"The Last Days of WWII"

[rudy0908]

Re: Heads-up

Tonight is the next new installment of this series. August 12 through August 18. "Japan surrenderes; General MacArthur becomes Supreme Allied Commander. New." The History Channel has additional information on this series. This should be mandatory viewing by anyone interested in WWII history.

"In Tokyo, the Japanese government at last accepts the inevitable and surrenders to the Allies unconditionally. President Truman, addressing crowds from the portico of the White House, said "this is the day we've been waiting for since Pearl Harbor." The surrender will be formally made to General MacArthur at a later ceremony aboard the US battleship Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay. Emperor Hirohito makes an emotional broadcast to the Japanese nation saying that they had no choice but to surrender. Otherwise the country would have been destroyed by what he described as "a new and most cruel bomb". General MacArthur is appointed Supreme Allied Commander. VJ Day--Victory over Japan--is declared a national holiday." TVPG V cc


http://www.historychannel.com/

It comes on 7 PM CDT. Runs one hour. It repeats at 11 PM and at 8 AM tomorrow morning on Dish, Channel 120. Be sure to set your DVR if you can't see it live.

God...never thought I'd say it but...I need cable.

 

[Missouri Mule]

Re: Heads-up

God...never thought I'd say it but...I need cable.

Get a satellite. Better reception.Dish can have you going in no time and do get the DVR. You will never know how you ever did without it. Where I am I get everything on my satellite system even network programing and all crystal clear. Usually the initial cost is insignificant.

 

[gordontravels]

Yes. With my experience I don't mean to demean the dead whether they be our American troops in any war or the Japanese soldiers and civilians that believed in their cause. The isolation that the Japanese military kept their Emperor in was not known to the average Japanese citizen. It is known from his own writings that the Emperor had had misgivings about the war because of the destruction he saw his people exposed to when he left the Imperial Palace. He was never a target of the allied military. During the last 5/6 months of the war he was prevented from leaving the Imperial Palace by his own military.

Every August we have the same discussion and the groups or individuals that will paint the dropping of the bombs as unnecessary will always be here. It is important for forums such as this to provide a place for the other side. Programs and books are heavily weighted towards the actual history of WWII and the dropping of the bombs but our WWII Vets are dwindling.

I began my participation in this thread by not really wanting nor having the time to watch these programs on the history channel, dvr with my dish or not. However, it is important that those of us such as Missouri Mule actually sit down and see what these programs have to say.

History doesn't go forward. History is something we leave in the past to visit and remember. Unfortunately there are elements that want to rewrite history for many reasons. An agenda. Money for a book based on scandal or greed that breeds rewriting so people will talk, not learn. Rewriting of history whether from an agenda or misconception of actual facts from the period such as how many would have died as opposed to how many did, God rest their souls. Writing for political advantage like those now who will try to equate Iraq with Vietnam. Or those who wring their hands about all those civilians that were killed while not considering how many civilians and soldiers would have been killed, on both sides.

I salute Missouri Mule for starting and supporting this thread. Those who understand that history and those who would rewrite it find a place here where they may find understanding. :duel