The battle that wasn't fought--Thank God

As the USS Pickens neared Frisco, we knew we would stay just  long enough to take on troops and prepare to attack Japan.   How much we were told about Downfall, the name given for the invasion of Japan, I do not remember.  Today the only memory I have is being told the navy expected 50 per cent casualties.

Now 70 years later as I study the war, I learn that military leaders knew casualties would be high, too high for America to accept.  Downfall was a combination of Olympic and Coronet, with Olympic being an attack  on Kyushu to seize airfields.  The joint chiefs of staff estimated that Olympic alone would cost 456,000
men, including 109,000 killed.  Personnel of the Navy department estimated that the total losses could be 4 million with 400,000 to 800,000 deaths.

Those of us who were at Okinawa are not surprised at those figures and often credit President Truman and the atom bomb for saving our  lives.