My mother went to the celebration in the US with her cousin, who was on crutches and in his Navy uniform.
His ship had been hit by a kamikaze and had been sent to the US for repair, and while on shore leave he got drunk and fell out a window that he thought was a door and broke his leg, so he missed his ship and had been sent home for an extended leave until he recovered.
His reason for getting drunk was that his ship was going back for the invasion of Japan, and he figured he wouldn't survive a second attack.
Nowadays, those who forget the massive loss of life in the battle of Manila or the mass suicides on Saipan condemn the US for the atomic bomb, yet my cousin would probably have a different opinion.
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