A tramp freighter will do

A tramp freighter will do.

It is difficult, in today’s “now” culture, to appreciate the happenings of seventy years ago.

The world had been viciously attacked by dictators who imposed their will upon hundreds of millions of people. America, along with her allies, beat back these dark forces and earned her place as the bastion of democracy. But the way was not smooth and decisions far from easy.

Germany was overcome in May of that year, 1945. But the battle for the Pacific continued to rage, with the Okinawa campaign spanning 82 days from April through mid-June. The Allies suffered over fourteen thousand killed in that short period, nearly twice as many brave souls than in all the fourteen years of our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But worse, we saw that the Japanese fought desperately to defend their homeland, with 77 thousand soldiers and up to 150 thousand civilians killed or dying by suicide. US planners, working on the invasion plans of mainland Japan (Operation Downfall), estimated that from 400,000 to 800,000 American troops would be killed because of the fanatic hostility of Japan’s defenders, both military and civilian. And judging from the Okinawan experience, we also anticipated over a million Japanese military deaths and two million civilian deaths. The cost of this operation, in human life, was beyond imagining.

So it was against this calculus of three million Japanese and many hundreds of thousands of American deaths that President Truman made his most difficult decision. To use the atomic bomb against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or execute the war plans for Operation Downfall and invade the mainland.  

Our nascent atomic program had been proceeding desperately, quietly, secretly, but ultimately successfully. On July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb was detonated in the New Mexican desert.

And on that same day, upon learning of the results of the test, the USS Indianapolis departed San Francisco bearing atomic bomb components including over half the world’s known uranium 235 supply. Racing for Tinian Island, the speedy cruiser arrived on July 26. Bomb components and scientists were offloaded, and construction began. By August 6, seventy years ago, they were ready. The bomb, “Little Boy,” was loaded on a B29 Superfortress called “Enola Gay,” and was dropped on Hiroshima.

Exploding with the force of fifteen thousand tons of TNT, Little Boy was devastating. Intense heat and light, shock waves and radiation, nearly instantly killed over 100,000 people, and started raging fires which finished the destruction of the city. Slowly, later that day, the Japanese military command began to comprehend that a single American bomber had completely destroyed a city. Their analysis confirmed that an atomic weapon had been used, but they estimated that only one or two additional bombs could be assembled. The Emperor decided to continue the war.

Three days later, on August 9, another atomic bomb was prepared on Tinian. “Fat Man” used 14 pounds of plutonium-239, and when dropped by the B29 “Bockscar,” exploded on Nagasaki with a force of twenty thousand tons of TNT. Once again, a city was obliterated, with 75,000 killed.

Not assuming that this was decisive, the United States pressed forward with preparing additional bombs, with as many as seven to be ready over August, September, and October.

But it was decisive, and on August 14, Emperor Hirohito signaled his surrender to the Allies.

And with this, World War II finally ground to a halt. The world began to heal and rebuild.

Germany and Japan are now strong economies, close friends, and stout allies. But other things have changed in seventy years. These early weapons, which devastated whole cities, were puny. Modern atomic weapons are 2,500 times more powerful than Fat Man and Little Boy. A single contemporary atomic weapon could destroy Los Angeles and all of its environs. Millions of people instantly killed.

It is for this reason that we have tried hard, for seventy years, to keep the nuclear genie in the bottle. For the longest time, only the US, Great Britain, France, China, and the Soviet Union had nuclear weapons. Now the club has expanded to include India, Pakistan, and North Korea. (Israel is also rumored to have the bomb).

This is why it’s so important that the club not be expanded. Iran, in particular, must not be admitted. Because while we think our technology and power and broad oceans protect us, an advanced ICBM is not required to deliver nuclear holocaust to Los Angeles.

No, a single tramp freighter will do.