Today, many younger Americans believe World War II ended immediately after the atom bombs were dropped. It didn't.
Japan had held on for three months after Germany's surrender against increased Allied attack and most believed that the only way to bring Japan to its knees would be a massive invasion. American casualties were estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands and Japanese, including civilians would be astronomical.
Throughout the spring of 1945, troopships landed in east coast ports carrying soldiers from Europe who were to be redeployed in the Pacific. General Homer Groninger, commander of the New York port observed, "This is the start of the big parade to the Pacific." he said this on the arrival of the famed Blackhawk Division, the first arriving contingent. Seven hundred of them were from the Chicago area.
--GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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