Tokyo, destroying about a quarter of the city and
resulting, according to official reports cited by
Ross, in 83,793 dead and 40,918 wounded. ‘‘It
took 25 days to remove all the dead from the
ruins,’’ states Ross. Between May and August
1945, fifty-eight Japanese cities were destroyed by
firebombing. The death and destruction caused by
the bombing were major factors in the willingness
of Japan to surrender, although it was not until
after atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima
on August 6, 1945, and on Nagasaki three days
later, that the Japanese surrendered.
War Poetry
The termwar poetrywas first used to describe
poetry written about World War I (1914–1918)
by those who had participated in it. The most
prominent of the World War I poets are Siegfried
Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg, Rupert Brooke, Ivor
Gurney,andWilfredOwen,allofwhomwere
British. The war made little impact, however, on
American poetry. World War II also produced war
poetry, although most of it is not as highly
regarded as that of the World War I poets. Alun
Lewis (1915–1944) and Keith Douglas (1920–
1944) are the most distinguished of the British
World War II poets. Among American poets of
World War II, Jarrell is considered the finest, but
other poets are also remembered for their war
poetry. Like Jarrell, Richard Eberhart (1904–
2005) did not see combatduring the war but served
as an instructor (in the U.S. Naval Reserve). Like
Jarrell also, he watched as men he had trained—
he trained recruits to shoot a machine gun from
an aircraft—went off to war and were killed. ‘‘The
Fury of Aerial Bombardment,’’ perhaps his best-
remembered poem, was written from that experi-
ence. Karl Shapiro (1913–2000) served in the
Pacific from 1942, and in 1945 he published
V-Letter and Other Poems, written while he was
stationed in New Guinea. The book was awarded
the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1945, although it is
little read today. Louis Simpson (1923- ) served
with the 101st Airborne Division in France, Hol-
land, Belgium, and Germany; his war poems
include ‘‘Carentan O Carentan,’’ ‘‘Memories of
a Lost War,’’ and ‘‘The Battle.’’ Lincoln Kirstein
(1907–1996) published his war poems,Rhymes
and more Rhymes of a P.F.C., in 1964, and the
volume was praised by W. H. Auden, according
to an obituary of Kirstein in theNew York Times,
as ‘‘the most convincing, moving and impressive’’COMPARE
&
CONTRAST 1940s:In World War II, the heavy bombers
of the U.S. Army Air Forces are the B-17
Flying Fortress, the B-24 Liberator, and the
B-29 Superfortress.
Today:The U.S. Air Force heavy bombers
are the B-1 Lancer, described by the Air Force
as the backbone of the long-range bomber
force; the B-2 Spirit, which is also known as
the Stealth Bomber because of its ability to
penetrate sophisticated defenses and threaten
heavily defended targets; and the B-52 Strato-
fortress. In 2007, 173 bombers are in service.
1940s:In 1947, the U.S. Air Forces becomes
a separate service from the U.S. Army. The
Department of the Air Force is created when
President Harry Truman signs the National
Security Act.Today:The U.S. Air Force is the largest air
force in the world. In 2007, it has about 5,778
manned aircraft in service (4,093 USAF; 1,289
Air National Guard; and 396 Air Force
Reserve). The Air Forcehas a total of 333,495
military personnel.
1940s:After World War II ends, the United
States soon becomes committed to contain-
ing the Communist Soviet Union from fur-
ther expansion. The cold war begins.
Today:One of the goals of U.S. foreign
policy is to defeat international terrorism.
The United States fights two wars, in Afgha-
nistan and Iraq, aimed at stabilizing those
countries and preventing Islamic extremists
from exerting any influence.Losses