total propaganda ... almost makes you believe they were justified dropping a-bombs on Hiro and Naga ... after all those civilains deserved it ... beause those unprovoked nip bastards attacked pearl harbour and it was unbeknownst to those good old American heroes.

I'm surprised to hear you say that since the govt. had nothing to do with the making of that film, which comes across clearly in the footage. What you see there is the genuine relief of people who until that moment had every expectation that the worst part of the war, the invasion of the Japanese mainland, lay ahead. Most of those women in uniform were nurses I would say, and Hawaii being a convalescence center, would have seen the worst effects of the fighting. Most of the men there were probably due to ship out, some for the second or third time.

I doubt that anyone in that film knew the background or cause of the war, much less the effect of nuclear weapons. They were no doubt all aware, however, of the ferocity of the Japanese military, in particular when defending their own territorry. The news of civilians jumping from cliffs in Saipan would have reached them at that point, and stories of the fighting on Guadalcanal by that time were old news. I'll bet nearly everyone in that film had a friend or family member in harms way. My first thought on hearing the war was over would be that they survived. They're coming home.

I don't blame the American people for the actions of their government any more than I blame the people of Japan for theirs. If there's a lesson to be taken from history it's that ordinary people who just want to live in peace are more often than not the victims of those who purport to govern them. The truth of this is clear today, but that wasn't always so. To understand history, you have to see it through the eyes of the people who lived it, and I think this film, more than any else I've seen on the subject, captures that.

ebear