Atomic Bombs Dropped on Japan

Truman The final decision where and when to use the atomic bomb was up to me. Let there be no mistake about it. I regarded the bomb as a military weapon and never had any doubt that it should be used. The top military advisers to the President recommended its use, and when I talked to Churchill he unhesitatingly told me that he favored the use of the atomic bomb if it might aid to end the war…

Dwight D Eisenhower General Eisenhower expressed the hope that we would never have to use such a weapon.

General Curtis LeMay, Commander 20th Air Force …I firmly believe it saved lives in the long run by doing it and shortened the war and that was what we were after at the time.

Ralph A Bard, Undersecretary of the Navy It was quite logical to hope and expect that with the proper kind of warning the Japanese would have made peace and we wouldn’t have had to drop the bomb and have to bring Russia in…