Before we close the 'annual debate' on the atomic bomb

The hawks of the Cold War learned important lessons from the decision to drop the bomb ("Another edition of the annual bomb debate," Opinion Exchange, Aug. 7). Many hawks of the World War II era, who were actually involved in that chapter of history, learned different lessons. Here's what they said:

"Japan was already defeated and … dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary … Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of 'face.' "

President Dwight Eisenhower, 1963 memoir: "The White House Years: Mandate for Change, 1953-1956"

"It was unnecessary. … Japan was already prepared to surrender. … She was anxious for peace and the Pacific War should have ended several months before it did. In my opinion there was a monumental failure of statecraft on the part of the Allies in not consummating this end."

Gen. Douglas MacArthur, March 22, 1961, letter to Prof. Carl L. Shermer

"The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender . … In being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children."

Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, chief of staff to President Harry Truman, chair of the chiefs of staff; "Memoir, 1950: I Was There"

Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet; New York Times, Oct. 6, 1945

"The first atomic bomb was an unnecessary experiment. … It was a mistake to ever drop it. … [The scientists] had this toy and they wanted to try it out, so they dropped it. "

Admiral William F. Halsey Jr., Commander U.S. Third Fleet; Associated Press, Sept. 7, 1946

"Russia's entry into the Japanese war was the decisive factor in speeding its end and would have been so even if no atomic bombs had been dropped."

Air Force Gen. Claire Chennault, founder of the "Flying Tigers" and Army Air Forces commander in China; the New York Times, Aug. 15, 1945

Brig. Gen. Carter Clarke, military intelligence officer; "The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb," Gar Alperovitz, 1996

"There was never … any illusion on my part but that Russia was our enemy, and that the Project was conducted on that basis."

Gen. Leslie Groves, director of the Manhattan Project that made the bomb; "A World Destroyed: The Atomic Bomb and the Grand Alliance," by Martin J. Sherwin, 1977

When you hear the view expressed that the bombings were unnecessary, please remember that this is not "revisionist history." This was, in fact, the view of many of those who were in power at the time. We could almost call this the "establishment view."

Truman appointed an "establishment" panel to produce an impartial assessment of the air wars. In July 1946, the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey concluded: