re: On this day 75 years ago...the city of Tokyo was wiped off the map

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The embargo was certainly the trigger. The Japanese felt we had challenged them, and honor in turn compelled them to strike back. If they did not hit back, they would not be men.

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Not true. The Japanese were working under a theory similar to Hitler’s. They thought they could deliver a series of surprise attacks that could establish a defensive perimeter in the Pacific and render America so weak that the uphill climb to reverse this would not be worth it. They, like Hitler, thought a democracy did not have the stones to pay that price.

Also, the embargo was half the reason. The other half is that America, in the person of Teddy Roosevelt, encouraged the Japanese to take over much of Asia. Then, when they tried, Teddy’s cousin waged economic war against them, because he realized Teddy was being an idiot.

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While I understand that it had to be done, killing thousands of civilians shouldn't be celebrated. It's a sobering reminder of the cost of war.

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That’s pretty much how I feel. I understand we pretty much had to do it, by my God that’s horrific. That would be a hard call to make.

Looks like we missed a couple spots...

Back in 2003, I was flying back home to Louisiana from Australia, and had a day-long layover in Tokyo. The day before I flew out, I was talking to my grandmother on the phone and she said “Fonzie, the last time anyone in our family flew to Japan, they bombed it.” Lordy I miss her!

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America went to the most extreme measures to end the war in the pacific.

We’re not really taught in school here what actually happened in the pacific or the reason behind it. In fact the entire pacific theatre is completely ignored other than a mention of the atomic bombs.

We tend to focus completely on Germany and ignore the entire other half of the war. I find that sad and it’s something I wish we could correct

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Just watched to new movie at the WW2 museum in NOLA that Tom Hanks directs. It was the first time I'd seen more focus on the Pacific and Japan. Japan was so difficult to take down due to their "country pride" and suicide mentality. There was no surrender in them until US finally felt all they could do was drop The Bomb.