ChapterSeven
TIGER~TIGER~
BURNINGBRIGHT
TheSchoolofAndrewJackson
"W'henthestarsthrewdowntheirspears,
Andwater'dheavenwiththeirtears,
Didhesmilehisworktosee?
DidhewhomadetheLambmakethee?
-WilliamBlake,"TheTiger"
RidingtheTiger
I
nthelastfivemonthsofWorldWarII,Americanbombingraids
killedmore than9°0,000Japanese civilians,notcounting the
casualtiesfrom theatomicstrikes againstHiroshimaandNagasaki.'
Thisismorethantwicethetotalnumberofcombatdeaths(441,513)the
UnitedStateshassufferedinallitsforeignwarscombined.^2 Thenuclear
attacksonHiroshimaandNagasakiinAugust 1945 causedanestimated
127,150additionaldeaths,328.7percentofthetotalAmericanwardead
in 225 yearsofforeignwarsandmorethanthecombatdeathssufferedby
AmericanforcesinanyforeignwarexceptWorldWarIIitself.
OnthenightofMarch9-10,1945, 234 Superfortressesdropped