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发帖数: 24733 | 1 斯韦尼就日本政府抗议美国纪念投放原子弹50周年一事于1995年5月11日在美国国会发
表的证词
我是美国空军退役少将查尔斯·斯韦尼。我是唯一一位参加了两次对日本原子轰炸的飞
行员，在对广岛的轰炸中担任驾驶员蒂贝茨上校的右座领航员，在对长崎的轰炸中任编
队指挥员。
作为唯一曾参与两次原子弹轰炸的飞行员，我将陈述本人亲身经历的往事。我要强调指
出，我所陈述的都是无可争辩的事实，而有些人就是无视这些明显的事实，因为这些事
实与他们头脑中的偏见不符。
此刻，作为经历了那段历史的人们，我要陈述我的思考、观察和结论。我相信杜鲁门总
统做出的对日本使用原子弹的决定不仅符合当时的情况，而且具有压倒其他可能选择的
道义上的必要性。像我们这一代绝大多数人一样，我最不希望发生的一件事就是战争。
我们这个民族不是穷兵黩武的骑士，我们不渴望那种辉煌。而当我国正在大萧条中挣扎
时，日本开始了对邻国的征服——搞什么“大东亚共荣圈”。
法西斯总是打着最漂亮的旗帜去掩饰最卑鄙的阴谋。这种“共荣”是通过对中国进行残
酷的总体战进行的。日本作为一个国家，认为自己命中注定要统治亚洲，并由此理应据
有亚洲的自然资源和广袤土地。日本屠杀无辜的男人、女人和孩子，未有丝毫的怜悯和
犹豫。在惨绝人寰的南京大屠杀中，30万手无寸铁的平民被屠杀。这是事实。
日本认为美国是阻止其实现在亚洲的“神授”命运的唯一障碍，于是对驻扎于珍珠港的
美国海军太平洋舰队进行了精心策划的偷袭。偷袭时间定于一个星期天的早晨，因为此
时行动可以最大限度地摧毁舰队实力、消灭人员，给予美国海军以致命的打击。数千名
美国水兵的生命湮灭于仍然沉睡在珍珠港湾底的亚利桑那号战列舰里，其中的许多士兵
甚至不清楚为什么受到突然袭击就已死去。战争就这样强加在美国的头上。
科雷吉多尔岛的陷落，以及随后对盟军战俘的屠杀，驱散了对日军兽性的最后一丝怀疑
。即使是在战时，日军的残暴也是令人发指的。巴丹的死亡进军充满恐怖。日本人认为
投降是对自身、对家庭、对祖国、对天皇的污辱。他们对自身和对敌人都毫不手软。
7000名美军和菲律宾战俘惨遭殴打、枪杀、被刺刀捅死，或惨死于疾病和饥饿。这些都
是事实！
随着美国在广阔的太平洋向日本缓慢地、艰苦地、一步一流血地进军，日本在最大的程
度上显示出它是一台冷酷无情、残暴无人性的杀人机器。无论战事多么令人绝望，无论
机会多么渺茫，无论结果多么确定，日本人都战至最后一人。为了取得可能大的光荣，
日军全力以赴去杀死尽可能多的美国人。美军开进得距日本本土越近，日本人的行为就
变得越疯狂。塞班岛美军阵亡3000人，其中在最后几小时就死了1500人。硫黄岛美军阵
亡6000人，伤21000人。冲绳岛美军阵亡12000人，伤38000人。“神风敢死队”驾驶装
载炸弹的飞机撞击美国军舰。队员认为这是天上人间至高的光荣，是向神之境界的升华。
日本用言语和行动表明，只要第一个美国人踏上日本本土，他们就处决所有的盟军战俘
。日本为大屠杀做了准备，强迫盟军战俘为自己挖掘坟墓。即使在投降后，他们仍然处
决了一些战俘。
《波茨坦公告》要求日本无条件投降。日本人认为这是荒唐可笑而不屑考虑的。我们从
截获的密码得知，日本打算拖延时间，争取以可接受的条件来谈判投降。
8月6日之前的几个月里，美国飞机开始轰炸日本本土，一个个日本城市化为火海，成千
上万的日本人死去，但日军仍然发誓决不投降。他们准备牺牲自己的人民，以换取他们
所理解的“光荣”和“荣誉”——不管死多少人。他们拒绝救助平民，尽管我们的飞行
员事先已就可能来临的空袭投撒了传单。在一次为期10天的轰炸行动中，东京、名古屋
、神户、大阪的许多地方化为灰烬。即使在用原子弹轰炸了广岛之后，日本军部仍然认
为美国只有一枚炸弹，日本可以继续坚持。在8月6日之后，他们有3天的时间投降，但
他们不。只有在长崎受到原子轰炸后，日本天皇才最后宣布投降。即使在这种情况下，
军方仍声称他们可以而且应该继续战斗。一些陆军军官发起叛乱，试图截获并销毁天皇
向日本人宣布投降的诏书。
这些事实有助于说明我们所面临的敌人的本质，有助于认清杜鲁门总统在进行各种选择
时所要考虑的背景，有助于理解为什么对日本进行原子轰炸是必要的。像每一个男女军
人一样，杜鲁门总统理解这些事实。伤亡不是某种抽象的统计数字，而是惨痛的事实。
原子弹是否结束了战争？是的。它们是必须的吗？对此存在争议。50年过去了，在某些
人看来，日本成为受害者，美军成为凶残成性的征服者和报复者；原子弹的使用是核时
代的不正义、不道德的起点。自然，为了支撑这种歪曲，他们必然要故意无视事实或者
编造新的材料以证明这种论调。其中最令人吃惊的行径之一就是否认日军曾进行过大屠
杀。事情怎么会弄成这个样子呢？
答案也许会从最近发生的一些事情中找到。当前关于杜鲁门总统为什么要下达对日本进
行原子轰炸的命令的争论，在某些情况下已变成数字游戏。日本财团在美国策划的“原
子轰炸后果”展览显示了卑微的修正主义论调，这种论调在史学界引起轩然大波。“原
子轰炸后果”展览传递出这样的信息：日本是无辜的受害者，美国是罪恶的侵略者。想
象一下如果你的孩子去看展览，他们会留下什么样的印象？他们还会知道事实的真相吗？
在一个全国性的电视辩论中，我听到这样一位所谓的杰出历史学家声称，原子弹是没有
必要的，杜鲁门总统是想用原子弹吓唬俄国人，日本本来已经打算投降了。还有些人提
出，艾森豪威尔将军曾说过，日本已准备投降，没有必要使用原子弹。然而，基于同样
的判断，艾森豪威尔曾严重低估了德国继续战斗的意志，在1944年就下结论说德国已无
力进行攻势作战。这是一个灾难性的错误判断，其结果即是“突出部战役”的失败。是
役中数万盟军毫无必要地牺牲了，盟国面临着允许德国拖延战争和有条件投降的风险。
一个相当公正的结论是，根据太平洋战场上已发生的情况，可以合理地预测，日本将是
比德国更疯狂的敌人。
最后，有一种理论认为，如果盟军进攻日本本土，我们的伤亡不是100万，而是只要死
上46000人就够了。只不过是46000！你能够想象这种论调的冷酷吗？仅46000人，好像
这些是无关紧要的美国人的生命。
此时此刻，我要承认，我不清楚在对日本本土的登陆进攻中美军将伤亡多少人，也没有
任何人知道。根据对日本战时行为的判断，我认为，一个公正合理的假设是，对日本本
土的进攻将是漫长而代价高昂的。根据我们所知道的情况而不是根据某些人无端的臆想
，日本不打算无条件投降。在对硫磺岛这样一个太平洋中8平方英里的岛礁的进攻中，
就有6000名海军陆战队官兵牺牲，伤亡总数高达27000人。对于那些认为我们的损失“
仅是”46000人的人，我要问：是哪46000人？谁的父亲？谁的丈夫？谁的兄弟？谁的儿
子？
是的，我只注意到了美国人的生命。但是，日本的命运掌握造日本人的手中，而美国不
是。数以万计的美军部队焦急地在大洋中等待着进攻。他们的命运取决于日本下一步怎
么走。日本可以选择在任何时刻投降，但他们选择了等待。而就是日本“无所作为”的
时候，随着战事的进行，美军每天伤亡900多人。
我曾听到另一种说法，称我们应该与日本谈判，达成一个日本可以接受的有条件投降。
我从来没听任何人提出过与法西斯德国谈判投降。这是一个疯狂的念头，任何有理性的
人都不会说出这样的话。与这样一个邪恶的法西斯魔鬼谈判，就是承认其合法性，即使
是已经在事实上打败了它。这并不是那个时代空洞的哲学上的原则，而是人类的正义要
求，必须彻底、干净地铲除法西斯恶魔的势力，必须粉碎这些邪恶的力量。法西斯的领
导者已经无情地打碎了外交的信誉。
为什么太平洋战争的历史这么容易就被遗忘了呢？也许原因就存在于目前正在进行着的
对历史的歪曲，对集体记忆的歪曲。在战败50年后，日本领导人轻率地声称他们是受害
者，广岛、长崎与南京大屠杀在实质上是一回事！整整几代日本人不知道他们的国家在
第二次世界大战中都干了些什么，这可以解释为什么他们不理解日本为何要向其受害者
道歉。与德国认罪的姿态不同，日本坚持认为它没干任何错事，它的行为是受当时局势
的拖累。这种态度粉碎了任何真正弥合创伤的希望。只有记忆才能带来真正的原谅，而
遗忘就可能冒重复历史的危险。
通过精心策划的政治公关活动，日本现在建议使用“太平洋胜利日”来取代“对日胜利
日”这一术语。他们说，这一术语将会使太平洋战争的结束“不那么特别与日本有关”。
有些人可能会提出，这些文字又能说明什么呢？对日本胜利，太平洋的胜利，让我们庆
祝一个事件，而不是一个胜利。我要说，话语就是一切。庆祝一个事件！类似于庆祝一
个商场开业典礼，而不是欢庆战争的胜利。这将分裂整个地球。数以千万计的死者、数
以千万计受到身心伤害的人和更多的人将会不知所措。这种对语言的攻击是颠倒历史、
混淆是非的工具。文字或话语可以像任何一种武器一样具有毁灭性：黑即白，奴役即自
由，侵略即和平。在某种程度上，通过抹除精确的描述文字而对我们语言所展开的攻击
，要比50年前日本对我们进行的真正的侵略更具有危害性，至少在真正的侵略中，敌人
是清楚的，威胁是清楚的。
今天，日本巧妙地打起种族主义这张牌，以此来宣示其行为的正义性：日本不是进行罪
恶的侵略，而只是从白人帝国主义中解放受压迫的亚洲大众。解放！是啊，他们用屠杀
“解放”了3000万无辜的亚洲人。我坚信，这3000万无辜的人，他们的家人，他们的后
代，永远也不会欣赏日本“崇高”的行为。
经常有人问我，用原子弹轰炸日本是否是出于报复，是否是蓄意毁灭一个古老而令人尊
敬的文明。对此有如下事实：一，在最初的轰炸目标清单上包括京都。虽然京都也是一
个合法的目标，在先前的空袭中未曾予以轰炸，但陆军部长史汀生还是把它从目标清单
中去掉了，因为京都是日本的古都，也是日本的文化宗教中心。二，在战时我们受到严
格约束，在任何情况下不得轰炸东京的皇宫，尽管我们很容易识别皇宫并炸死天皇。毕
竟我们不是为了报复。我经常想，如果日本有机会轰炸白宫、杀死美国总统，是否也会
像美国这样克制。我认为不会。
在此让我澄清一个事实，纠正一个长期以来的偏见，那就是我们故意选择人口密集的城
市轰炸。实际上我们要轰炸的每一个目标城市都有重要的军事价值。广岛是日军南方司
令部所在地，并集结了实力可观的防御部队。长崎是日本最大的造船工业中心，还有两
个重要的兵工厂。在这两个城市，日本都把兵工厂和部队配置于市区中心。
像在任何一场战争中一样，我们的目标，理所当然的目标，就是胜利。这是一个不可动
摇的目标。我不想否认双方死了许多人，我不为战争的残酷而骄傲或欢乐，我不希望我
国或敌国的人民受难。每个生命都是宝贵的。但我的确认为这样一个问题应该去问日本
战犯，是他们以日本人民为代价追求自身的辉煌。他们发动了战争，并拒绝停止战争。
难道他们不应为所有的苦难、为日本的灾难负最终的责任吗？
也许,如果日本人真切地了解过去，认清他们国家在战争中的责任，他们将会看到日本
战犯才应负起战争的罪责。日本人民应该给远东人民一个答复，是谁把灾难强加给远东
各国，最后强加给日本自己。当然如果我们与日本人一道抹煞历史的真相，那么这一点
是永远也做不到的。如果日本人民不追询并接受真相，怎能安心地与自己相处，与亚洲
邻国、与美国相处？
我和我的部属在执行原子轰炸任务时坚信，我们将结束战争。我们并没有感到高兴，而
是有一种责任感和使命感，而且我们想回到自己的家人身边。
今天，我站在这里作证，并不是庆祝原子弹的使用，而是相反。我希望我的使命是最后
一次。我们作为一个民族，应该对原子弹的存在感到恐惧。我就感到恐惧。但这并不意
味着回到1945年8月，在战时情况下，在敌人顽固凶残的抵抗下，杜鲁门总统没有义务
使用所有可能的武器结束战争。我同意杜鲁门总统的决定，当时以及现在。战后几年中
，有人问杜鲁门总统是否还有其他选择，他响亮地说：没有。接着他提醒提问者：记住
，珍珠港的死难者也没有其它选择！战争总是代价高昂的，正如罗伯特·李将军所说：
“战争如此残酷是件好事，否则就会有人喜欢它。”
感谢上帝使我们拥有原子武器，而不是日本和德国。科学有其自身的逻辑，迟早会有人
设计出原子弹。科学不能被否定。关于制造原子弹是否明智的问题，终将被原子弹已被
制造出来这一事实所压倒。由于德国和日本法西斯被击败，世界变得更好了。日本和美
国的年轻人不再相互杀戮，而是生长、成家立业，在和平中生活。作为10个孩子的父亲
和21个孩子的祖父，我可以表明，我很高兴战争这样结束。 | j*********r
发帖数: 24733 | 2 英文原文，Cited from page 273 to page 286
Charles W. Sweeney, et al., War's End: An Eyewitness Account of
America's Last Atomic Mission, July 6, 1999, Quill Press
此书Amazon有售
http://www.amazon.com/Wars-End-Eyewitness-Account-Americas/dp/0
Testimony of Major General Charles W. Sweeney, U.S.A.F. (Ret.)
delivered before the United States Senate Committee on Rules and
Administration – hearings on the Smithsonian Institution: Management
Guidelines for the Future, May 11, 1995.
I am Major General Charles W. Sweeney, United States Air Force,
Retired. I am the only pilot to have flown on both atomic missions. I
flew the instrument plane on the right wing of General Paul Tibbets on
the Hiroshima mission and three days later, on August 9, 1945,
commanded the second atomic mission over Nagasaki. Six days after
Nagasaki the Japanese military surrendered and the Second World War
came to an end.
The soul of a nation – its essence – is its history. It is that
collective memory which defines what each generation thinks and
believes about itself and its country. In a free society, such as
ours, there is always an ongoing debate about who we are and what we
stand for. This open debate is, in fact, essential to our freedom. But
to have such a debate we as a society must have the courage to
consider all of the facts available to us. We must have the courage to
stand up and demand that before any conclusions are reached, those
facts which are beyond question are accepted as part of the debate.
As the fiftieth anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki missions
approaches, now is an appropriate time to consider the reasons for
Harry Truman’s order that these missions be flown. We may disagree on
the conclusion, but let us at least be honest enough to agree on basic
facts of the time – the facts that President Truman had to consider in
making a difficult and momentous decision.
As the only pilot to have flown both missions, and having commanded
the Nagasaki mission, I bring to this debate my own eyewitness account
of the times. I underscore what I believe are irrefutable facts, with
full knowledge that some opinion makers may cavalierly dismiss them
because they are so obvious – because they interfere with their
preconceived version of the truth and the meaning which they strive to
impose on missions.
This morning, I want to offer my thoughts, observations, and
conclusions as someone who lived this country and who believes that
President Truman’s decision was not only justified by the
circumstances of his time but was a moral imperative that precluded
and other option.
Like the overwhelming majority of my generation, the last thing I
wanted was a war. We as a nation are not warriors. We are not
hell-bent on glory. There is no warrior class…no samurai…no master
race. This is true today, and it was true fifty years ago. While our
country was struggling through the Great Depression, the Japanese were
embarking on the conquest of their neighbors – the Greater East Asia
Co-Prosperity Sphere. It seems fascism always seeks some innocuous
slogan to cover the most hideous plans.
This co-prosperity was achieved by waging total and merciless war
against China and Manchuria. Japan, as a nation, saw itself as
destined to rule Asia and thereby posses its natural resources and
open lands. With the slightest remorse or hesitation, the Japanese
army slaughtered innocent men, women, and children. In the infamous
Rape of Nanking, up to three hundred thousand unarmed civilians were
butchered. There were criminal acts. There are facts.
In order to fulfill its divine destiny in Asia, Japan determined that
the only real impediment to this goal was the United States. It
launched a carefully conceived sneak attack on our Pacific fleet at
Pearl Harbor. Timed for a Sunday morning, it was intend to deal a
death blow to the fleet by inflicting the maximum loss of ships and
human life. Hundreds of sailors are still entombed in the bull of the
USS Arizona, which sits on the bottom of Pearl Harbor. Many if not
all, died without ever knowing why. Thus was the war thrust upon us.
The fall of Corregidor and the resulting treatment of Allied prisoners
of war dispelled any remaining doubt about the inhumanness of the
Japanese army, even in the context of war. The Bataan Death March was
horror in its fullest dimension. The Japanese considered surrender to
be dishonorable to oneself, one’s family, one’s country and one’s god.
They showed no mercy. Seven thousand American and Filipino POWs were
beaten, shot, bayoneted, or left to die of disease or exhaustion.
These are facts.
As the United States made its slow, arduous, and costly march across
the vast expanse of the Pacific, the Japanese proved to be a ruthless
and intractable killing machine. No matter how futile, no matter
hopeless the odds, no matter how certain the outcome, the Japanese
fought to the death. And to achieve a greater glory, they strove to
kill as many Americans as possible. The closer the United States came
to the Japanese mainland, the more fanatical their actions became.
Saipan: 3,000 Americans killed, 1,500 in the first few hours of the invasion.
Iwo Jima: 6,000 Americans killed, 21,000 wounded.
Okinawa: 12,000 Americans killed, total wounded 38,000.
There are facts reported by simple white grave marker.
Kamikazes. The literal translation is “diving wind.” To willingly dive
a plane loaded with bombs into American ship was a glorious
transformation to godliness – there was no higher honor on heaven or
earth. At Okinawa the suicidal assaults of the kamikazes took 5,000
American navy men to their deaths.
The Japanese, through word and deed, made clear and that with the
first American to step foot on the mainland, they would execute every
Allied prisoner. In preparation they forced the POWs to dig their own
graves in the event of mass executions. Even after their surrender,
they executed some American POWs. These are facts.
The Potsdam Declaration had called for unconditional surrender of the
Japanese armed forces. The Japanese termed it ridiculous and not
worthy of consideration. We know from our intercepts of their coded
messages that they wanted to stall for time to force a negotiated
surrender on terms acceptable to them.
For months prior to August 6, American aircraft began dropping
firebombs upon the Japanese mainland. The wind created by the
firestorms from the bombs incinerated whole cities. Hundreds of
thousands of Japanese died. Still the Japanese military vowed never to
surrender. They were prepared to sacrifice their own people to achieve
their visions of glory and honor – no matter how many more people
died. They refused to evacuate civilians even though our pilots
dropped leaflets warning of the possible bombings. In one ten-day’s
period, thirty-two square miles of Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, and Osaka were
reduced to rubble. These are facts.
And even after bombing of Hiroshima, Tojo, his successor, Suzuki, and
the military clique in control believed the United States had but one
bomb, and that Japan could go on. They had three days to surrender
after August 6, but they did not surrender. And even then, the
military argued could and should fight on. A group of army officers
staged a coup and tried to seize and destroy the emperor’s recorded
message to his people announcing the surrender. There are facts.
There facts help illuminated the nature of the enemy we faced. They
help put into context the process by which Truman considered the
options available to him. And they help to add meaning to why the
missions were necessary. President Truman understood these facts, as
did every serviceman and servicewoman. Casualties were not some
abstraction but a sobering reality.
Did the atomic missions end the war?
Yes…they…did.
Were they necessary?
Well, that’s where the rub comes.
With the fog of fifty years drifting over the memory of our country,
to some the Japanese are now the victims. America was the insatiable,
vindictive aggressor seeking revenge and conquest. Our use of these
weapons was the unjustified and immoral starting point for the nuclear
age, with all of its honors. Of course, to support such distortion,
one must conveniently ignore the real facts or fabricate new realities
to fit the theories. This is no less egregious than those who today
deny the Holocaust occurred.
How could this have happened?
The answer may lie in examining some recent events.
The current debate about why President Truman ordered these missions,
in some cases, has developed to a numbers game. The Smithsonian, in
its proposed exhibit of the Enola Gay, revealed the creeping
revisionism which seems the rage in certain historical circles.
That exhibit wanted to memorialize the fiction that the Japanese were
the victims – we the evil aggressors. Imagine taking your children and
grandchildren to this exhibit.
What message would they have left with?
What truth would they retain?
What would they think their country stood for?
And all of this would have occurred in an American institution whose
very name and charter are supposed to stand for the impartial
preservation of significant American artifacts.
By canceling the proposed exhibit and simply displaying the Enola gay,
has truth won out?
Maybe not.
In one nationally televised discussion, I heard so-called prominent
historian argue that the bombs were not necessary. That President
Truman was intent on intimidating the Russians. That the Japanese were
ready to surrender. The Japanese were ready to surrender? Based on
what?
Some point to statements by General Eisenhower that Japan was about
fall and that use of the bomb was unnecessary. Well, based on that
some outlook, Eisenhower seriously underestimated Germany’s will to
fight on and concluded in December 1944 that Germany no longer had the
capacity to wage offensive war. That was a tragic miscalculation. The
result was the Battle of the Bulge, which resulted in tens of
thousands of needless Allied casualties and potentially allowed
Germany to prolong the war and force negotiation.
Eisenhower later candidly admitted about his comments on the bomb, “My
views were merely personal and an immediate reaction; they were not
based upon any analysis of the subject.” Thus the assessment that
Japan was vanquished may have the benefit of hindsight rather than
foresight.
It is certainly fair to conclude that the Japanese could have been
reasonably expected to be even more fanatical than the Germans, based
on the history of the war in the Pacific.
And, finally, a present-day theory making the rounds espouses that
even if an invasion had taken place, our casualties would not have
been a million, as many believed, but realistically only forty-six
thousand dead.
Only forty-six thousand!
Can you imagine the callousness of this line of argument?
Only forty-six thousand – as if this were some insignificant number of
American lives.
Perhaps these so-called historians want to sell books.
Perhaps they really believe it.
Or perhaps it reflects some self-loathing occasioned by the fact that
we won the war.
Whatever the reason, the argument is flawed. It dissects and
recalculates events ideologically – grasping at selective straws.
Let me admit right here, today, that I don’t know how many more
Americans would have died in an invasion – and neither does anyone
else.
What I do know is that based on the Japanese conduct during the war,
it is fair and reasonable to assume that an invasion of the mainland
would have been a prolonged and bloody affair. Based on what we know –
not someone surmises – the Japanese were not about to unconditionally
surrender.
In taking Iwo Jima – a tiny eight-square-mile lump of rock in the
ocean, six thousand marines dies – total casualties around 27,000.
But even assuming that those who know our casualties would have been
only forty-six thousand I ask – Which forty-six thousand were to die?
Whose father?
Whose brother?
Whose husband?
And yes, I am focusing on American lives.
The Japanese had their fate in their own hands. We did not. Hundreds
of thousands of American troops anxiously waited at staging areas in
the Pacific dreading the coming invasion – their fate resting on what
the Japanese would do next. The Japanese could have ended it at any
time. They chose to wait. And while the Japanese stalled, an average
of nine hundred more Americans were killed or wounded each day the war
continued.
I have heard another line of argument that we should have accepted a
negotiated peace with the Japanese on terms they would have found
acceptable. I have never heard anyone suggest that we should have
negotiated a peace with Nazi Germany. Such an idea is so outrageous
that no rational human being would utter the words. To negotiate with
such evil fascism was to allow it, even in defeat, a measure of
legitimacy. This is not just some empty philosophical principle of the
time – it was essential that these forces of evil be clearly and
irrevocably defeated, their demise unequivocal. Their leadership had
forfeited any expectation of diplomatic niceties. How is it, then that
the history of the war in the Pacific can be so soon forgotten? The
reason may lie in the advancing erosion of our history – of our
collective memory.
Fifty years after their defeat, Japanese officials have the temerity
to claim they were the victims. That Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the
equivalent of the Holocaust. And, believe it or not, there are
actually some American academics who support this analogy, thus aiding
and giving comfort to a fifty-year attempt by the Japanese to rewrite
their own history – and ours in the process. There is an entire
generation of Japanese who do not know the full extent of their
country’s conduct during World War II.
This explains why they do not comprehend why they must apologize…
For the Korean comfort women.
For the medical experimentation on POWs which match the honor of those
conducted by the Nazis.
For the plans to use biological weapons against the United States by
infecting civilian populations on the West Coast.
For the methodical slaughter of civilians.
And for much more…
In a perverse invasion, by forgetting our own history we contribute to
the Japanese amnesia, to the detriment of both our nations. Unlike
Germany, which acknowledged its guilt, Japan persists in the fiction
that it did nothing wrong, that it was trapped by circumstances. This
only forecloses any genuine prospect that the deep wounds suffered by
both nations can be closed and healed. One can only forgive by
remembering. And to forget is to risk repeating history.
The Japanese, in a well-orchestrated political and public relations
campaign, have now proposed that the use of the term “V-J day” be
replace by the more benign “Victory in the Pacific Day.” How
convenient. This, they claim, will make the commemoration of the end
of the war in the Pacific less “Japan-specific.” Some might argue, so
what’s in a word? Victory over Japan…Victory in the Pacific…Let’s
celebrate an event, not a victory.
I say everything is in a word. Celebrate an event! Kind of like
celebrating the opening of a shopping mall rather the end of a war
that engulfed the entire earth – which left countless millions dead
and countless millions more physically or mentally wounded and
countless more millions displaced. This assault on the use of language
is Orwellian and is the tool by which history and memory are blurred.
Words can be just as destructive as any weapon. Up is down. Slavery is
freedom. Aggression is peace. In some ways this assault on our
language and history by the elimination of accurate and descriptive
words is far more insidious than the actual aggression carried out by
the Japanese fifty years ago. At least then the threat was clear – the
enemy well defined.
Today the Japanese justify their conduct by artfully playing the race
card – they were not engaged in a criminal enterprise of aggression.
No – Japan was simply liberating the oppressed masses of Asia from
white imperialism. Liberation! Yes, they liberated over twenty million
innocent Asian by killing them. I am sure those twenty million, their
families, and the generations never to be, appreciate the noble effort
of the Japanese. I am often asked was the bomb dropped for vengeance –
as was suggested by one draft of the Smithsonian exhibit. That we
sought to destroy an ancient and honorable culture.
Here are some more inconvenient facts:
One. One the original target list for the atomic missions, Kyoto was
included. Although this would have been a legitimate target, on that
had not been bombed previously, Secretary of State Henry Stimson
removed it from the list because it was the ancient capital of japan
and was the religious center of Japanese culture.
Two. We were under strict orders during the war that under no
circumstances were we to ever bomb the Imperial Palace in Tokyo – even
though we could have easily leveled it and possibly kill the emperor.
So much for vengeance. I often wonder if Japan would have shown such
restraint if it had had the opportunity to bomb the White House…I
think not.
At this point let me dispel one of many longstanding myths that our
targets were intended to be civilian populations, Each target for the
missions had significant military importance – Hiroshima was the
headquarters for the southern command, responsible for the defense of
Honshu in the event of an invasion, and it garrisoned seasoned troops
who would mount the initial defense. Nagasaki was an industrial center
with the two large Mitsubishi armaments factories. In both Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, the Japanese had integrated these industries and troops
right in the heart of each city.
As in any war, our goal was – as it should be – to win. The stakes
were too high to equivocate. I am often asked if I ever think of the
Japanese who dies at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I do not revel in the
idea that so many on both sides died, not only at those two places but
around the world, in that horrible conflict. I take no pride or
pleasure in the brutality of war, whether suffered by many people or
those of another nation. Every life is precious. But does seem to me
such a question is more appropriately directed to the Japanese
warlords who so willingly offered up their people to achieve their
visions of greatness. They who started the war and then stubbornly
refused to stop it must be called to account. Don’t they have the
ultimate responsibility for all the deaths of their countrymen?
Perhaps if the Japanese came grips their past and their true part in
the war they would hold those Japanese military leaders accountable.
The Japanese people deserve an answer from those who brought such
misery to the nations of the Far East and ultimately to their own
people. Of course, this can never happen if we collaborate with
Japanese in wiping away the truth. How can Japan ever reconcile with
itself, its Asian neighbors, and the United States if it does do not
demand and accept the truth?
My crew and I flew these missions with the belief that they would
bring the war to an end. There was no sense of joy. There was a sense
of duty and commitment that we wanted to get back to our families and
loved ones.
Today millions of people in American and in Southeast Asia are alive
because the war ended when it did. I don’t stand here celebrating the
use of nuclear weapons. Quite the contrary, I hope that my mission is
the last such mission ever flown. We as a nation should abhor the
existence of nuclear weapons. I certainly do. But that does not then
mean that, back in August of 1945, given the events of the war and
recalcitrance of our enemy, President Truman was not obligated to use
all the weapons at his disposal to end the war. I agreed with Harry
Truman then, and I still do today. Years after the war, Truman was
asked if he had any second thoughts. He said emphatically – no. He
then asked the questioner to remember the men who died at Pearl Harbor
who did not have the benefit of second thoughts. In war, the stakes
are high. As Robert E. Lee said, “It is good that war is so horrible,
or we might grow to like it.
I thank God that it was we who had this weapon and not the Japanese or
the Germans. The science was there. Eventually someone would have
developed this weapon. Science can never be denied – it finds a way to
self-fulfillment. The question of whether it was wise to develop such
a weapon would have eventually been overcome by the fact that it could
be done. The Soviets would have certainly proceeded to develop their
own bomb – let us not forget that Joseph Stalin was no less evil than
Tojo or his former ally, Adolf Hitler. At last count, Stalin committed
genocide on at least twenty million of his own citizens.
The world is a better place because German and Japanese fascism failed
to conquer the world. Japan and Germany are better places because we
were benevolent in our victory. The youth of Japan and the United
States, spared from further needless slaughter, went on to live and
have families and grow old.
As the father of ten children and the grandfather of twenty-one, I can
state that I am certainly grateful that the war ended when it did. I
do not speak for all veterans of that war. But I believe that my sense
of pride in having served in my country in that great conflict is
shared by all veterans. This is why the truth about that war must be
preserved. We veterans are not shrinking violets. Our sensibilities
will not be shattered in intelligent and controversial debate. We can
handle ourselves.
But we will not – we can not – allow armchair second-guessers to frame
the debate by hiding facts from the American public and the world. I
have great faith in the good sense and fairness of the American people
to consider all of the facts and make an informed judgment about the
war’s end. This is an important debate. The soul of our nation – its
essence, its history – is at stake. | s*********r
发帖数: 9493 | | b******s
发帖数: 2919 | 4
why. USA didn't need to invade Japan. They could have reached a cease fire
without further deaths. -- left bee
【在 s*********r 的大作中提到】
: 斯韦尼证词有理有利有节：支持杰瑞猫的帖子。
| A**d
发帖数: 13310 | 5 难得跟甜甜观点一致，奥巴马就是个颠倒黑白的人渣
【在 s*********r 的大作中提到】
: 斯韦尼证词有理有利有节：支持杰瑞猫的帖子。
| t*******d
发帖数: 12895 | 6 稀拉拉紧跟奥粑粑的屁股舔得太起劲都拉稀了，舔妈怎么看？
【在 A**d 的大作中提到】
: 难得跟甜甜观点一致，奥巴马就是个颠倒黑白的人渣
| a***e
发帖数: 27968 | 7 致敬
★ 发自iPhone App: ChineseWeb 1.0.6
【在 j*********r 的大作中提到】
: 斯韦尼就日本政府抗议美国纪念投放原子弹50周年一事于1995年5月11日在美国国会发
: 表的证词
: 我是美国空军退役少将查尔斯·斯韦尼。我是唯一一位参加了两次对日本原子轰炸的飞
: 行员，在对广岛的轰炸中担任驾驶员蒂贝茨上校的右座领航员，在对长崎的轰炸中任编
: 队指挥员。
: 作为唯一曾参与两次原子弹轰炸的飞行员，我将陈述本人亲身经历的往事。我要强调指
: 出，我所陈述的都是无可争辩的事实，而有些人就是无视这些明显的事实，因为这些事
: 实与他们头脑中的偏见不符。
: 此刻，作为经历了那段历史的人们，我要陈述我的思考、观察和结论。我相信杜鲁门总
: 统做出的对日本使用原子弹的决定不仅符合当时的情况，而且具有压倒其他可能选择的
| d*****t
发帖数: 7903 | | J*8
发帖数: 616 | 9
【在 j*********r 的大作中提到】
: 斯韦尼就日本政府抗议美国纪念投放原子弹50周年一事于1995年5月11日在美国国会发
: 表的证词
: 我是美国空军退役少将查尔斯·斯韦尼。我是唯一一位参加了两次对日本原子轰炸的飞
: 行员，在对广岛的轰炸中担任驾驶员蒂贝茨上校的右座领航员，在对长崎的轰炸中任编
: 队指挥员。
: 作为唯一曾参与两次原子弹轰炸的飞行员，我将陈述本人亲身经历的往事。我要强调指
: 出，我所陈述的都是无可争辩的事实，而有些人就是无视这些明显的事实，因为这些事
: 实与他们头脑中的偏见不符。
: 此刻，作为经历了那段历史的人们，我要陈述我的思考、观察和结论。我相信杜鲁门总
: 统做出的对日本使用原子弹的决定不仅符合当时的情况，而且具有压倒其他可能选择的
| m********g
发帖数: 10469 | 10 甜大妈忽左忽右，理都在甜妈嘴上，怎么都是赢
【在 s*********r 的大作中提到】
: 斯韦尼证词有理有利有节：支持杰瑞猫的帖子。
| | | h******h
发帖数: 1257 | | r***i
发帖数: 9780 | 12 何止奥粑粑
左逼有一个不是这样子的么？
难得跟甜甜观点一致，奥巴马就是个颠倒黑白的人渣
【在 A**d 的大作中提到】
: 难得跟甜甜观点一致，奥巴马就是个颠倒黑白的人渣
| a*********a
发帖数: 3656 | 13 I d say that at that particular junction of history, Japanese lives did not
matter. if they had to drop a 3rd, 4th or 5th atomic bomb, they should very
well do it.
some 60,000 people died in Hiroshima and 40,000 in Nagasaki. Even counting
those who died years later due to radiation exposure, it was at most 200k.
Less than the number of Chinese murdered in the single city of Nanjing.
【在 j*********r 的大作中提到】
: 斯韦尼就日本政府抗议美国纪念投放原子弹50周年一事于1995年5月11日在美国国会发
: 表的证词
: 我是美国空军退役少将查尔斯·斯韦尼。我是唯一一位参加了两次对日本原子轰炸的飞
: 行员，在对广岛的轰炸中担任驾驶员蒂贝茨上校的右座领航员，在对长崎的轰炸中任编
: 队指挥员。
: 作为唯一曾参与两次原子弹轰炸的飞行员，我将陈述本人亲身经历的往事。我要强调指
: 出，我所陈述的都是无可争辩的事实，而有些人就是无视这些明显的事实，因为这些事
: 实与他们头脑中的偏见不符。
: 此刻，作为经历了那段历史的人们，我要陈述我的思考、观察和结论。我相信杜鲁门总
: 统做出的对日本使用原子弹的决定不仅符合当时的情况，而且具有压倒其他可能选择的
| j*********r
发帖数: 24733 | | s*******1
发帖数: 16479 | 15 谢谢，拜读了。以杀止杀，这是日本人的选择
我现在看日剧或红白歌会，都会看到所谓花样“美男”，矮小，顶着浓重刘海，女性化
得很。但是很多日剧的情节或剧中人物的心态又冋异常人。
有时难免会想，如果有一天，战争重临东亚，日本这个民族还会象以前那么野蛮吗？究
竟是女性化一面主导，还是变态一面主导
【在 j*********r 的大作中提到】
: 建议蛋糕妹子认真读一下这个。
| j******y
发帖数: 565 | 16 这才是common sense, 可惜在现在的社会里,有这样common sense的人已经不多了.
【在 j*********r 的大作中提到】
: 斯韦尼就日本政府抗议美国纪念投放原子弹50周年一事于1995年5月11日在美国国会发
: 表的证词
: 我是美国空军退役少将查尔斯·斯韦尼。我是唯一一位参加了两次对日本原子轰炸的飞
: 行员，在对广岛的轰炸中担任驾驶员蒂贝茨上校的右座领航员，在对长崎的轰炸中任编
: 队指挥员。
: 作为唯一曾参与两次原子弹轰炸的飞行员，我将陈述本人亲身经历的往事。我要强调指
: 出，我所陈述的都是无可争辩的事实，而有些人就是无视这些明显的事实，因为这些事
: 实与他们头脑中的偏见不符。
: 此刻，作为经历了那段历史的人们，我要陈述我的思考、观察和结论。我相信杜鲁门总
: 统做出的对日本使用原子弹的决定不仅符合当时的情况，而且具有压倒其他可能选择的
| j*********r
发帖数: 24733 | 17 不谢，我想现在你对美军在核爆前对广岛和长崎的精确记录应该有点不同的看法了吧。
【在 s*******1 的大作中提到】
: 谢谢，拜读了。以杀止杀，这是日本人的选择
: 我现在看日剧或红白歌会，都会看到所谓花样“美男”，矮小，顶着浓重刘海，女性化
: 得很。但是很多日剧的情节或剧中人物的心态又冋异常人。
: 有时难免会想，如果有一天，战争重临东亚，日本这个民族还会象以前那么野蛮吗？究
: 竟是女性化一面主导，还是变态一面主导
| s*******1
发帖数: 16479 | 18 嗯，是的。我当时也只是一念闪过。
毕竟家里老人常叨叨日本人多残忍，从小就对他们的暴行铭心刻骨
【在 j*********r 的大作中提到】
: 不谢，我想现在你对美军在核爆前对广岛和长崎的精确记录应该有点不同的看法了吧。
| m*****u
发帖数: 19562 | 19 才70年过去， 就变成这个样子了。
民主真是好东西啊，毒了别人也毒了自己。
【在 j*********r 的大作中提到】
: 斯韦尼就日本政府抗议美国纪念投放原子弹50周年一事于1995年5月11日在美国国会发
: 表的证词
: 我是美国空军退役少将查尔斯·斯韦尼。我是唯一一位参加了两次对日本原子轰炸的飞
: 行员，在对广岛的轰炸中担任驾驶员蒂贝茨上校的右座领航员，在对长崎的轰炸中任编
: 队指挥员。
: 作为唯一曾参与两次原子弹轰炸的飞行员，我将陈述本人亲身经历的往事。我要强调指
: 出，我所陈述的都是无可争辩的事实，而有些人就是无视这些明显的事实，因为这些事
: 实与他们头脑中的偏见不符。
: 此刻，作为经历了那段历史的人们，我要陈述我的思考、观察和结论。我相信杜鲁门总
: 统做出的对日本使用原子弹的决定不仅符合当时的情况，而且具有压倒其他可能选择的
| m*****u
发帖数: 19562 | 20 日本人也中了民主的毒， 放心吧
【在 s*******1 的大作中提到】
: 谢谢，拜读了。以杀止杀，这是日本人的选择
: 我现在看日剧或红白歌会，都会看到所谓花样“美男”，矮小，顶着浓重刘海，女性化
: 得很。但是很多日剧的情节或剧中人物的心态又冋异常人。
: 有时难免会想，如果有一天，战争重临东亚，日本这个民族还会象以前那么野蛮吗？究
: 竟是女性化一面主导，还是变态一面主导
| | | w********2
发帖数: 16371 | 21 obama 这架势要超越美国总统，是要当宇宙大总统， | z********2
发帖数: 3556 | 22 看过，再顶一次！
日本这次变态国家，2颗实在太少了，特别是东京没挨一颗真的太不爽啦！ | r**********f
发帖数: 2808 | 23 顶！原子弹拯救了多少美国人，中国人，和其他被日本侵略的国家的人民的生命啊。 |
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