Reply #12: My Dad was stationed in Nagasaki [View All]

shortly after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was on a ship, headed to Japan, when the bombs fell, and thought he was being sent into combat. Instead, he ended up in the Army of Occupation.

He developed a life-long respect and affection for the people of Japan, thought we should not have dropped the bombs, and spoke of the devastation of the city. He formed a friendship with one family, especially, and often wondered what happened to them after he left. He saw the results of the bombs, and was really convinced that we could have dropped them someplace else, to show their power, but where nobody would be injured.

Where that would have been, I don't know, unless he meant some deserted Island, making a public announcement first. War destroys both sides, and the innocent civilians suffer most of all.