Phillip Tran

3/21/14
Us History 2
Ms.D
Letter to President Harry S. Truman

Dear President Harry S. Truman,
I am writing this letter to you today to address what
happened on both August 6th 1945 and August 9th 1945. I am sure that you can recall that on
these dates, the US military dropped atomic bombs on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan.
Both of these bombs were created through the Manhattan Project, which was the idea that you
would build mass weapons of destruction in order to promote peace. Now with these bombs, it
is safe to say over 100,000 people died initially and over the course of weeks due to these
bombs. WIth these bombs however, the US military effectively ended the WW2 campaign
against Japan, saving thousands of not only American Soldiers, but also millions of Japanese
Citizens and Soldiers. Now you and the military received a lot of backlash for these actions, this
letter is not to add to that backlash. I want to commend you for making such a hard decision and
making the right choice at that. In my opinion, you saved the lives of millions and should be
proud of it, I will get to why throughout the letter.

I want to explain why i feel that you saved millions of lives. First of all, according to the
secretary of war Henry Stimson, there were a total of 5 million Japanese soldiers at the disposal
of the Japanese army according to his memoirs in 1947. Now since Japan surrendered to the
US, those men didn't have to fight a fruitless war. WIth that in mind, 5 million men were spared
from combat and certain death. Another reason i felt you saved millions is because in the very
same memoir, it states we wouldve had to fight the Japanese up until at least late 1946 in order
to end the war. Now that is even past Germany who surrendered mid 1945, so even after that
we still wouldve had to send our men to be killed for another year atleast. So in a way, the
bomb also saved thousands if not millions of lives of American soldiers. All in all, the point i'm
trying to get across is the bombs actually saved for lives rather than killed.

I also feel like we were justified in dropping those two atomic bombs. First, they were
responsible for what happened at pearl harbor. They were fully aware of what they were doing
and killed many people and damaged our naval power severely. They were the ones who
started the war with bombs on the US, so it was only right that we do the same on their soil in
order the end the war. Although some may say it is not the same, they must remember that this
was a war, and in war people will always die, including civilians caught in the crossfire. Also, it
was our obligation to introduce the world to this technology. I say this because i agree with the
scientists according to the petitioners of the Manhattan Project, all whom said that this bears a
new age of technology. Although they said it was bad, i think that it was a good thing. THis new
nuclear technology has the ability to do many things, such as one day power our entire nation
one day. Even though the nuclear technology is very destructive in nature, we don't have to
right to allow something with so much potential to go to waste.
now i want to address what critics of the bombs are saying. FIrst, they point out that the
bomb wasn't necessary, mainly towards Dwight Eisenhower in his Mandate for change.
Although the Japanese were close to defeat, their code of honor and national pride wouldve
made then fight to the last man. I also want to address what Nippon times said, stating that the
bombs make our previous bombings pale in relative insignificance Now although these bombs
were destructive, to compare it to the entire war is not only ridiculous, but also shows how
people including the Japanese are afraid of new technology. Lastly, i want to address what you
said in your letter to Senator RIchard Russell on the day of the bombing of Nagasaki. NOw sure
the Japanese stooped to a low level, but you also have to think about how we wouldve done
worse to them had we attempted to invade Japan, so in a way the bombs allowed us not to
stoop to their level. To end this letter, if we didnt drop the bombs, imagine how much more
blood wouldve been shed.
Sincerely,
Phillip Tran.