American Airpower Comes of Age

AMERICAN AIRPOWER COMES OF AGE
bombed-out enemy people peculiar to Arnold and other advocates
of aerial bombardment?
It is difficult to conclude that, although Arnold maintained a
firm belief in the efficacy and role of bombardment in war, he
appeared at the time of this conference not to have dissented
from the Potsdam Declaration or to have opposed the president’s
decision to use the bomb. In regard to the new weapon, he performed
what was asked of him and the AAF as “only that of delivery
boy.” 126 Did he and other members of the JCS have a greater
obligation, given their primary concern of ending the war as
quickly as possible with a minimum of Allied lives? There is little
doubt that Arnold, together with most other Allied leaders
both civilian and military, along with American public opinion
and presidential thinking, had made the intellectual journey
from abhorrence at the news of the Nazi indiscriminate bombing
of Rotterdam in 1940 to acceptance of area attacks, firebombing,
and atomic attacks against Japan.
Other portions of this diary reflect characteristics of the earlier
ones. In many ways it continued, like its earlier accounts,
to appear almost as a stream of consciousness as Arnold
recorded his impressions, probably hastily and wearily jotted
at the end of long and difficult days. This final diary appears
to have become a record of Hap’s spontaneous recollections of
events of the day with little time, consideration, or opportunity
for reflection or rumination. Most often, given the size constraints
of his notebook, no distinction appeared between juxtaposition
of minutiae with very significant issues.
Other traits that marked Arnold’s diaries reappear in this
one. Although it was clear that the war was ending, Arnold
continued his normal practice of looking ahead and continuing
to plan. This planning ranged from directing that the latest
captured enemy aircraft be shipped to the United States
for evaluation to ensuring proper control and care of German
technological documentation, for which he foresaw future use.
Hap continued his keen observation of the occupying troops in
Berlin and discussed future prospects and hopes, both military
and diplomatic, with his colleagues. His normal optimism
seemed tempered by his speculation on the nature of a postwar
world, fearing war in another generation—a fear influ-
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