cans and Japanese would have died in the November invasion. Truman, Stimson and even some modern writers such as David McCullough, want(ed) the American public to believe that the invasion would have cost America one million casualties, but there is no evidence available to support this claim(41). In a meeting on 18 June the Joint War Plans Committee gave Truman projected death rates ranging from a low of 31,000 to a high of 50,000(42), and a projected causality rate (deaths, injuries and missing) of 132,500.(43) During fighting in the Pacific, from 1 March 1944 to 1 May 1945, the Japanese were killed at a ratio of 22 to 1.(44) Thus, if we use an estimate of 40,00 American deaths, we can extrapolate 880,000 Japanese deaths--for a combined total of 920,000 deaths. Although death rates for Hiroshima and Nagasaki vary widely, none are even half this high. Thus we can conclude that if an invasion of Kyushu had been necessary, and the Japanese were killed at a rate comparable to previous fighting, then the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki actually saved lives.(45) The decision to drop atomic bombs of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is one of the most written about contemporary historical topics. Well over fifty major, fully-researched and unique books are accessible to the public on this fascinating topic, and perhaps as many as three hundred historical journals have been written as well.(46) Still, the majority of these articles are polarized--either the dropping of the bombs was an immoral diplomatic maneuver or a glorious military action. To anyone with a sincere desire for objectivity, a moderated view seems most reasonable, recognizing that it was a combination of military, diplomatic and domestic issues that led to Truman's decision. In addition, instead of passionately declaring the bomb to have cost innocent lives, or declaring blankly that it was without doubt a savior of lives, it seems most reasonable to conclud...
