esate Ta celost Alamo CS olen | Lt leo +++ Why did Roosevelt believe the US was justified to declare war? ‘At7249 a.m. the day before, on December 7, 194t, the attack on Peart Harbor had begun, destroying 188 planes and N 18 warships, and killing around 2.400 Americans. On December 8, President Roosevelt delivered his Request against Japan, which Congress immediately and overwhelmingly passed. On December 11, Congress officially declared war on Germany and Italy, the other ewo Axis Powers. Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation; and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of ‘Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And, while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack It will be recorded that the distance of Hawai from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by felse statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. | regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces attacked Guan. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island, Japan has therefore undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation. ‘As Commanderin-Chief of the Army and Navy | have directed that all measures be taken for our defense, that always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory. \ believe that | interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when | assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph. So help us God. | ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardlly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire, © Let’s Cultivate Greatness«++ How did Eisenhower break from matter-of-fact orders and show emotion’ Tewas no secret that General Eisenhower was very anxious abut the planned D-Day invasion. This would be the biggest day of the Allied efforts that had been slowly gaining ground for two years. Eisenhower wrote the first message on June 5 just as he gave the final confirmation to go ahead wich his orders to attack, tucking icin his wallet. The statement he ultimately issued and read to troops just prior to the June 6, 1944 invasion is the second message below. The first he eventually threw away, never needing to send it; an assistant saw itand, understanding its historical value, saved it. Our landing in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and | have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air, and the navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attached to the attempt is mine alone. Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Forces: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely. But this is the year 1944, Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned. The free men of the world are marching together to victory. | have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory. Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking. © Lets Cultwate Greatness General Eisenhower, D-Day “Orders of the Day” (1944) wQ?Fer ela Ue tunis oct s sscialaliesrsaliueed ee) What went into building the atomic bomb? +++ v Only told briefly and for the first time of the Manhattan Project on his first day in office four months earlier, President Truman made the fatefil decision to drop two atomic bombs on Japanese cities. Four square miles of the city of Hiroshima were reduced to rains and immediately killed 80,000. Tens of thousands more died in the following weeks from wounds and radiation poisoning. While these bombs famously ended WWII, historians argue they also mark the start of the Cold War. Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima, an important Japanese Army base. That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of TNT. It had more than 2,000 times the blast power of the British “Grand Slam,” which is the largest bomb ever yet used in the history of warfare. Itis an atomic bomb. It is a hamessing of the basic power of the universe. The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East. The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid many fold. Before 1939, it was the accepted belief of scientists that it was theoretically possible to release atomic energy. But no one knew any practical method of doing it. By 1942, however, we knew that the Germans were working feverishly to find a way to add atomic energy to the other engines of war with which they hoped to enslave the world. But they failed. We may be grateful to Providence that the Germans got the \Ve1's and V-2's late and in limited quantities and even more grateful that they did not get the atomic bomb at all. Beginning in 1940, before Pearl Harbor, scientific knowledge useful in war was pooled between the United States and Great Britain, and many priceless helps to our victories have come from that arrangement. Under that general policy the research on the atomic bomb was begun. With American and British scientists working together we entered the race of discovery against the Germans The United States had available the large number of scientists of distinction in the many needed areas of knowledge. It had the tremendous industrial and financial resources necessary for the project, and they could be devoted to it without undue impairment of other vital war work. In the United States the laboratory work and the production plants, on which a substantial start had already been made, would be cut of reach of enemy bombing, while at that time Britain was exposed to constant air attack and was stil threatened with the possibilty of invasion. For these reasons Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt agreed that it was wise to camry on the project here. ‘We now have two great plants and many lesser works devoted to the production of atomic power. Employment during peak construction numbered 125,000 and over 65,000 individuals are even now engaged in operating the plants. Many have worked there for two and a half years. We have spent $2 billion on the greatest scientific gamble in history-and won. But the greatest marvel is not the size of the enterprise, its secrecy, nor its cost, but the achievement of scientific brains in putting together infinitely complex pieces of knowledge held by many men in different fields of science into a workable plan. We are now prepared to obliterate more rapidly and completely every productive enterprise the Japanese have above ground in any city. We shall destroy their docks, their factories, and their communications. Let there be no mistake; we shall completely destroy Japan's power to make war. It was to spare the Japanese people from utter destruction that the ultimatum of July 26 was issued at Potsdam. Their leaders promptly rejected that ultimatum. if they do not now accept our terms they may ‘expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth. Behind this air attack will follow sea and land forces in such numbers and power as they have not yet seen and with the fighting skill of which they are already well aware. It has never been the habit of the scientists of this country or the policy of this government to withhold from the world scientific knowledge. Normally, therefore, everything about the work with atomic energy / would be made public. But under present circumstances it is not intended to divulge the technical processes of production or all the military applications, pending further examination of possible methods of protecting us and the rest of the world from the danger of sudden destruction. © Lets Cultivate Greatness,For what was MacArthur hopeful? « After the dropping of two atomic bombs on August 6 and 9, Emperor Hirohito announced over the radio on August 15 Japan’s decision to surrender. On September 2, aboard the USS Missouri, the official surrender papers were signed, marking the day as V-I Day Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won. The skies no longer rain death -- the seas bear only commerce men everywhere walk upright in the sunlight. The entire world is quietly at peace. The holy mission has been completed. And in reporting this to you, the people, | speak for the thousands of silent lips, forever stilled among the jungles and the beaches and in the deep waters of the Pacific which marked the way. | speak for the unnamed brave millions homeward bound to take up the challenge of that future wihich they did so much to salvage from the brink of disaster. As | look back on the long, tortuous trail from those grim days of Bataan and Corregidor, when an entire world lived in fear, when democracy was on the defensive everywhere, when modern civilization trembled in the balance, | thank a merciful God that He has given us the faith, the courage and the power from which to mold victory. ‘A new era is upon us. Even the lesson of victory itself brings with it profound concern, both for our future security and the survival of civilization. The destructiveness of the war potential, through progressive advances in scientific discovery, has in fact now reached a point which revises the traditional concepts of war. Men since the beginning of time have sought peace. We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is theological and involves 2 spiritual recrudescence and improvement ‘of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature and all material and cultural developments of the past two thousand years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh. We are committed by the Potsdam Declaration of principles to see that the Japanese people are liberated from this condition of slavery. Its my purpose to implement this commitment just as rapidly as the armed forces are demobilized and other essential steps taken to neutralize the war potential The energy of the Japanese race, if properly directed, will enable expansion vertically rather than horizontally. if the talents of the race are turned into constructive channels, the county can lift itself from its present deplorable state into a position of dignity. ‘To the Pacific basin has come the vista of a new emancipated world, Today, freedom is on the offensive, democracy is on the march. Today, in Asia as well as in Europe, unshackled peoples are tasting the full sweetness of liberty, the relief from fear. And so, my fellow countrymen, today | report to you that your sons and daughters have served you well and faithfully with the calm, deliberated determined fighting spirit of the American soldier, based upon a tradition of historical truth as against the fanaticism of an ‘enemy supported only by mythological fiction. Their spiritual strength and power has brought us through to victory. They are homeward bound—take care of them. © Lets Cultivate GreatnessPAI ya letter to President Roosevelt (1939) = What did the scientists fear, which motivated them to send this letter? Actually written by Leo Sdilard and consulted on by other respected physicists, but signed by Albert. non this leteer was cffective in prompting Roosevelt to develop what larer became the Manhatean Project, which developed the first atomic bombs. Einstein, with his celebrity name recognition, convinced Roosevelt of the ‘grave matter of the Nazi German experimentation with nuckar chain reactions. Kinstein, a pacifist, later regretted the future world events that unfolded as a result of his small part. Some recent work by E. Fermi and L. Szilard, which has been communicated to me in manuscript, leads me to expect that the element uranium may be turned into a new and important source of energy in the immediate future. Certain aspects of the situation which has arisen seem to call for watchfulness and, if necessary, quick action on the part of the administration. | believe therefore that itis my duty to bring to your attention the following facts and recommendations: In the course of the last four months it has been made probable ~- through the work of Joliot in France as well as Fermi and Szilard in America ~ that it may become possible to set up a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of uranium, by which vast amounts of power and large quantities of new radium like elements would be generated. Now it appears almost certain that this could be achieved in the immediate future. This new phenomenon would also lead to the construction of bombs, and it is conceivable ~ though much less certain -- that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed. A single bomb of this type, carried by boat and exploded in a port, might very well destroy the whole port together with some of the surrounding territory. However, such bombs might very well prove to be too heavy for transportation by air. ‘The United States has only very poor illegible] of uranium in moderate quantities. There is some good ore in Canada and the former Czechoslovakia, while the most important source of Uranium is Belgian Congo. In view of this situation you may think it desirable to have some permanent contact maintained between the Administration and the group of physicists working on chain reactions in America. One possible way of achieving this might be for you to entrust with this task a person who has your confidence and who could perhaps serve in an unofficial capacity. His task might comprise the following: a) To approach Government Departments, keep them informed of the further development, and out forward recommendations for Government action, giving particular attention to the problem of uranium ore for the United States; b) To speed up the experimental work, which is at present being carried on within the limits of the budgets of University laboratories, by providing funds, if such funds be required, through his, contacts with private persons who are willing to make a contribution for this cause, and perhaps also by obtaining the co-operation of industrial laboratories which have the necessary equipment. | understand that Germany has actually stopped the sale of uranium from the Czechoslovakian mines, which she has taken over. That she should have taken such early action might perhaps be understood on the ground that the son of the German Under Secretary of State, Von Weishlicker [sic], is attached to the Kaiser Wilheim Institute in Berlin where some of the American work on uranium is now being repeated. Yours very truly, Albert Einstein @ Lot's Cutvate Greatness.ME CET Pa Cite miei itM Silo: Rey ma lies tM bez SD) +++ How did the atomic bomb drop affect Takahashi personally? “Mr. Akihiro Takahashi was 14 years old when the bomb was dropped. He was standing in line with other stuclents Of his junior high school, waiting for the morning meeting, 1.4 km away from the center ofthe explosion. He was under medical treatment for about a year and half: And even today, the nail on one of his fingers grows black where apiece of glass was stuck. We were about to fal in'on the ground the Hiroshima Municipal Junior High School on this spot. We were about to form lines facing the front, we saw a B-29 approaching and fly over us. Then the teachers came out from the schoo! building and the class leaders gave the command to fall in. That was the moment when the blast came. And then the tremendous noise came and we were left in the dark. | couldn't see anything at the moment of explosion just like in this picture. We had been blown by the blast. Of course, | couldn't realize this until the darkness disappeared, | was actually blown about 10 m. My friends were all marked down on the ground by the blast just like this. Everything collapsed for as far as | could see. Then | looked at myself and found my clothes had turned into rags due to the heat. | was probably burned at the back of the head, on my back, on both arms and both legs. My skin was peeling and hanging like this. Automatically | began to walk heading west because that was the direction of my home. After a while, | noticed somebody calling my name. | looked around and found a friend of mine. His name was Yamamoto. He was badly burnt just like myself. We walked toward the river. And on the way we saw ‘many victims. | saw a man whose skin was completely peeled off the upper half of his body and a woman whose eye balls were sticking out. Her whole baby was bleeding. A mother and her baby were lying with a skin completely peeled off. We desperately made a way crawling. And finally we reached the river bank. At the same moment, a fire broke out. We made a narrow escape from the fire. If we had been slower by even one second, we would have been killed by the fire. There was a small wooden bridge left, which had not been destroyed by the blast. | went over to the other side of the river using that bridge. But Yamamoto was not with me any more. He was lost somewhere, | remember | crossed the river by myself and on the other side, | purged myself into the water three times, The heat was tremendous . And | felt ike my body was burning all over. For my burning body the cold water of the river was as precious as the treasure. Then | left the river, and | walked along the railroad tracks in the direction of my home. On the way, I ran into an another friend of mine, Tokujiro Hatta. | wondered why the soles of his feet were badly burnt. it was unthinkable to get burned there. But it was undeniable fact the soles were peeling and red muscle was exposed. Even | myself was terribly burnt, | could not go home ignoring him. | made him crawl using his arms and knees. Next, | made him stand on his heels and | supported him. We walked heading toward my home repeating the two methods, Out of sixty of junior high school classmates, only ten of us are alive today. | feel uneasy about my health every day. For my four fingers are fixed just like this, and my elbow is fixed at one hundred ‘twenty degrees and doesn't move. The muscle and bones are attached each other. Also the fourth finger of my right hand doesn't have a normal nail. It has a black nail. A piece of glass which was blown by the blast stuck here and destroyed the cells of the base of the finger now. ‘Anyway I'm alive today together with nine of my classmates for this forty years. I've been living believing that we can never waste the depth of the victims. I've been living on dragging my body full of sickness and from time to time | question myself | wonder if it is worth living in such hardship and pain and | become desperate. But i's time | manage to pull myself together and I tell myself once my life was saved, | should fulfil my mission as a survivor in other words it has been and it is my belief that those who survived must continue to talk about our experiences. The hand down the awful memories to future generations representing the silent voices of those who had to die in misery. Throughout my life, I would like to fulfil this mission by talking about my experience both here in Japan and overseas. © Let's Cultivate Greatness