2024 A Silent Prayer and Bells for Peace 

It must be remembered that both Japan and the United States civilian populations were the infrastructure and means for their military forces to engage in war. The military cannot engage in combat without food, medicine, clothing, transportation, and weapons that are all produced by the civilian populations. American soldiers had witnessed first hand, the strict Samurai and Bushido code of the Japanese soldiers to never surrender - and that death was preferable to bringing shame to themselves, their families, and to the Emperor. The ferocity of fighting on Iwo Jima and Okinawa had convinced the American military that the taking of mainland Japan by conventional means would require massive casualties of American soldiers. The fire bombing of Tokyo alone had caused the deaths of more than a 100,000 Japanese civilians, more than 22 cities were also fire bombed - and still the Japanese military refused to surrender. We can debate whether or not the two atomic bombs should have ever been dropped, but the mindset and rationale of the American military during that time is not debatable. Destroy as much of the civilian infrastructure and support of the Japanese military until they unconditionally surrender. The estimated deaths of American soldiers during the Pacific War is 111,606. The American population gave overwhelming support to end the war by any means necessary - including fire bombing of civilian populations in Japan. The atomic bombs dropped were completely a top secret project that no one (except a select few) knew beforehand even existed. Would Americans, if they had known such a devastating weapon existed, have approved it being used on the mainland of Japan? The answer is...Yes. Win the war by any means necessary and save the lives of American soldiers. Today, it is difficult to find anyone left alive who lived through the horrors of WWII. We can certainly pray for ALL the dead, who lost their lives in ALL the war torn countries of WWII - and also pray for blessed peace.