Kurosawa on War

In August, 1945, I was a 22-year-old junior officer in the Navy. For months, my ship and I had been bombed, dodging kamikazes from Leyte Gulf to Luzon. The casualties at Okinawa were staggering. We all knew the only way home was via Japan, and many of us doubted we’d survive.

Thank God President Harry Truman made the decision to save us and the countless Japanese who would have died in the invasion.

Every August we lament the bombing of Hiroshima. Is it not time for Americans to also commemorate the defeat, in less than four years, of not one but two military powers?

LAWRENCE S. ADES

Beverly Hills