ment: "...I cannot endure the thought of letting my people suffer any longer. A continuation of the war would bring death to tens, perhaps even hundreds, of thousands of persons. The whole nation would be reduced to ashes." President Truman justified his decision to drop atomic bombs on television in February 1965. He said: "It was a question of saving hundreds of thousands of American lives. I dont mind telling you that you dont feel normal when you have to plan hundreds of complete, final deaths of American boys who are alive and joking and having fun while you are doing your planning. You break your heart and your head trying to figure out a way to save one life. The name given to our invasion plan was "Olympia," but I saw nothing godly about the killing of all the people that would be necessary to make an invasion of the Japanese mainland. The casualty estimates called for 750,000 Americans - 250,000 killed, 500,000 maimed for life. I could not worry about what history would say about my personal morality. I made the only decision I ever knew how to make. I did what I thought was right."...
