The Pittsburgh Press (November 28, 1945)
Maj. Williams: Atomic future
By Maj. Al Williams
Of one thing we can be sure. The atomic bomb is an air weapon and it will be used in the next war as the spearhead of air attack. It differs only in magnitude from orthodox bombs, but it really is a “terrible thing.”
For centuries mankind struggled to establish some sort of decent laws for war. Now we have ignored completely the fact that the atomic bomb eliminates the last vestige of chivalry from modern warfare.
In Joshua, Chapter 7, verses 21 to 24, can be found Joshua’s orders to his army, which captured Jericho from the Canaanites: “Burn ye all that is in the city and slay with the edge of the sword both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep, and burn the city with fire and all that is therein.”
It took centuries to break with this type of barbaric warfare and reach the higher plain of surrender, military honors for the vanquished, and a distinct line between combatants and non-combatants.
Both sides in Europe bombed and destroyed munition factories, men and women, young and old, and homes and children, with orthodox bombs. But at least the orthodox bombs left some chance for survival.
Why did we do it?
Then came Hiroshima. A single bomb obliterated untold thousands of humans.
I couldn’t understand why such a stupendous new weapon should be loosed on an enemy whom we had already beaten to his knees. Reflections brought awe-inspiring estimates as to what this atomic bomb could mean to the rules and conduct of future warfare.
Then a wave of hysteria swept the land. Men seemed determined that the atomic bomb had upset the entire order of nature. Nothing ever again would be the same in the world.
But we have only discovered another of nature’s profound secrets. And, as Chesterton once said, “There is one creed; ‘neath no world-terror’s wing – apples never forget to grow on apple trees.”
Hiroshima showed that untold thousands of humans could be flamed into eternity without even a chance for breathing a prayer. And that those who atom-bombed others could expect to be atom-bombed.
The world will interpret Hiroshima as sanction for eliminating the last vestige of distinction between combatants and non-combatants.
The lid is off, and unhappily we took it off. Logically, we had researched the atomic bomb to beat the Germans to its use. But we beat the Germans without it, and used it against the already beaten Japs.
World agreement must be reached
We have to live in this world, and after us, our children. How much more comfort victory over the Japs would be for us today had that atomic bomb been dropped on a purely military target. Or better still, on an open countryside and the Japs invited to view this catastrophic destruction and then decide whether or not they dared continue the war.
We know now that long before V-J Day the Japs had been wrangling among themselves as to how to surrender. Perhaps the Japs would not at once have understood such Christian forbearance. But in the end, they would have caught its significance – to our eventual credit.
The only thing for us to do now is to quit planning to outlaw the use of the atomic bomb, or to control worldwide atomic research, and earnestly get at the job of achieving some sort of world agreement defining military objectives and limiting warfare to those objectives.