Vintage 1960s 14k Gold Lecoultre Memovox Worldtime, L B J - Presidential Alarm Watch

dsio
Posts
33,165
Likes
37,896
Nick F 05 Nick F 05
I have and I find McNamara's story about Japan in WW II to be astonishing.

Are you talking about the "Fog Of War" documentary? I have to say after watching 13 days, and The Fog Of War, then reading up on the man, McNamara turned out to be a remarkably interesting character.

The question he asks, why was it necessary to drop the atomic bomb when LeMay was busy burning up Japan with incendiaries is an interesting one (as LeMay is himself).
 
Nick F 05
Posts
130
Likes
5
He is interesting indeed, much more so than I thought previously.

Yes I had no idea we had destroyed so many cities. It is remarkable to watch the comparison of what was it 58% of Yokohama which was equal to the size of Cleveland and Nagoya 40% which was equal to the size of LA just to name two. I mean we literally may not have needed to use the atomic bomd given the success rate of these smaller air campaigns
 
U
Posts
25,980
Likes
27,689
Nick F 05 Nick F 05
I mean we literally may not have needed to use the atomic bomd given the success rate of these smaller air campaigns

It wasn't about "need", it was about the threat of using it more often. The US was telling the world "Look what happens when you attack us on our soil".
 
Nick F 05
Posts
130
Likes
5
Possibly but if you look at the result of the killing of 100,000 civilians in one night in one city (Tokyo) and the massive amount of damage done to over 30 cities I think you are sending a pretty strong message. But clearly the dropping of Fat Man and Little Boy did get Hirohito to surrender and renounce his divinity thus ending the Pacific Campaign.
 
LouS
Posts
6,712
Likes
18,569
Nick F 05 Nick F 05
But clearly the dropping of Fat Man and Little Boy did get Hirohito to surrender and renounce his divinity thus ending the Pacific Campaign.

+1. The firebombing had been going on for some time, including raids right at Hirohito's front door in Tokyo, and failed to break the grip militaristic clique had on the Japanese gov't. The atomic strikes did. Anyone read Max Hastings' masterful Retribution?
 
LouS
Posts
6,712
Likes
18,569
Nick F 05 Nick F 05
No what is it about?

the last two years of the Pacific War. He has a companion volume, Armageddon, about 1944-45 in Europe, but I found Retribution to be the more engrossing, I think because the history was less familiar to me - although the scale of Soviet atrocities in Poland and East Prussia covered in Armageddon was an eye opener for me too.
 
dsio
Posts
33,165
Likes
37,896
Getting back to LBJ, he would have put a lot of careful thought into the ordering of his Memovox and the engraving, to see how fastidious the man was watch the following recording of LBJ ordering pants by phone from the White House with detailed specifications such as

"Gimmie an extra inch down where your nuts hang"

 
Sign up or log in to reply...