Stroube Smith at the Washington Times posted an article yesterday about the sixty-fifth anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.   Mr. Smith points out that Hiroshima was not a military target, but a civilian city. 

The article concludes:

“In the war’s aftermath, there was second-guessing as to whether Truman should have authorized the use of the bombs. In reality, he had no choice. No leader of a democracy could reject the use of a weapon that could save a single one of his people’s lives.

“Casualty estimates for an invasion of Japan were staggering. Estimated losses from a campaign to take the first home island ranged from 300,000 to 1 million. The Army was ordering body bags and medical supplies and trying to find medics, nurses and doctors to deal with casualties of that magnitude.”

President Truman made a difficult decision that saved both American and Japanese lives in the end.  The atomic bombs on Hiroshim and Nagasaki destroyed cities and killed civilians, but they ended a war and actually reduced the number of casualties.  We have currently forgotten how to fight with all we have.  I am hoping we will remember how to wage war successfully sometime in the near future.