the PACIFIC THEATER war with Japan Featuring Gorillas like me!

The war began when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, December 7, Our President was Franklin D. Roosevelt.

HAWAII JAPAN

Yamamoto Nearly 3,000 Americans died that day! Yamamoto, a Japanese Naval Officer, was the one who planned the attack.

Most of America’s Pacific Fleet had been destroyed!

But America declared war on the Axis Powers and began to rebuild.

America adopted an island hopping strategy. That means that instead of going directly after Japan, we’d hop from island to island on our way to mainland Japan, taking back the territory that Japan had conquered.

Japan Hawaii HOP I kind of like this “hopping” thing. It reminds me of the Easter Bunny, my favorite fuzzy friend.

America’s commander of the Pacific Fleet was Admiral Chester Nimitz. GO CHESTER!!!

The turning point in the Pacific was the Battle of Midway.

The battle was fought in the air … and at sea.

The next major battle was the Battle of Guadalcanal.

Where is Guadalcanal?

The Battle of Guadalcanal was one of the longest and bloodiest of the entire war. Deaths Ships Lost Aircraft Destroyed 7,10031,000 This was a decisive victory for the Allies!

American troops found it difficult to fight in the tropical Pacific climate. Many soldiers contracted malaria, so quinine was used to relieve the symptoms.

The last battles of the Pacific were fought on Okinawa and Iwo Jima.

And just where are those islands? This is getting confusing!!! Okinawa Iwo Jima

Wasn’t there a memorial built in Arlington to honor the soldiers who fought at Iwo Jima? Why yes, Scott, there was. It was modeled after a very famous photo.

As Japan quickly ran out of weapons, they unleashed kamikazes, suicide pilots who flew their planes into the sides of American ships.

But the effort failed!

By 1945, America had liberated most Pacific islands from the Japanese.

Japanese Empire

America had a decision to make.

Invade Japan …

… or drop its new weapon,

the atomic bomb!

Or use ‘The Force’!

Wouldn’t dropping the bomb on Japan kill thousands of innocent people?

You got that right! BUT, if the United States had invaded, wouldn’t thousands of our own troops have been killed? I mean, fo’ sho’!!!

The decision was hard, but President Harry Truman, who took office upon Roosevelt’s death, decided to drop the bomb!

Paul Tibbets was the pilot who flew the plane that dropped the bombs. He did not know what he was about to do. He was kept “in the dark”.

The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. 140,000 people were killed. The United States had hoped that Japan would surrender. They did not! The first bomb was code named “Little Boy”.

The second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. 80,000 people were killed. The United States threatened a third bomb … that it did NOT have. The second bomb was code named “Fat Man”.

Wow! That’s a lot of damage! Both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were large cities. There was hardly anything left!

Japan surrendered! August 15, 1945 VJ Day

Now let’s review!

First, Japan bombed us! Bad Japan!

Then, we fired back. First victory … Midway!

Our next major battle … Guadalcanal!

Then we ‘island hopped’ to Japan!

Last stop before Japan … Iwo Jima & Okinawa!

Then President Truman decided to drop two atomic bombs on Japan.

Then Japan gave up! VJ Day was celebrated!

Can we have a Survivor challenge?

Ok, Survivor challenge it is! Take out a piece of loose leaf paper and put your name on it. You have 2 minutes to do this.

Number your paper to 5. Get them all correct, you win this challenge.

Question #1: In what year did the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor?

Question #2: Name one of the Japanese cities on which the United States dropped an atomic bomb.

Question #3: What was the “turning point” (what battle) in the Pacific Theater?

Question #4: Which President decided to drop the atomic bombs on Japan?

Question #5: What was used to help soldiers deal with malaria in the Pacific jungles?

Bonus Question: Who is better looking, me or Mr. Dodson?