From foresight to legacy: The Pacific War in quotes

Hear the voices of those who lived through the Pacific War. From predictions of conflict to the eventual surrender, these quotes offer a glimpse into the human cost of war. Let's reflect on the lessons of history and strive for lasting peace.

⊙ From Prophecy to Apocalypse: Historical Quotes About the Pacific War and Its Aftermath

August 15, 1945, marks the day Japan declared its surrender in World War II (Pacific War), signaling the complete end of the war for the United States and its allies, as well as the end of Japanese occupation in Korea and Southeast Asia. In South Korea, this day is celebrated as "National Liberation Day" because "Liberation" means "regaining lost sovereignty." As we revisit quotes related to the beginning and end of the Pacific War between Japan and the United States—from Syngman Rhee (First President of South Korea)'s prediction of the conflict, to President Roosevelt's wartime speeches, to General MacArthur's September 2, 1945 address marking the war's end—we reflect with a sense of urgency on the hope for a war-free and peaceful Northeast Asia, especially in light of the recent dangers of renewed conflict. May history not repeat itself.

• "It is Japan's heaven-given opportunity to attempt another big jump in her territorial expansion. While Russia is preoccupied in her life and death struggle with the Nazi invaders, Japan will start her march of conquest in either of two directions. She may either withdraw her troops from along the Siberian frontier and combine all her forces in a South Pacific push, or march into Siberia and occupy the vast territory east of the Ural ranges. In comparison, the southward move is more tempting because the British, French, and Dutch colonies produce more of the strategic war materials of which Japan is in such need. But it also involves more risk of war with the United States." - Syngman Rhee(The first president of South Korea), Japan Inside Out - The Challenge of Today(June 1941)

• "It has been my task to present the case of Korea as an example to show that she is a victim -the first- of Japan's lust for power. Her destiny cannot be separated from that of the free peoples of the world, nor from the lot of those peoples who once knew freedom and have lost it for a while. At long last -perhaps sooner than we dare to hope- the democratic forces of the world will thrust the Japanese back on their islands, and peace will reign again in the Pacific. In that day, Korea will rejoin the ranks of the free and again become known as the Land of the Morning Calm." - Syngman Rhee(The first president of South Korea), Japan Inside Out - The Challenge of Today(June 1941)

• "Tora! Tora! Tora!" - The Japanese signal to attack, Pearl Harbor Air Raid(December 7, 1941)

• "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." - President Franklin D. Roosevelt

• "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." - Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

• "We must be the great arsenal of democracy. For us this is an emergency as serious as war itself. We must apply ourselves to our task with the same resolution, the same sense of urgency, the same spirit of patriotism and sacrifice as we would show were we at war." - President Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 29, 1940

• “It was close; but that's the way it is in war. You win or lose, live or die — and the difference is just an eyelash.” - General Douglas MacArthur

• "Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima, an important Japanese Army base. That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of TNT....With this bomb we have now added a new and revolutionary increase in destruction to supplement the growing power of our armed forces....It is an atomic bomb. It is a harnessing of the basic power of the universe. The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East....Having found the bomb we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans. We shall continue to use it until we completely destroy Japan’s power to make war. Only a Japanese surrender will stop us." - President Harry S Truman's announcement to the American public on August 6, 1945, following the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan (August 6, 1945).

• "You think of the lives which would have been lost in an invasion of Japan’s main islands — a staggering number of Americans, but millions more of Japanese — and you thank God for the atomic bomb." - Comment of one Marine in the Pacific

• "The atomic bomb was a golden opportunity given by heaven for Japan to end the war." - Hisatsune Sakomizu, the chief cabinet secretary(1945)

• "Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won. The skies no longer rain death--the seas bear only commerce--men everywhere walk upright in the sunlight. The entire world is quietly at peace . . . And in reporting this to you, the people, I speak for the thousands of silent lips, forever stilled among the jungles and the beaches and in the deep waters of the Pacific which marked the way . . . A new era is upon us. Even the lesson of victory itself brings with it profound concern, both for our future security and the survival of civilization. The destructiveness of the war potential, through progressive advances in scientific discovery, has in fact now reached a point which revises the traditional concepts of war . . . We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door . . . My fellow countrymen, today I report to you that your sons and daughters have served you well and faithfully with the calm, deliberate, determined fighting spirit of the American soldier and sailor . . . Their spiritual strength and power has brought us through to victory. They are homeward bound - take care of them." - General Douglas MacArthur, from radio broadcast to the US from the USS Missouri after accepting the Japanese surrender that ended World War II on September 2, 1945

• "The liberation of any nation begins in the mind of the people." - Henry Johnson Jr 

Additional resources:

The Courage of Sacrifice: Inspiring Quotes for Memorial Day and Beyond

Remembering the Sacrifice: Memorial Day Tribute to Fallen Heroes

Leadership Quotes from the Leaders Who Won the Korean War - Part 1

Leadership Quotes from the Victors of the Korean War - Part 2

Insights on War and Peace: Moshe Dayan's Quotes

Motivational Quotes To Inspire You.

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