It is simply astounding how my comment about myths is bearing fruit so quickly. See how powerful a myth can be? One after another, the myth of a million deaths in an invasion comes rolling out.
The U.S. military leaders from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to all but one of the 5-star Officers (who's job was to plan an invasion of the mainland for 1946) are on record saying that no invasion would have occured and the bombing had no effect on the outcome.
Japan was already asking to surrender before the Soviets declared war in August. The bombs were dropped just days before the Soviet planned declaration of war and planned invasion of Hokkaido - the northernmost island.
The emperor had already told the political and military leaders to stop the 'fight to the last man' nonsense, and he told the population the same - they must accept the hardships of occupation.
And they did. Many officers committed suicide, but there was no rebellion or insurrection against the occupation.
If the population was going to fight to the last man, they would have started on September 2nd in Tokyo harbor.
I had the remarkable experience about 10 years ago of spending time with a man who was on the deck of the U.S. Missouri as a young naval officer. A Japanese naval officer who acted as translator for the naval representative during the surrender ceremony.
He and others who I have spoken to who lived and survived through those times echo the sentiments of Harry Truman when he said that he pitied the naivete of the man who believed what he read in the newspapers as being the true reasons for decisions made by those in government.
The decisions to go to, and execute a war have always come from men who feel a superiority of ideology and an understanding of the naivete of people. They are able to tap into and stir the base human instinct of ethnocentrism.
We are better, we are stronger, our cause is more righteous, our beliefs are right, theirs are wrong, good against evil, our religion is the only true one, our God is better than their god, we as a 'people' are superior than 'them.'
Hitler, Napoleon, Mussolini, Tojo, Britain over the heathen Africans and Indians, the Dutch over their heathens, the French over their heathens, the Spanish over their heathens, the new Americans over the native American and Vietnamese heathens - the list goes on and on.
And most of the people will fall for it, die for it, kill for it, and never truly know 'why.'
I've beat the topic to death with this thread and I didn't even start it. I've said enough and wasted enough pixels in futlility. The myth will continue long after we are all dead and gone.
