On August 9, after Nagasaki was bombed, Truman made a public statement on why the atomic bombs were used: Having found the bomb we have used it. ... One observer south of Santa Barbara reported seeing a light blinking offshore from a low-flying craft...A witness described the submarine as 'about as big as a destroyer or a cruiser'" (Lawrence 2). ... In August of 1944 the war in Europe was over and only the war with Japan remained. ... Truman's motives, therefore, cannot be called into question in light of the results of his decision. ...

• Word Count: 1339
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

On August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber named Enola Gay left the Pacific island of Tinian to bomb the Japanese city of Hiroshima. ... There was a tremendous fireball of white light. ... It was August 9, 1945, three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, when the Japanese government did not surrender, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki . ... Japan surrendered to the Allied forces on August 14, 1945. ...

• Word Count: 1619
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Only the words of General Thomas Farrel, present at the site, could fully explain the magnitude of the situation; he wrote: [The] whole country was lighted by a searing light with the intensity many times that of the midday sun. ... It lighted every peak, crevasse and ridge of the nearby mountain range with a clarity and beauty that cannot be described but must be seen to be imagined. ... By August 6, 1945, everything was ready for the Hiroshima mission. ... Shortly after, on August 14, 1945, Japan finally surrendered, and World War II came to a close. ...

• Word Count: 2170
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

This non-Western account made me believe for the first time that, in some respects, the dropping of the atomic bombs in Japan during August, 1945 was more deplorable than the Japanese offensive at Pearl Harbor. ... Hachiya, after meeting with troops at his hospital, relates in his diary how impressed they were with the American troops" light-heartedness, friendliness and warmth. ... I had always stoically studied August 6, 1945 as a part of the closing days of World War II. ...

• Word Count: 1909
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate