David Campbell: No apology required

Regarding the Aug. 9 Point of View “A long-needed apology for evil”: Patrick O’Neill’s call for the United States to apologize shows an extreme lack of empathy for civilians killed by Japan and the military casualties suffered fighting real evil.

Dwight Eisenhower’s opinion was political and holds no value as he did not face fanatical Japanese in battle. The Japanese did not believe they were militarily defeated; their culture did not allow it. They never surrendered any island fortress we assaulted, dying nearly to the last man.

If we invaded Japan, our casualties were estimated to be at 1 million, Japan’s at 10 million. Nagasaki and Hiroshima were legitimate military and industrial targets, and Japan had moved huge portions of its military industry into civilian housing areas.

It is beyond contemptible for O’Neill, separated by 70 years of peace and not having to worry as a member of the U.S. Navy or an invasion assault battalion or their families, to demand we apologize.

Japan has never publicly apologized for over 10 million murdered civilians and POWs. It should also apologize for forcing us into war and having to use the bomb to end it.

This story was originally published August 10, 2015 at 4:33 PM with the headline "David Campbell: No apology required."