Mother Do You Think They'll Drop the Bomb?

The United States government secretly spent billions of dollars on a program code-named the Manhattan Project.  Its highest national priority: developing an atomic bomb.  The project was encouraged by Albert Einstein himself and led by J Robert Oppenheimer.   In a barren desert in New Mexico, on the morning of July 16, 1945,  the bomb was tested.  The flash of light could be seen 180 miles away.

President Truman did not agonize over the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. For the President abstract ethical issues did not outweigh very real American lives and an opportunity to end the war. Later some historians would condemn Truman's decision. What would you have done?

"Little Boy" was the codename for the type of atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., commander of the 509th Composite Group of the United States Army Air Forces. It was the first atomic bomb to be used in warfare. TheHiroshima bombing was the second artificial nuclear explosion in history, after the Trinity test, and the first uranium-based detonation. It exploded with an energy of approximately 15 kilotons of TNT (63 TJ). The bomb caused significant destruction to the city of Hiroshima.

Did the pilots regret their role in the mission?  How would they live with the guilt?

Did the Japanese immediately surrender? What happened next?

Bushido

 How do you defeat an enemy who will not surrender?

There are countless stories of the Japanese 'kamakazi' pilots who would rather die themselves than give up. On Iwo Jima, a 5-mile-long desolate island rock 650 miles southeast of Tokyo, more than 23,000 marines became casualties.  The fight for Okinawa was even deadlier as many Japanese troops readily killed themselves. The Japanese fought by a code they thought was right: 'Bushido' The way of the Samurai warrior.

 How was this code different from the more Western idea of 'Chivalry?'

 Who was Hiroo Onoda?

 Who would win:  Knight vs. Samurai?

Word Power

There is no stronger bond of friendship than a mutual enemy.

-Frankfort Moore

At a time when America's best cryptographers were falling short, the Navajo Indians  were able to fashion the most ingenious and successful code in military history. They drew upon their proud warrior tradition to brave the dense jungles of Guadalcanal and the exposed beachheads of Iwo Jima. Serving with distinction in every major engagement of the Pacific theater from 1942-1945, their unbreakable code played a pivotal role in saving countless lives and hastening the war's end.

1) Who was our 'mutual enemy' during WWII?

2) How does is this idea reflected in the mysterious message on the back of our penny?

3) Write your name using the Navajo Code Talker Dictionary.

4) How had the Navajo been treated by the US Government in the century before WWII?

5) Why is this ironic?

6) What is happening to the Navajo Language today?

7) What does Star Wars sound like in 'Din'e,' the official language of the Navajo?

8) What other movies have been translated into 'Din'e'?'

Fighting WWII

Can you name these men?

Throughout 1943 the leaders of the Allied Forces squabbled over when they would start a second front in France.  Up to that point Soviet troops had done most of the fighting in Europe.  At the historic meeting of the 'Big 3' in Tehran, Stalin had insisted that Britain and the United States carry more of the military burden by attacking Germany in the west.

Why?

General Dwight D. Eisenhower was promoted over 350 other more qualified generals to lead the operation.  He  called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Europe. The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded -- but more than 100,000 Soldiers began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.

What was Eisenhower's message to the troops?

Rationing

After the shock of Pearl Harbor many Americans wondered what would happen next?

Everyone would have to make sacrifices in support of the Armed Forces.  This included accepting 

Rationing:  a system of limiting the distribution of food, gasoline, and other goods so the military could have the equipment and supplies it needed.

What challenges and hardships did 'rationing' create?  

Did everyone accept it willingly?  Why was it necessary?

'Prices Unlimited 1944'

Go for Broke!

The motto of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was “go for broke.” It’s a gambling term that means risking everything on one great effort to win big. The soldiers of the 442nd needed to win big. They were Nisei - American-born sons of Japanese immigrants. They fought two wars: the Germans in Europe and the prejudice in America.

1) Who were the ‘Nisei?’ 

 2) What was the motto of the 442nd? What did it mean? 

 3) How were the ‘Buddhaheads’ different from the ‘Katonks?’ What was the origin of these nicknames? 

 4) When were the 442nd finally sent to fight?    Where did they go? 

 5) Why did the General order the 442nd to advance without reasonable support, and without protection? Did Dahlquist use the Nisei more ruthlessly than the other American troops?

6) Would you have joined the 442nd and risked your life for a country that had discriminated against you?

7) Were theses soldiers ever recognized for their service?

8) Were they ever considered 'equals' by their countrymen?

The Face of the Enemy?

While many groups of Americans faced hardships during WWII, none had it harder than Japanese Americans.

After the attacks on Pearl Harbor Americans were understandably fearful of further attacks and spies. In early 1942, by Presidential executive order 9066, Japanese-Americans living primarily on the west coast were taken to internment camps as a security measure following the massive Pearl Harbor raid that temporarily incapacitated the Pacific fleet. A national sense of outrage consumed Americans. Strangers on the streets looked at one another with a new awareness.

The US Government claimed internment camps were vital to American security and that every effort was made to provide for their Japanese guests.

Compare the Government claims to actual photos of the camps taken from Ansel Adams famous book Born Free and Equal.

Watch this video to see what life in the camps was really like.

Listen to the song Kenji by Fort Minor.

1) Were American fears justified?
2) Can you tell who the enemy is just by looking at them?
3) Why weren't German's and Italians also sent to 'camps?'
4) Did all Japanese Americans go willingly? Who was Fred Korematsu?
5) What lessons did we learn from this mistake?
6) Did the United States ever apologize?