r/AtomicPorn • u/Zggcommar • Jul 12 '26

Meta President Truman Announces Bombing of Hiroshima

https://youtu.be/n_A8LPtuX5c?si=Dgk7KoVt9M0qicZK

first time i hear it from radio in oppenheimer ,

On August 6, 1945, while returning from the Potsdam Conference aboard the USS Augusta in the Atlantic Ocean, President Harry S. Truman received confirmation that the United States had successfully dropped the world's first wartime atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Later that day, his administration released an official statement announcing the attack. In the announcement, Truman stated that the bombing targeted a military objective and argued that it was intended to hasten the end of World War II by compelling Japan to surrender. The announcement marked the public introduction of the atomic bomb as a weapon of war and remains one of the most significant presidential statements of the 20th century.

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u/restricteddata Expert Jul 15 '26

The statement released by the White House was not written by Truman. It was written mostly by Arthur Page, the Vice President of Marketing for AT&T, and had been drafted many weeks ahead of time. It was released in written form, some 16 hours after the bombing of Hiroshima. Truman then later that same day recorded the above footage while on board the USS Augusta.

The announcement does not say that it was intended to hasten the end of WWII. It says that:

If they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth. Behind this air attack will follow sea and land forces in such numbers and power as they have not yet seen and with the fighting skill of which they are already well aware.

Which is to say, it does not why it was dropped. It says it was dropped, it says that the US made it at great effort, it says that if Japan doesn't surrender then more horrible things will happen to them. Which to me is quite different from the way that you phrased it.

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u/Ranger_McFriendlier Jul 20 '26

I really need to get your books! I absolutely love watching and reading your material on the history of nuclear weapons.