed. An excess amount of penetrating radiation can lead to a number of different deficiencies. Not only did the cancer rate increase in general and more people developed leukemia, but cases of mental retardation sprang about in many victims because of penetrating radiation effects. Cancer of many different human organs including breast, stomach, and liver took thousands of lives. Most importantly, birth defects would arise from exposure to radiation that would persist for generations to come in the Japanese population. These are just some of the negative health effects brought about by the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Aside from the negative health effects, there have also been arguments on how the United States did not have enough of an excuse to use Little Boy. Although many say that Japan was never going to give up unless forced to do so with the use of something as powerful as a nuclear bomb, others say Japan was basically on its knees prior to the bombing of Hiroshima. Over 60 Japanese cities had already been left in ruins due to fire bombings while the country suffered tremendous losses of over 2,500,000 deaths in total. The number of deaths on the Japanese side heavily outnumbered those on the American side more than 6:1. Another negative to the bombing of Hiroshima was that civilians outnumbered Japanese troops in Hiroshima 6:1 as

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well. The bombing resulted in the deaths of many Japanese troops, but many more deaths of innocent civilians that did not deserve to die. Finally, President Truman’s decision seemed to argue that money was more important than lives. The notion that the President had to use the atomic bomb just because it was too expensive to waste was a weak excuse for some. The atomic explosion on Hiroshima was the source of severe health effects that would increase within the city for years to come. On August 6, 1945, the world was taken by surprise when America’s Little Boy exploded over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Terror struck the city as buildings were blown apart and thousands of bodies incinerated. Radiation swept through the city, as those that were fortunate enough to survive suffered radiation sickness for their remaining days. On this day, America had just unleashed the most powerful weapon of mass destruction ever created by man, and when exploded, was equivalent to a fifteen kiloton TNT explosion. Records indicate that around 200,000 lives were lost following the explosion of Little Boy. At the same time, many people failed to foresee why President Truman made his, in some eyes, heroic decision to drop the bomb. President Truman’s main goal was to maintain American security and freedom, and the only way to preserve those rights was to win the war. Many people supported Truman’s decision, for he did what was necessary by protecting the country and defending the people’s freedom. One cannot imagine what the world would be like today if the United States had not won the war. In the end, President Truman’s decision was based on strategic and political reasons. For the strategic reason, President Truman bombed Hiroshima because his method would bring a quick victory to the United States and save countless American lives by doing so. In the course of six years, America had taken a death toll of 400,000 American troops and a sum of over a million casualties. President Truman knew too many lives were at stake if he continued the war, and by bombing Hiroshima, he saved many American lives in a patriotic decision. On the political side

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of the decision, America wanted to end the worldwide battle because the war was using an enormous amount of America’s resources. Although many people supported Truman’s decision and are proud that their country had won the war, the group against the decision believed the bombing was a horrible mistake. In summary, the decision that lead to the bombing of Hiroshima is clearly not a one sided debate, and its arguments will continue for years to come.

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Bibliography Destructive Effects. 2006. Atomic Bomb Museum. 10 March 2009. Hiroshima and the Atomic Bomb. Online Highways. 10 March 2009. Radiation Sickness. 15 March 2008. Dreddy Clinic. 14 March 2009. Dietrich, Bill. “Pro and Con on Dropping the Bomb.” The Seattle Times. 1995. 10 March 2009. Frank, Al. “Iwo Jima: 'You never forget it.'” The Star Ledger. Published 15 February 2004. Retrieved 7 March 2009. Gosling, F.G. The Manhattan Project: Making the Atomic Bomb. Washington: History Division, 1999. Groves, Leslie. Now It Can Be Told. New York: Harper & Row. 1962. Kataoka, Katsuku. The Effects of the Atomic Bombing in Hiroshima. United Nations Institute for Training and Research. 10 March 2009. Nissani, Moti. Lives in the Balance: The Cold War and American Politics, 1945-1991. Hollowbrook Communications, 1992. ushistory.org. “The Decision to Drop the Bomb.” U.S History Online Textbook. 51(2008): 243245