Epilogue

By WILLIAM H. STEWART
Special to the Saipan Tribune

This is a continuation of a series of articles commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of the war in the Pacific.

Last of a seven-part series

There has been much discussion as to whether it was necessary to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. The attacks did convince a recalcitrant Japanese military to abide by the decision of the Emperor to accept the nation’s unconditional surrender. No one knows the number of American and Japanese lives saved as a result of the conclusion of hostilities. It was estimated that one million American lives might have been lost had it become necessary to invade Japan. Many believe that the Japanese would have fought on to the last man, women and child and that Japanese civilization would be lost forever. The lives sacrificed in those two cities may have, in a strange, obscene twist of fate, saved the world as it provided human beings with undisputed evidence of the horror of a future nuclear conflict and is the only experience mankind has had with the dreadful terror of “Doomsday.” It provided a macabre reference point where there was none before. The lessons learned in August 1945 kept the world from a nuclear holocaust during the Cold War confrontations in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. One prays that the lives lost were not in vain and in God’s infinite wisdom their sacrifice brought some sanity to the world that such appalling weapons never again be used.

THE GENIE IS OUT OF THE BOTTLE:

At 8:14 on Monday morning, Aug. 6, 1945, in words lovingly described by Japanese novelist Yoko Ota, “Hiroshima fanned out between the mountain ranges to the north and the Inland sea to the south; seven rivers flowed gently through the city. Numerous bridges spanned the great branches of the rivers. They were all modern, clean, broad and long. Fishing boats with their white sails and other small boats sailed far up the rivers. Upstream, the rivers offered vivid reflections of the mountains. The rivers were serene and unchanging.”

It all ended in a brilliant and deadly flash one minute later at 8:15.

Twenty-one days earlier, some 6,000 miles east of Tinian, on the other side of the world, author William Laurence noted, “The Atomic Age began at exactly 5:30 Mountain War Time on the morning of July 16, 1945, on a stretch of semi-desert land fifty miles from Alamagordo, New Mexico far from Hiroshima.

“At that moment in history, ranking with the moment long ago when man first put fire to work for him and started his march to civilization, the vast energy locked within the hearts of atoms of matter was released for the first time as had never before been seen on this planet.

“A great ball of fire about a mile in diameter, changing colors as it kept shooting upward, from deep purple to orange, expanding, an elemental force freed from its bonds after being chained for billions of years.” This was a weapons proof test in the barren, desolate expanse of New Mexico.

A crew member of the Enola Gay, recorded a second terrifying event as the atomic genie was again awakened from eons of sleep where it had rested peacefully since the beginning of time itself. “As the bomb fell over Hiroshima, we saw an entire city disappear. I wrote in my log the words, ‘My God, what have we done?’”

Again, three days later, a second bomb was loaded from an ominous earthen pit only slightly larger than a human grave at Tinian’s Northfield which, several hours later, devastated Nagasaki.

These events brought World War II to a close.

We do not overlook the destruction of those cities and the loss of thousands of lives but rather to sanctify the peace that followed with a fervent prayer that such dreadful weapons of mass destruction will never again be used. The forces of nature touched all mankind in those fateful days of 1945 and, indeed, the weapons that ushered in the dawn of the nuclear age have not again been used in anger since mankind was provided that somber and deadly reference point in the closing days of that summer so long ago.

For the United States, the war both began and ended in the Pacific. United States Army Colonel Oughterson, a medical doctor in Japan said, “Pearl Harbor was an unexpected tragedy for the United States. The atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unexpected tragedies for Japan. The war began in unforeseen tragedy and ended in unforeseen tragedy.” Tinian’s legacy is that it has the mournful distinction of being forever linked with the tragedy of the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Sixty years ago an event took place that changed the world forever and we mourn the souls of all those who move silently about us on the unseen wind within the memories of the mind and we know that the atoms within all those that lost their lives remain with us on this planet and beyond the stars.

Even in death there is a lesson that we should all remember —“Never part without loving words to think of during your absence. It may be that you will not meet again in this life. Could we see when and where we are to met again we would be more tender when we bid our friends and loved ones goodbye.”

With this reminder before us of the awesome forces of nature, let us humbly and reverently pray that the use of such weapons will never again occur and that we shall have peace always.

(William H. Stewart is a military historical cartographer and has mapped many of the World War II Pacific battlefields. He is the author of the books, Saipan In Flames (translated into Japanese) and Ghost Fleet of the Truk Lagoon now in its 6th printing.)

Reference sources: Due to space limitations many reference sources have been omitted. This information will be furnished those interested when requested from the author at e-mail: spno@zoomnet.net.