70 years of atomic weapons: Never again

August holds other dates that ring out in history. Take August 6 and August 9, 1945. These are dates that must never be forgotten and most importantly never, ever be repeated. These were the days that two B-29 bombers of the U.S. Army Air Corps dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 70 years ago. The anniversary of these days in Japan are ones of mourning and reflection followed by fervent prayers for peace and the wish that this must never happen again.

Estimates put the death toll between 129,000 to 246,000 men, women and children that perished in the bombings. Most in the first seconds as they were flash burned into nothing from the fires of an atomic hell unleashed upon them from the bomb bay of a lone B-29 flying high above. The rest would die a lingering slow, painful death from burns and radiation sickness. The destruction was total, two cities wiped off the map in seconds with two bombs. Nothing like it was ever seen before in war and nothing like it should ever be seen again.

The bombings would force the Japanese Empire to surrender to the Allies, ending World War II on August 15, 1945. V.J. Day marked the end of the bloodiest war in human history. The decision to drop the atomic bombs was made by President Truman in order stave off an invasion of the Japanese mainland by U.S. and allied forces. An invasion that might have extended the war for years and would have cost many more lives on both sides. The estimates were in the millions. It was a hard command decision in the hardest of times. I believe President Truman made the correct choice. The weight of that decision must have haunted him for the rest of his life.

Those bombs would unleash the nuclear genie upon the human race in the years following the end of WWII. A kind of Cold War madness ensued as nations like the United States, Russia followed by China, Britain and even France all started to produce bombs with increased power and range. Thermonuclear fusion bombs that made the atomic bombs used in WWII look like fire crackers in comparison. Now we have enough to wipe out all life this planet three times over. Such destruction should never have been invented in the first place. Their spread across the world should never have been allowed. But it has and we must live under reality that these things exist and are the bane of the human race.

I would wish they all be gathered up and destroyed and never allow such weapons to be made ever again. A naive notion that will never see the light of day in reality. Still we can take steps to prevent more nations to be become members of the nuclear bomb club. One such effort is the nuclear agreement between China, France, Russia, Germany, United Kingdom, the United States and the government of Iran that was signed in July of this year. Some say this is a bad deal.

I disagree. It may not be the best deal but the alternative is another war in the middle east. One we cannot afford after more than 10 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wars done on a credit card and cost the lives of thousands of GI’s and civilian alike. We must take every effort to resolve the nuclear issue with Iran peacefully and with international cooperation and approval. This agreement does have that approval from many nations outside of the ones I listed. I agree Iran has no business to produce a nuclear weapon and must be prevented, no one in that region does. Not even Israel.

Israel is not one that approves. Both Israel and Iran are mortal enemies, that is no secret not by any stretch of the imagination. They will be for years to come. If Israel feels truly threatened by Iran, they will take action with or without U.S. approval. Be assured of that. They can take care of themselves quite well, their military is just about on par with ours. I for one would not want to tangle with them. I respect that. I don't respect we should jump when they say to.

That does not mean we should trust Iran. Not with a 10-foot pole. That is why that agreement involves so many nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency to verify and enforce the proposed measures to keep Iran in line. As long as Iran uses nuclear power for peaceful power generation while staying within the new guidelines I have no problem with this. Nuclear power for energy generation is ok but makes me nervous at times (fission breeder reactors are the problem). Research into fusion nuclear energy could open up many possibilities in safe power generation and even space travel to the planets and later beyond. Nuclear weapons and nuclear war scares the daylights out of me. It should scare everyone on the earth.

This not a U.S. only action and those that oppose it in our government must publicly acknowledge that fact (they haven't to the best of my knowledge). And they must allow the peace process to proceed. This international agreement has promise if allowed to continue.

Some within our government are insane enough to want war as if this will solve the Iran nuclear issue. It won't and that must not happen. War is something of the last resort when all else has failed. A lesson that was not learned in recent years that cost the lives of many a G.I. – some were my friends I served with.

We need to take the lessons learned from those horrific atomic bombings of WWII and apply them to events happening today. Nuclear weapons have only been used twice in anger. America bears the responsibility for the use of those weapons 70 years ago. We must ensure they will never be used again. In the name of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, let their dead rest in peace. True peace in the hope that what happened to them never reoccurs in human history.

This column is the opinion of Wasilla resident Dan Grota, who retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service. Email him at news@frontiersman.com