Thesis
America should have sounded a warning to people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki before the attacks, explaining the potential impact of the atomic bombs to reduce casualties.
Introduction
In August 1945, America dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing a total of 129,000 people. The two incidences remain the only known uses of atomic and nuclear bombs in history. The events brought to an end the World War II that had been going on for close to a decade. Paul Tibbets was the pilot of the plane that dropped the two bombs, and up to his death in 2007; he remained adamant that he was not regretful of the events (Terkel, 2002). George Weller was a journalist with the New York Times, and he was the first person to enter Nagasaki after the bombings. His account of the explosions was censored by America’s security apparatus. This paper discusses the views of Robert Oppenheimer, an American nuclear scientist, on George Weller and Paul Tibbets.
Paul Tibbets
Paul Tibbets was the pilot who dropped bombs that killed 129,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. His view of the attacks was that he did as he was told and that the blame should not be placed on him. He never had second thoughts about the attacks, and he even visited Nagasaki in 1948. As an air force pilot, he was working with instructions from his commanders. He was also perfectly aware of the kind of actions he was going to take before the attack.
They were perfectly prepared by the end of the day on August 5th, 1945, with a connection to Washington by teletype. August 6th had been decided on as the perfect day for the attacks, and the pilot had the go ahead of the president and his commander. As normal with the armed forces, instructions are followed without question, so when he president told the crew that they ‘can use the atomic bombs as they wish’, Paul Tibbets understood that it meant that they can drop the bombs on the target enemy, the cities of Hiroshima and Japan (Pais & Crease, 2006 pg 209)
Tibbets narration on the bombing is characterized clear memory and a proud tone. He never viewed it from the humanistic angle, as he says, his main job was to protect America. So before takeoff, he had everything set and even talked with his crew on radio on the kind of assignment they had that day. They had been used to carrying out attacks, but this particular one was a bit special, mainly for the way it was going to affect the enemy and reshape world politics.
After releasing the bombs, Paul explosions, as his plane was about ten and a half miles from the point of explosion. He notes that the explosion was some pandemonium, so hard that they felt the plane shake. The job was done and they went back to their base with a feeling of triumph for the perfect job done (Bernstein, 2007). After the bombing, Paul had a meeting with the president, where the president stared at him for more than 10 minutes, and later told him to direct anybody who roused him for his actions in Japan to the president. The president assumed responsibility for the bombing because it was under his command.
George Weller
George Weller, as noted above, was the first journalist to enter Nagasaki after the attacks. He narrates his findings after the attack, exactly one month later, September 8. He estimated the deaths in Nagasaki to be around 40,000, with an extra 4000 people unaccounted for. There were double as many injuries sustained from the attack as the deaths. However, it was hard for him to determine the actual number because of the massiveness of the attack that left huge pits of destruction (Pais & Crease, 2006, Pg 210).
Weller drew comparisons with the whole of Manhattan and New Jersey getting destroyed, reduced to debris. The Mitsubishi plant that employed more than 3400 people was reduced to debris. Weller explains how war protocol was not followed, a reason why the deaths were so high in number. He notes that people had not heard the warnings about the attack the night before the actual attacks. The explanation for this may be that people never gave attention to the actions of the American forces, or the signal was not loud enough. In that respect, the blame goes to America for failing to protect the citizens of Hiroshima on that fateful day.
George Weller noted the way the American airforce could have saved dozens of lives if they had taken the necessary measures. For instance, the bombers could have spared the Nagasaki Medical Institute and the Ukarame settlement, two populous areas that registered a high number of casualties (Pais & Crease, 2006 Pg 211). Further caution should have been taken to avoid bombing and flattening the industrial area of Nagasaki, ventures that supported many livelihoods.
The attack left many people injured. Weller reports that those who survived died of funny diseases which the doctors called disease x. For instance, there was a woman who had fled the bombed area, but returned after a week. She had suffered a small injury during the attacks but developed complications after three weeks of living in the bombed area. Such complications were common in Nagasaki, and the doctors did not have solutions or reasons for why people were ailing so much. It was apparent that the bombing casualties were increasing by the day.
Disease X had taken a toll on the people of Nagasaki. Just near the woman who was laying on her back in pain, a fifteen-year-old boy was seething in pain with red in his nose. Dr. Uraju Harashida thought that the attacks had poisoned the Mitsubishi plant in Nagasaki. However, the theory was not credible as similar cases were reported of the people who had not returned to Nagasaki after the attacks. Doctors estimated that ten people died every day from the disease X, and faulted America for the poisoning of Nagasaki, and the nuclear attacks that led to mutations.
Doctors divided the causes of deaths to two categories. The first one accounted for two-thirds of the deaths, and symptoms included hair losses on the head, armpits, and pubic areas. Other symptoms included diarrhea and measles-like symptoms. George Weller noted that the illnesses and deaths might have been caused by the rare rays that were emitted by the bombings, noting that there will be more deaths in the following days.
Robert Oppenheimer
Robert had been the lead scientist on the atomic bomb project. He oversaw the recruitment of scientists. He was one of the advisers of the national security committee about the benefits and the dangers posed by the use of atomic bombs. From his perspective, scientific discoveries were very important in finding solutions to world problems, but the speed at which the world discovered the atomic energy and put it to use was so fast that even the scientists were not in agreement on the use and threat of atomic bombs.
On the Nagasaki and Hiroshima attacks, Robert reiterates that science and morality are two different fields, and despite his fascination with the developments, he could not ignore the human element in it. It was not an absolute black and white for him on the actions of Paul Tibbets, who dropped the bombs; because he was just part of the process in a long chain of discussions that ended up in agreement that Japan must be forced into full surrender.
In that vein, no specific blame could be placed on any of the parties. However, Robert noted that the world should prefer the use of other means of engagement that would prevent bloodshed and war. The potential effects of the atomic bombs were known even before the attacks, and it will always be to understand why the action was taken with that speed. Historians will note that, maybe, the events of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were necessary for the Second World War to end.
Comparing Paul Tibbets with George Weller
For the nature of their jobs, it is expected that George and Paul will differ in their views on the bombings. As a pilot who dropped the bombs on Nagasaki, Paul had the first hand in the attacks. His narration carries zero sense of guilt and remorse. He looks back at the event as a military victory that forced America enemies to surrender completely, a key mandate of his job. From the construct of Paul Tibbets thoughts, his job was to protect America as an Airforce pilot, and the moral side of the military attacks was beyond his control.
Getting into Paul’s shoes, it makes sense that he was just a pilot who was used to war attacks on his enemies. Normally, war leads to deaths, and the Nagasaki and Hiroshima were just assignments that were done in big magnitude. Partly, that explains why he felt little remorse after the attacks, despite the number of people who died.
On his part, George Weller was a journalist for New York Times. He was the first American journalist to enter Nagasaki and his version of events provided fresh insight into the attacks. He narrates the kind of destruction he observed, one month after the attacks. According to him, people were still dying from ailments caused by the rare rays emitted by the atomic bombs. He also reported that proper warning was not communicated to the residents of Nagasaki before the attack, and noted the different ways in which American forces could have reduced the impact of the attacks by taking cautionary measures in the targets.
America’s reaction to the bombings
The United State of America government made several strategies and planned to help the victims of the A-bombings in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The efforts included a medical allowance to the victims of the attacks that came ten years after the bombings and a relief allowance that ensured that the victims’ basic expenses were covered by the US government (AtomicBombMuseum.org - After the Bomb," 2016). However, the support was not comprehensive as it did not cater for Korean victims who were living in Nagasaki and Hiroshima during the attacks. It should be noted that, when the Korea-Japan treaty was signed, all benefits for Korean citizens were relinquished by the Japanese government.
US citizens joined arms to raise funds for the victims of the attacks. A committee was formed to investigate the attacks and bring to justice key players in the mission, especially Japanese leaders who had planned massive attacks on Europe as part of the Second World War. While the efforts of the US government are noteworthy, it remains a very big point of concern why the attacks were carried out in the first place, and the reasons for using atomic powers, while there were alternative ways to push Japan to submission.
Arguments have been pushed forward that strategic bombings were not listed as war crimes by the Hague Conventions. Despite that fact, the bombings did not go into accord with moral values and the protection of civilians. To rub salt in the wound, America did not provide enough support regarding offering medical assistance to the victims. The little help that came forth was too late, as many people had died of ailments, and thousands were disabled.
Conclusion
As George Weller reports, America had carried the first atomic bomb attacks in the world in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. He was the first journalist to be allowed into the debris, and the US Securities censored his initial reports. This was a confirmation that the leadership of USA knew the kind of damage they had done in Japan, and they did not want people to know about it, even Americans back at home. 129000 people died, and two cities were flattened within seconds, without prior warning. America should have used alternative methods to attack.
References
"Atomicbombmuseum.Org - After The Bomb". Atomicbombmuseum.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 May 2016.
Bernstein, Adams. "Paul Tibbets Jr.; Piloted Plane That Dropped First Atom Bomb". Washingtonpost.com. N.p., 2007. Web. 15 May 2016.
Pais, Abraham and Robert P Crease. J. Robert Oppenheimer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.
Terkel, Studs. "Nuclear Special: Why The Pilot Of The Enola Gay Has No Regrets". The Guardian. N.p., 2002. Web. 15 May 2016.
