Obama goes to Hiroshima

  By Florida Bill 

                      As a gesture of good will, President Obama went to Hiroshima a few days before Memorial day.  He did not step out and apologize for the bombing which killed thousands, but his body language and solemn call for a world filled with love and peace and devoid of nuclear weapons sent a signal and a hint that America should be shouldering some blame.
                       In somber tones, the president spoke on the very grounds of the atomic explosion which occurred on August 6, 1945, some 71 years ago.  The nuclear bomb was devastating and brought death to thousands of men, women and children and pretty well leveled and destroyed an entire city.  Obama is the first president of the United States to visit the city which felt the incredible power and wrath of a nuclear weapon.  Surprisingly absent from his prepared remarks was mention of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which started the war and that it was the mushroom cloud which forced Japan to end the conflict.      
                       I find it puzzling that Obama chose the Friday before Memorial day to take his message to the Japanese people  and to speak of the incredible peril and threat of nuclear weapons and need for a  world which will solve conflict through diplomacy, rather than conflict. Thoughtful words from our President, but why pick Memorial Day.
                       In the United States, Memorial day is a time when American citizens wear their patriotism on their sleeves.  It is a special holiday in which America honors and remembers its fallen heroes who have defended their country in time of war.  In every one of the 50 states, Old Glory can be seen flying high on city buildings and on the homes and front yards of its citizens.  Pastors in churches often invite veterans to rise and hear the applause of their fellow church goers. Newspapers and television anchors report stories of  the courage and bravery of America's armed forces in the face of enemies bent on their destruction.  
                        Since assuming the high office in 2008, President Obama had promised that he would visit Japan before the expiration of his presidency, which is now less than a year away. By necessity, such plans were made made well in advance of the visit and there was extensive notice to the world of the journey to Hiroshima. 
                         Somber and deliberate, the President delivered his message to the Japanese people and to the listening world.  He spoke of a day when nations will aspire for peace without war and without nuclear weapons.  Scientists have split the atom, he said, and that "will require a moral revolution as well." 
                           "That is why we come to this place," said Obama.  "We stand here in the middle of this city and force ourselves to imagine the moment the bomb fell. .... We remember all the innocents killed across the arc of that terrible war and the wars that came before and the wars that would follow."                            "
                             The empire of Japan today is a close friend and ally of the United States, and America continues, after more than 70 years since the end of the war, to station thousands of its troops in this far eastern nation.  The presence  of the USA in Japan is a message to other nations that America has the "back of its friend," and will be there to help if and when called upon to do so.
                                 For America, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki a few days later brought an end to a war that it did not start and did not want, and in which it lost hundreds of thousands of its young men and women who were killed while defending their homeland.  President Truman has said that the powerful bombs ended the war with Japan and actually saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of American and Japanese soldiers. If faced with a similar situation, Truman has said that he would do the same thing, and virtually everyone in America agrees with him.                          
                              Did President Obama forget to mention or did he choose not to mention that America was the target of a sneak attack at Pearl Harbor at which 2,400 servicemen were killed; and that thousands more were bayoneted, slaughtered and dehumanized by cruel Japanese soldiers during the Bataan march in the Philippines.  To President Roosevelt, the beginning of the war on Dec. 7, 1941,  is a day "which will live in infamy."  
                               In his nearly eight years as Commander-in-Chief and President of the United States,  Obama has shown a minimum of concern for America's fighting forces.  Through his programs,  he has brought about the evisceration of the military so that American forces today are behind the level of readiness which existed prior to the beginning of World War II, and America's ability to defend itself is currently being questioned by many generals and career officers.  Treatment of veterans has never been an  item of priority for Obama and and its importance appears to be secondary to his concern for other matters, including undocumented aliens. 
                                 The war is long over and Japan is a true friend and ally of the United States.  It is regrettable that there ever was a war started by the Empire of Japan, and for which, to its credit, it has apologized.  We all hope and pray that there will never be another war, and for awareness by all nations that a nuclear war would be destructive beyond belief.  

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