Actually it was August 6, 1945. And it was both a dark and a very bright day for the poor residents of Hiroshima. You can debate the dropping till the cows come home but I suspect it was one of those agonizing decisions that needed to be made based on the available evidence of the time.

August 9th, other than the birthday of both my mother and my wife, is another anniversary that Bill will likely note in a few days. Let's continue to mark these yearly anniversaries in the hope that we never ever have a new date to remember.