‘He felt he had to do it’: Truman’s grandson on bombing Hiroshima | The Guardian

Seventy-five years after the US president’s decision opened the nuclear age, Clifton Daniel is still grappling with his legacyTo many Americans, he was the commander-in-chief who had the mettle to end the second world war quickly and save countless lives. To many in Japan and elsewhere, he was the perpetrator of a war crime that pushed the world into a perilous new age. And to Clifton Truman Daniel, Harry Truman was just grandpa.“He expected decent behavior out of his grandchildren but there are pictures of me climbing on him when I was small and he’s laughing,” says Daniel, grandson of the 33rd US president. Continue reading…

Seventy-five years after the US president’s decision opened the nuclear age, Clifton Daniel is still grappling with his legacy

To many Americans, he was the commander-in-chief who had the mettle to end the second world war quickly and save countless lives. To many in Japan and elsewhere, he was the perpetrator of a war crime that pushed the world into a perilous new age. And to Clifton Truman Daniel, Harry Truman was just grandpa.

“He expected decent behavior out of his grandchildren but there are pictures of me climbing on him when I was small and he’s laughing,” says Daniel, grandson of the 33rd US president.

Continue reading…