Picture of the day

purple said:
Visiting the Arizona memorial was quite an experience. You can visit the Battleship USS Missouri which is moored nearby, and which was the scene of the Japanese surrender in 1945.
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I’ve been to both. Very memorable experience. Also worthwhile are visits to the Bowfin and the Aviation Museum.
 
Falcorn said:
Avro Lancaster serial number NE133, code «JO-X». Australian «Stalinist» bomber. The aircraft was lost above Germany on November 5, 1944.

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Shuttlebomber?
 
My internet is hooped today, but it’s funny how everyone remembers pearl harbour and posts photos but no one even mentioned our fight in Hong Kong which started today, yesterday in Hong Kong, I tried posting photos but I can’t get the computer to function it drops when ever I try.....
 
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My great uncle was a vickers gunner there, said for the type fighting the gun was no good, to hard to move quickly, much founder of the Bren and Lewis which he trained with in Canada, I have some of his writings telling of the camp and captivity. Its not a good time...

He held no ill will to the Japanese, I guess he told my dad he gave worse then he got, that was the end of the subject
 
Many men of the Royal Rifles came from the Eastern Townships in Quebec and I met a few of them. I know of at least one Japanese Guard that did not survive the War, this particular Sergeant beat the prisonners or worse with great pleasure. My Father's friend and his buddies got even when the Americans liberated their Camp, they managed to catch this guy before he fled. They took him behind the Barracks and did him in with his own sword.
 
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We had a Hong Kong POW vet in the Jericho Beach Signals Squadron. Every once in a while he'd go off the rails a little and get an authorized leave. When he recovered, he came back to work.

The Army could have released him as medically unfit but graciously kept him on strength.
 
I too knew a Hong Kong vet. He firmly believed the American's dropping of the atomic bombs saved the lives of all allied POW's being held at the end of the war. According to him camp staff had been ordered to execute all prisoners if the home islands were invaded. He also believed those orders would have been carried out if the invasion had taken place.
 
Old Ranger said:
I too knew a Hong Kong vet. He firmly believed the American's dropping of the atomic bombs saved the lives of all allied POW's being held at the end of the war. According to him camp staff had been ordered to execute all prisoners if the home islands were invaded. He also believed those orders would have been carried out if the invasion had taken place.
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Of course, Revisionists would argue with that. :confused: Less people killed by the atomic bombs than the conventional bombing of Hamburg and Dresden.

Grizz
 
Never mind the firebombing of wooden built Japanese cities. It’s a convenient way to wrap up the story and is also a very convenient story to tell moving into the Cold War.
 
Heard the real reason Japan surrendered was due to their fear the Soviets would steamroll through all of Asia, occupy Japan ensuring the end of the 2700 year old Japanese monarchy, the Chrysanthemum Throne. The U.S. allowed a concession to the unconditional surrender for Hirohito to stay on. Beria would have killed the entire family.
Soviets kept the war going after the official surrender to gain more territory to the soviet.
 
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diopter said:
Heard the real reason japan surrendered was due to their fear the Soviets would steamroll through all of Asia occupy Japan ensuring the end of the 2700 year old Japanese monarchy, the Chrysanthemum Throne.
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From my understanding of things there were a number of factors that lead to the final Japanese surrender. The Russian invasion of Manchuria was a significant part. However, there were a lot of the Japanese military types who wanted to continue the war to the last person. In the end it was Emperor Hirohito stepping in and directing Japan to surrender that ended it. Even then a group of Japanese army personnel tried to mount a coupe against the Emperor that was put down by units loyal to the Emperor. It was actually a close run thing and tensions were very high for some weeks after the surrender. American aircraft were still being attacked by the Japanese military for some time after the surrender.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the dropping of the A bombs was the right thing to do given the situation at the time.
 
Grizzly Adams said:
Of course, Revisionists would argue with that. :confused: Less people killed by the atomic bombs than the conventional bombing of Hamburg and Dresden.

Grizz
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It was estimated that the invasion of the Japanese home islands would have cost up to a million Allied casualties - dead and wounded. The world was already war weary and a quick end was the solution.

Like the bombing of German cities, it caused disillusionment with the war amongst civilians and demoralized the fighting troops who could not protect their homeland.

War is a nasty business.
 
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