Status - John Skinner - USS St. Croix
The St. Croix delivered troops to the Philippines and remained there throughout August.
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There having been no word from the government of Japan regarding the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, the go-ahead for the bombing of Hiroshima was given. Airplane Enola Gay, with its specialized bombing crew, dropped the weapon on August 6th. The bomb is estimated to have killed over 60,000 people on the day of the bombing, and further casualties from radiation, etc. in some estimates made the death toll over 100,000 by the end of the year.
After the first bomb, the Japanese government still had infighting and did not make formal moves to surrender. President Truman had threatened a series of bombs would be dropped, and on the 9th, another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, resulting in a similar death count. On this same day the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan.
On August 14th, Emperor Hirohito's message to the Japanese people was recorded and Japan surrendered to the Allies. The broadcast in Japan was on the 15th. August 15th was celebrated as VJ (Victory over Japan) Day.
Mary McLaughlin:
In 1945 in the Pacific the Japanese had begun to use Kamikaze pilots. They would fly their planes directly toward the powder magazines of ships and blow them up. They were especially bad at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Everyone was getting tired and depressed when in August 1945 Japan was given an ultimatum to surrender or we would use our new terrible secret weapon. They refused so the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and a few days later Nagasaki. This brought about the surrender.
We were horrified at the power and destructiveness of the atomic bomb. I remember how I felt - as if I were frozen. I hoped and prayed it would never be used again.
When the news of the surrender came, I was standing at the corner with a group of people. We felt that we had to celebrate somehow, so when the trolley came by, we ran and jumped on. I didn't have any money, or my purse with me but it didn't matter because all the rides were free. We got to Boston and everyone was dancing and singing. We kissed all the sailors and joined in the fun. Sometime late that night we got back home.
The next day was the Feast of the Assumption, a holy day so we had to go to mass. After the mass, Father Knapp said he thought we should sing The Star Spangled Banner. We tried to, but we couldn't because we were all in tears.
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The crew of St. Croix was no doubt excited and relieved to hear of the Japanese surrender on the 15th.
All dreaded having to take part in Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of Japan. Troop requirements were so large that once St. Croix and other transports had delivered the troops, at some point the men of the ship might well have had to join in the ground fighting in mainland Japan.
More Information:
- Official Navy Chronology, pp. 725-734.
- The Liberation of the Philippines, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 228-302.
- Victory in the Pacific, Samuel Eliot Morison, pp. 317-344.
- USS_Saint_Croix
- Events of July, 1945
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