) This was decided among him self and his advisors in a meeting at the pentagon on May 28th, 1945, just twenty days after his proposal of an "Unconditional surrender." On May 8th the president gave a much more precise definition to the phrase unconditional surrender. .
Our blows will not cease until Japanese military and naval forces lay down their arms in unconditional surrender. Just what does unconditional surrender of the armed forces mean for the Japanese people? It means the end of the war. It means the termination of the influence of the military leaders who have brought Japan to the present disaster.Unconditional surrender does not mean the extermination or enslavement of Japanese .
people. .
Japan is a nation rich in history, and overwhelmed with patriotic pride. Their country would have laid down if there was no threat to the emperor within the confines of this "unconditional surrender." Joseph Grew, the Acting Secretary of State, had a real fondness for the Japanese people. Grew spent 10 years in Japan and thought that a end to the war would with out a bombing would be humane and it would avoid alienating Japan as the struggle for influence in postwar Asia. The surrender did not happen, so 28 days later Truman retracted his offer. He was told by his advisors, including Secretary of War, Mr. Stimson, that this was not the right time for an announcement of this kind. If the war would go on for any longer a greater number of American lives would be lost, estimated around 500,000 more. Stimson added, the atomic bomb was a "master card" to be played. Now the stage has been set for one of the worlds worst destruction of man kind in history. "The bomb was dropped to save American lives and to bring a quicker end to the war." Or so this was and has been the defense for dropping S-1. Hiroshima was the first targeted city for the bombings. It was said to the public that our armed forces were attempting to target a military base of some kind, which is why they chose Hiroshima.
