Member of Enola Gay Crew Never Regretted Dropping Bomb on Hiroshima

[rangerrebew]

 Member of Enola Gay Crew Never Regretted Dropping Bomb on Hiroshima
Posted By Morgan Chalfant On May 24, 2016 @ 4:47 pm In National Security | No Comments

Maj. Thomas Ferebee, a decorated crew member of B-29 bomber the Enola Gay that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, does not regret carrying out the bombing in order to save American lives, his nephew wrote.

James Martin, a Marine Corps veteran, wrote of his uncle in an op-ed for USA Today published three days before Barack Obama will become the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima:

    As the bombardier, peering through his Norden bombsight, he was the last man to see Hiroshima in any detail before it was leveled, making his perspectives on the event somewhat unique. He always said he never tossed and turned at night over his role in the mission. While he is distinguished in his hometown of Mocksville, N.C., he was occasionally accused, in later years, of having blood on his hands. He was always calm and confident in answering critics. He never second-guessed [President] Truman’s decision and took pride in knowing the critical job he performed in bringing the war to an end. … Tragic as the bombing of Hiroshima was, it was also necessary. The alternative to Hiroshima would have been one of the bloodiest, if not the bloodiest, slaughter in human history.

Had the bombs not been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to bring an expedient end to World War II, Martin noted, America would have been forced to invade Japan, which would have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of American service members.

“The Joint Chiefs of Staff estimated as many as 134,556 dead and missing Americans. A study for the office of War Secretary Henry Stimson put the figure at 400,000 to 800,000 dead GIs, with Japanese fatalities reckoned between five and 10 million military personnel and civilians,” Martin wrote. “In addition to combat casualties, the more than 27,000 American POWs held by Japan were subject to immediate execution should the United States invade.”

Martin echoed sentiments recently expressed by a number of veterans to the Washington Free Beacon. Several veterans, including those from World War II, stressed that the bombing of Hiroshima was necessary to save both American and Japanese lives. Like Martin, the veterans emphasized that there is no need for Obama to apologize for Hiroshima.

Obama will visit Hiroshima on Friday, May 27, in an effort to push for a world without nuclear weapons. He is expected to reflect on what took place in the Japanese city on Aug. 6, 1945, though the White House has gone out of its way to insist that the president will not apologize for the bombing of Hiroshima.

Ferebee, who retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1970, died in 2000 at the age of 81. He received  Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Bronze Star, and the Air Medal for his years of service.

Article printed from Washington Free Beacon: http://freebeacon.com

URL to article: http://freebeacon.com/national-security/member-enola-gay-crew-never-regretted-dropping-atomic-bomb-hiroshima/

[goatprairie]

Many of the people who condemn the U.S. for dropping the a bombs on Japan are doubtless completely unaware of the savagery and brutality Japan exhibited towards conquered peoples during the war. The estimates of Chinese civilians  murdered by the Japanese army run as high as ten million. Other populations were similarly brutalized and slaughtered by Hirohito's minions.
A very good book about Hirohito's role in the war was "Japan's Imperial Conspiracy" by David Bergamini which came out in 1971. The Allies tried to make the emperor a helpless pawn of the Japanese military to help subdue the Japanese population.
Bergamini paints a picture of Hirohito as hip deep into the war.

[truth_seeker]

People anywhere, that condemn the US for dropping the two bombs, are full of shit.

My mother and her father were working in defense plants in SoCal, where blackouts were in effect, together with submarine nets at mouths of harbors.

The battle with the greatest losses had just been fought, Okinawa. More were lost to Kamikazes into our ships, than any other category.

The common adverb of Japs in the era, was "fanatical." Those two bombs were an humanitarian act, towards the  (remain der of) Japanese people.

[geronl]

Bergamini paints a picture of Hirohito as hip deep into the war.

Of course he was. He was worshipped like a God, his every command was likely obeyed. He knew exactly what had been going on for the past decade or two (at least).

[rangerrebew]

The common adverb of Japs in the era, was "fanatical." 

I recently finished reading "Unbroken" about Lou Zamperini's years in a Japanese POW camp.  I don't think it would be unfair to say Germans were milquetoasts compared to the Japanese when it came to POW treatment.  37% of the military personnel who made it to a Japanese POW camp died in the camp as opposed to about 1% for the Nazis.

[goatprairie]

I recently finished reading "Unbroken" about Lou Zamperini's years in a Japanese POW camp.  I don't think it would be unfair to say Germans were milquetoasts compared to the Japanese when it came to POW treatment.  37% of the military personnel who made it to a Japanese POW camp died in the camp as opposed to about 1% for the Nazis.

From what I've read about the Japanese they viewed surrender as a disgrace under their warrior code of bushido. Therefore, they had no respect for surrendering Allied soldiers and treated them shamefully. Plus, Japan's resources grew slimmer and slimmer as the war progressed.
 I recall reading in one of my history books how the head guys in the Japanese gov. adopted a policy of slow death for Allied POWs. Fortunately, the war ended when it did. If we had invaded, they would have immediately killed all POWs.
The Japanese also hated whites/non-Asians and took special pleasure in torturing or killing captive Allied soldiers. But that race hatred doesn't explain their awful treatment of other Asian peoples. Certainly, it will be a very long time before the Chinese and Koreans forget their treatment by their Japanese conquerors.