Baltimore?s Pledge of Resistance Wednesday commemorated the anniversaries of the two atomic bombings of Hiroshima (Aug. 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (Aug. 9, 1945), as it has for the last 22 years.
Among the participants were survivors of the Nagasaki blast, who attested to the horrors experienced.
They serve as an important reminder of how the innocent always pay the penalty in war.
The tensions in the Middle East and North Korea, as well as the distinct possibility of a nuclear attack on our own soil underscore the terrifying legacy bequeathed by those who brought warfare to its deadliest level.
But the horror of the blasts must not overshadow the reasons why the U.S. government chose to drop the bombs ? some of which have been obscured by time and propaganda.
Let?s look at some of the reasons:
Perhaps the main reason the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima was that we were millions of lives and several years into a global war, instigated in part by the Japanese. They were the aggressors.
By Aug. 6, fellow Axis powers, Germany and Italy, had long since surrendered.
The Japanese High Command, however, refused to surrender, dragging death and destruction in its diabolical wake.
Members advised their people to commit suicide, rather than surrender.
They sent their kamikazes (not all of whom were willing) to certain death after a special ceremony and kudos from their supposedly divine Emperor.
Blinded by nationalism and pride, they intended to fight to the bitter end.
The Japanese still held onto some hope, including the pending arrival of U-234 from Germany.
This special U-boat departed German waters in March 1945 holding a top secret cargo ? uranium and heavy water for the Japanese atomic weapons project.
Also on board were key personnel and technology to help the Japanese Empire launch an atomic bomb on San Francisco by a target date of Aug. 17, 1945.
After Germany?s surrender on May 9, German Admiral Karl Doenitz ordered all submarines to surrender.
The commanding officer, Klt. Johann Heinrich Fehler, ironically nicknamed “Dynamite,” opted to surrender to the Americans.
The Japanese passengers aboard immediately committed suicide and were buried at sea.
The ship surrendered to the U.S.S. Sutton on May 14, with an assist by Coast Guard Cutter Forsyth.
It arrived in Portsmouth, N.H., several days later. Some of the passengers went to work for our government.
And many historians believe the government used the uranium for our atomic weapons program.
At first the Japanese High Command could not believe that its precious cargo would not arrive in time for the attack date of August 17.
U-234 crew members believed that there was enough uranium for two atomic bombs ? destined to destroy two American cities and untold American lives.
It is certain that had the Japanese possessed a bomb, that they would have used it on us.
At the time of the seizure of the U-234, we did not know if another U-boat carrying a similar load had successfully made the trip to Japan.
We did not know how much time we had, but we knew it was not long.
I, for one, am grateful that if such a ferocious weapon by necessity was unleashed, that it was upon the country that was the aggressor, not ours.
I am grateful that it spared many American lives ? both of our troops in the Pacific,as well as our innocent civilians on the West Coast. War is hell, but it is not an altogether unexpected one for the aggressor.
Brooke Gunning is the author of several regional best-sellers, including “Maryland Thoroughbred Racing,” “Baltimore?s Halcyon Days” and “Towson and the Villages of Ruxton and Lutherville.” She currently is at work on her next book.
