Editor,

To the apologetic letter writer who thinks we should “admit guilt and end this madness” in discussing the development/use of nuclear weapons, I ask, “Guilt for what?” Finally bringing World War II to an end? Saving millions of American and Japanese lives? Avoiding war (nuclear deterrence) with the Soviet Union/Russia for over 70 years?

First off, no U.S. President wants to or has wanted to drop a nuclear weapon. President Truman made the hard, but wise decision, to drop “Little Boy” on Hiroshima because he thought it would cause the Japanese to surrender and save millions of lives that would be lost in the planned invasion (“Operation Downfall”) of the Japanese homeland. Unfortunately, the Japanese were too stubborn and we had to drop a second one to cause them to capitulate. In case the letter writer is unfamiliar with history, the second bomb, nicknamed “Fat Man,” was not originally targeted for Nagasaki, but due to bad weather, the crew decided to hit one of the alternative targets which was an industrial complex. To imply that the crew zeroed in on a Catholic church is sheer folly!

Had the Japanese not surrendered after the Nagasaki drop, the U.S. planned to invade Kyushu first (“Operation Olympic”) and subsequently Honshu (“Operation Coronet”) which would have cost millions of lives on both sides, since the Japanese would have fought to the last man to defend their homeland.

I’m sure the writer has heard of Teddy Roosevelt’s motto, which is just as true today as it was back in the 1900s, “Speak softly, but carry a big stick.” That is exactly what President Trump is trying to do today: Always conduct diplomatic discussions first (with the use of the military as the last resort), but in order for diplomacy to be successful, you have to have a strong military (including nuclear weapons) to back it up! POTUS is working on building our military back up after it was badly neglected by the last administration.

FRED WILMOT

Oak Harbor