US Drops Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Killing 140,000, Accelerating Japan Surrender

Eighty years ago, on August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, marking the first use of nuclear weapons in war. This attack, followed by a second bombing on Nagasaki three days later, led to Japan's surrender and the official end of World War II on September 2, 1945, with the signing of the Instrument of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri. The bombings were not solely driven by Japan's military resistance, as Japan was already nearing defeat; rather, they were influenced by fears that Nazi Germany might develop nuclear weapons first. The Manhattan Project, a secret U.S. scientific endeavor involving figures like J. Robert Oppenheimer, developed these bombs, which had devastating effects, killing over 200,000 people by the end of 1945. Training for the bombing missions took place at Wendover Air Field, Utah, where crews prepared in secret before the attacks. Survivors and witnesses, such as 99-year-old John DeLeo, recall the moment of Japan's surrender as a pivotal conclusion to a brutal and transformative war.