President Truman Drops Atomic Bombs
Japan Left in Ruin
Warning of Imminent Destruction
President Truman warned Japan of future destruction, if they did not immediately surrender. Truman made this difficult decision because he did not want his soldiers to endure an even more difficult battle than those of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Even though the United States won those battles, the Japanese army was still very strong. Truman knew the U.S. would suffer too many casualties if they invaded Japanese mainland, so he decided to drop the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, President Truman ordered a B-29 Bomber to drop an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, an important military center. This B-29 Bomber was named Enola Gay and it dropped an atomic bomb that was equal to 15,000 tons of TNT! The atomic bomb was code-named "Little Boy". This bomb destroyed buildings, citizens, and land within 45 seconds. "Little Boy" was so powerful that upon dropping the bomb, people were nearly immediately turned to dust.
President Truman warned Japan of this destruction if they did not surrender. Japan chose not to surrender so they had to suffer the destruction of "Little Boy" and "Fat Man".
Nagasaki
Three days later, on August 9, 1945 President Truman made the decision to drop the second atomic bomb, code-named "Fat Man" over Nagasaki. Again, total destruction took place and hundreds of thousands of people died or were poisoned with radiation, which would later give them cancer.
Atomic Bomb
This is a picture of "Little Boy", the bomb that was dropped over Hiroshima.
B-29 Bomber and Mushroom Cloud
This is a picture of the B-29 Bomber dropping the atomic bomb over Hiroshima or Nagasaki. The mushroom cloud in the back shows the size of the explosion.
Destruction in Hiroshima
The remaining rubble of a movie theater in Hiroshima, after "Little Boy" was dropped.
Outcome
Emperor Hirohito was horrified by the destruction the bombs caused. "I cannot bear to see my innocent people suffer any longer." (Hirohito, 1945). Hirohito called for an immediate surrender to the United States. Finally the war in the Pacific was over and the soldiers could return home to their families.