"Killing the Rising Sun" by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

Above: Today is 75th anniversary of Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, 07 December 1941. I completed reading this book today. "Killing the Rising Sun. How America Vanquished World War II Japan." By Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. 299 pages.

McArthur was against dropping the atomic bomb on Japan.

The Pacific War in WWII is a familiar topic. I've seen countless movies. Start with "Bridge on the River Kwai," and "Tora, Tora, Tora."

I read William Manchester's great biography of Douglas MacArthur, when I was living in MacArthur's beloved Philippines, during the early 1980's.

My father in law was a seaman at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944.

I was born 12 August 1945, two days after Truman called on Japan to unconditionally surrender, and two days before Japan issued its unconditional surrender.

I have stood and reflected at the USS Arizona War Memorial at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

I've walked through Intramuros, the walled city of Manila, savagely destroyed, more out of spite than by military necessity, by Japanese troops in mid 1944.

I've walked through the Malinta Tunnel on Corregidor.

For three years, my family and I were regular weekend beach goers in Bataan, the reciprocal experience of General Jonathan Wainwright and his 70K American troops' Bataan death march.

As I surveyed Lae's (Papua New Guinea) harbor in the late '70's, it was sobering to imagine over 30 sunken Japanese vessels lying under the bay water and the battle that put them there.

From my 23rd floor office window in Tokyo's Hibiya Kokusai Building (1982 - 1985) I could see directly directly into the Emperor's imperial palace grounds and imagine the angst that Hirohito and his subordinates felt while there, in an underground bunker, they contemplated Japan's surrender.

While in Tokyo, I visited the controversial Yasakuni Shrine in Tokyo, where ashes of convicted Japanese war criminals are lodged.

So, for me, the broad outlines of the story of Japan's defeat were well known before I read this book.

However, the book did provide insights and revelations.

MacArthur, in the process of preparing for a US invasion of the Japanese home islands in mid-1945, was not involved in the discussion of whether or not to drop an atom bomb on Japan. He was notified of the projected bombing only a week ahead of the event. MacArthur was against dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. He felt that the Japanese would surrender if they were assured that the Emperor would not be tried for war crimes and could stay on as Japan's titular and symbolic leader.

The book's discussion of Robert Oppenheimer was eye opening. Hard drinker, chain smoker, and womanizer (he was married) his leadership of the science on the Manhattan project changed the world. In the end he was a mystery man who few, if any, knew well. I marvel that a friend, 92 year old Ralph Gates was a young Army engineer assigned to the Manhattan project. Gates' Los Alamos, NM based team scored several working lunches with Oppenheimer himself. That I am one person away from this seminal figure, Oppenheimer, gives me the shivers.

I'm also connected, one person away, to Commander Frederick Ashworth, chief Weaponeer and commanding officer of the mission, via the B29 bomber Bockscar, piloted by Charles Sweeny, to drop the nuclear bomb, "Fat Man," on Nagasaki. Ashworth's son Dave is a friend of mine living here in Park City.

Truman's "voyage" from taking over from FDR, in early 1945, to the end of the Japan war was only four months long. The authors marvel at Truman's growth in stature, from an obscure "political appointee" to a man of stature in such a short period of time.

Though Prime Minister Tojo was the main operational force in running Japan's war, Emperor Hirohito was intimately involved in the war strategy and planning. After war's end, Regent MacArthur felt strongly that Hirohito's role as Emperor should continue. Much sleight of hand took place to keep Hirohito's involvement in war crimes under wraps so as to preserve his post war legitimacy. The section on Tojo's post war, pre war crimes trial, aborted suicide is fascinating.

The book provides a good description of a part of WWII most aren't aware of: Russia's invasion of Japanese controlled Manchuria in August of 1945. The Soviets contributed 1.5 million troops to this invasion... versus 700K Japanese soldiers. Along with the US dropping atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet invasion of Manchuria was an important factor in convincing the Japanese to sign an unconditional surrender ending WWII.

Like other books of the "Killing...." series, the book is a well organized, exciting and quick read.

Amazon's Review:

The powerful and riveting new book in the multimillion-selling Killing series by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard

Autumn 1944. World War II is nearly over in Europe but is escalating in the Pacific, where American soldiers face an opponent who will go to any length to avoid defeat. The Japanese army follows the samurai code of Bushido, stipulating that surrender is a form of dishonor. Killing the Rising Sun takes readers to the bloody tropical-island battlefields of Peleliu and Iwo Jima and to the embattled Philippines, where General Douglas MacArthur has made a triumphant return and is plotting a full-scale invasion of Japan.

Across the globe in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and his team of scientists are preparing to test the deadliest weapon known to mankind. In Washington, DC, FDR dies in office and Harry Truman ascends to the presidency, only to face the most important political decision in history: whether to use that weapon. And in Tokyo, Emperor Hirohito, who is considered a deity by his subjects, refuses to surrender, despite a massive and mounting death toll. Told in the same page-turning style of Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, Killing Jesus, Killing Patton, and Killing Reagan, this epic saga details the final moments of World War II like never before.