Dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki will likely be a decision debated as long as human beings walk this Earth. But if you’re wondering what US military commanders thought about a possible invasion of the islands of Japan in 1945, look no further than this fact:
More than 80 years after the end of World War II, the United States military is still using Purple Heart medals manufactured (and since refurbished) in 1945 during the preparation for the invasion of Japan.
Since World War II, hundreds of thousands of Purple Hearts have been awarded to wounded servicepeople, including those serving in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places around the world. And every one of those Purple Hearts was originally manufactured in preparation for the invasion of Japan, which military experts thought would take two years and would result in 1.7 million to as many as four million Americans killed, wounded, and missing in combat.
The Japanese expected that a US invasion could result in 20 million Japanese casualties — a fifth of Japan’s population.
Both countries expected enormous amounts of bloodshed if Japan did not surrender and end the war.
Enough to produce an almost century’s worth of Purple Hearts.
Sometimes the best way to express an idea is not by offering projections, estimates, or other numbers but by finding something adjacent, unexpected, surprising, and memorable.
