For the next fifty years, however, Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb would be questioned again and again, and the retroactive judgment would often be harsh. The unconditional surrender of Japan followed on August 15. Another B-29, Bockscar, dropped the second bomb on Nagasaki August 9. On Truman’s orders, the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima August 6. He regarded the atomic bomb as a weapon - an awe-some one, to be sure - but still a weapon to be used. The question before him was how to end the war and save lives. Truman said later that he had no great difficulty in reaching the decision. Once it was proved to work, Truman would consult with allies and advisors, but the decision on whether to use it would be his. Groves, director of the Manhattan Project, briefed President Truman in detail on the secret of the atomic bomb.
Twelve days later, on April 25, 1945, Stimson and Maj.
Stimson had spoken to him briefly and told him that the United States was working on a weapon of extraordinary power. On the day he assumed the presidency at the death of Franklin D. As Vice President, Harry Truman had not known about the development of the atomic bomb.
