Episode Details

James M. Scott, Part Two: The Potsdam Declaration offered Japan a choice between rebuilding or "utter destruction." President Harry Truman greenlit the atomic bomb on the back of a pink telegram sheet, leading to historic missions piloted by Paul Tibbets, who trained his crew using concrete-filled "pumpkin" bombs. Following the devastating atomic strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki—where little was initially understood about radiation's long-term effects—Japan's military leaders still resisted surrendering. Junior officers launched a failed palace coup to destroy Emperor Hirohito's recorded surrender broadcast, but the rapid succession of the two bombings ultimately proved that total annihilation was imminent. (3)