How Silent Fall the Cherry Blossoms
- Thread starter Geon
- Start date
- Status
Thank you Geon for this TL
i had realy fun to contribute all sort of things for this work
I forgot to post my last part of France In space
mostly because problem at work, my contribute for Eyes Turned Skywards.
and a New TL i work on, about Hitler career after he is release from prison in 1930s
so far i know it feature a career not used on Hitler TL in this forum. but its painstaking to write it, so be forbearing.
so back to French in Spaaaaaceeeee….
The French Space program: part four and end
After the ambitious plans for french Manned space flight and space station die in may 1968
The CIEES came to conclusion: With France refusal to launch Astronaut, they had to launch remote controlled robots into space, operating from France !
while launching new Columbiad to moon, In wake of first landing of US astronauts on Moon, in Earth orbit CIEES tested there Vision: SOLARIS
A remote controlled space station, serviced by small Capsule "Découverte" and TRISAT the first remote controlled robot in space.
It make headlines in begin of 1970s, while Skylab was launch, SOLARIS had already return allot of scientifically research data for fraction of that Skylab cost: $4.4 billion.
And CIEES launch TELEMAMO (Téléguider manipulateur mobil) the first rover with two arm to the Moon
The TELEMAMO series establish a small lunar "outpost" for remote controlled robots from France.
in 1976 the french landed the first sample return mission with Découverte-12 from the Moon
but things were not looking good on Manned space flight world wide because of this.
SOLARIS and TELEMAMO proved that remote controlled robots are far cheaper as manned mission.
In USA two politician manage to close this chapter: William Proxmire and Walter Mondale.
from 1977 NASA and USAF had to end all programs for manned space flight, also stop Yuri Andropov also soviet manned space program in wake of USA space program shut down.
for the next decades, the Major Power reduce there space program, to satellites and Remote control robots in Orbit and Moon and Probe to other planets
but in 1995, the Recoverable Booster system brought the cheap age of Space flight and in 2012 start construction of ISS
Then in 2020 first manned expedition to Mars and 2025 first manned moon base and manned Jupiter flight and this time there with French astronaut on board.
i had realy fun to contribute all sort of things for this work
I forgot to post my last part of France In space
mostly because problem at work, my contribute for Eyes Turned Skywards.
and a New TL i work on, about Hitler career after he is release from prison in 1930s
so far i know it feature a career not used on Hitler TL in this forum. but its painstaking to write it, so be forbearing.
so back to French in Spaaaaaceeeee….
The French Space program: part four and end
After the ambitious plans for french Manned space flight and space station die in may 1968
The CIEES came to conclusion: With France refusal to launch Astronaut, they had to launch remote controlled robots into space, operating from France !
while launching new Columbiad to moon, In wake of first landing of US astronauts on Moon, in Earth orbit CIEES tested there Vision: SOLARIS
A remote controlled space station, serviced by small Capsule "Découverte" and TRISAT the first remote controlled robot in space.
It make headlines in begin of 1970s, while Skylab was launch, SOLARIS had already return allot of scientifically research data for fraction of that Skylab cost: $4.4 billion.
And CIEES launch TELEMAMO (Téléguider manipulateur mobil) the first rover with two arm to the Moon
The TELEMAMO series establish a small lunar "outpost" for remote controlled robots from France.
in 1976 the french landed the first sample return mission with Découverte-12 from the Moon
but things were not looking good on Manned space flight world wide because of this.
SOLARIS and TELEMAMO proved that remote controlled robots are far cheaper as manned mission.
In USA two politician manage to close this chapter: William Proxmire and Walter Mondale.
from 1977 NASA and USAF had to end all programs for manned space flight, also stop Yuri Andropov also soviet manned space program in wake of USA space program shut down.
for the next decades, the Major Power reduce there space program, to satellites and Remote control robots in Orbit and Moon and Probe to other planets
but in 1995, the Recoverable Booster system brought the cheap age of Space flight and in 2012 start construction of ISS
Then in 2020 first manned expedition to Mars and 2025 first manned moon base and manned Jupiter flight and this time there with French astronaut on board.
germanyswarrior
Donor
damn it an *wipes tear from eyes* i mad it this far without a tear...*shakes head* but this is a horrifying but intriguing timeline you have done a great job
Geon
Donor
The Mighty One
I said I might come back to this occasionally and so I have. Vexacus and others asked about the fate of the Yamato and I couldn't let the matter rest, so here is a brief snippet on the fate of the Mighty One in this TL! Please enjoy and comment!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perhaps one of the most poignant tales of post-war Japan was the final fate of the Yamato.Before the surrender of Japan the great battleship had been in preparation for one last great mission.It was known that sooner or later the Americans would land troops on the islands of Iwo Jima and later Okinawa.Japanese planners had intended that Yamato would sortie with a small group of warships on a one-way trip to Okinawa and attempt to beach on the shore of that island to end its life as a gun platform taking as many U.S. ships and troops as possible before it was destroyed.
The early surrender of Japan in March, 1945 brought an end to those plans.Under the terms of the surrender all surviving Japanese naval units were to be turned over to the United States.One of the ships was of course the Yamato.This created a big problem, what do you do now that you are the owner of the largest battleship on Earth?
After some consideration it was decided that the Yamato would be sailed to San Francisco where for the time being it would remain docked as a “war prize.”A select prize crew was selected to take the vessel to San Francisco and Admiral “Bull” Halsey was selected as the temporary captain of the ship.The purpose behind the choice was to give Halsey a chance to enter San Francisco harbor on one of the mightiest warships afloat which he had helped to capture.It was the conqueror bringing the spoils of war home in a very big way!
It is said many of the IJN naval officers and sailors who had sailed on Yamato were on the docks and on boats in the harbor watching the proud “Mighty One” begin her journey to San Francisco.Many wept openly and unashamedly and over a dozen crew and officers later committed hara-kiri out of sheer grief at the loss of this greatest of ships.
Halsey would arrive in San Francisco to a heroes’ welcome.People gathered on the Golden Gate Bridge as the proud warship made its way underneath it.Even the prisoners in Alcatraz were allowed to witness the ship sail by from the safety of the exercise field.To a man each of them could only gape in awe at the sheer size of this great ship.
For Halsey sailing the Yamato to San Francisco had a very profound effect.Being aboard the Yamato Halsey could understand the pride the Japanese had in this “wonderful lady”, as he came to call her affectionately on the trip over to the U.S.The man, who vowed after Pearl Harbor that when he was done the Japanese language would only be spoken in Hell, now had softened as he stood on the decks of the mightiest of Japanese warships.
After the Yamato docked it would become a tourist attraction for a year.But its final disposition was still in question.Then in 1946 it was announced that the Yamato would be sailed to Bikini Atoll to take part in Operation Crossroads, a series of atomic bomb tests to determine how effective nuclear weapons were against naval surface ships.Several ships from both Axis powers were to be the “guinea pigs” for these tests.
When Fleet Admiral Halsey learned of the plans for the Yamato his exact words were, “Over my very dead body!”Admiral Halsey would later write that having been given the honor of piloting that incredible ship all the way to San Francisco he was “damned if he was going to allow that beautiful ship to become a pile of radioactive junk.”
Halsey asked for help from every source he could get to save the Yamato.He even went on radio talk shows throughout the country.He urged people to write Washington and save a ship which even though it had been on the opposite side of the conflict was too fine a vessel to end up sunk.
Halsey’s appeal was very successful; starting with amazingly enough U.S. naval veterans who had fought in the war in the Pacific.Even more amazing was that some of these men were veterans of the Task Force Taffy 3 which had faced down the Yamato in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.To a man these veterans who supported Halsey agreed that turning Yamato into a target for a nuclear weapon was not the end that ship deserved.
Even more touching was what happened when an elementary school teacher, one of many, asked her 4th grade class to write letters for an assignment where the children were asked to tell President Truman why the Yamato shouldn’t be sunk, and the top 3 judged by the teacher would be sent to the White House.The letter which won first place would later be published both in the local newspaper and in others throughout the country.
Dear Mr. President Truman
The Yamato is a very big and beautiful ship.Even though it was part of the Japanese Navy it is still a very wonderful proud ship.Now that the war is over I don’t think we should bomb it but we should save it so that future mommies and daddies can show it to their children.We should always try to remember the past and not destroy it….
The letter writing campaign was successful.In May, 1946 it was announced that the Yamato would not be going to Bikini Atoll but would stay in San Francisco Harbor as a permanent museum piece.The announcement was hailed by many although many other wanted to see Yamato at the bottom of the sea, old wounds did die hard.
In 1948 the Yamato was opened as a floating maritime museum.Some of the first guests were Japanese sailors and officers who had served upon her as well as the young girl who wrote the letter above, and Admiral Halsey.The Japanese naval personnel offered their deepest thanks to Admiral Halsey for his help.Halsey is said to have remarked to one of the senior officers, “We may have been enemies but damn you fellas built one hell of a ship!”
For the next sixteen years the Yamato would attract huge crowds.Then in 1965 a meeting occurred in Hollywood that would have major implications for the vessel.The Toho film company, famous for creating Godzilla and other famous monster films approached Hanna-Barbera with a proposal.A script was being produced for a new feature length animated film and Toho wanted to have American cooperation on the project.The project would later be called Star Quest.
Star Quest was to be a science fiction action/adventure film set in the near future.In the film the battleship Yamato would be used as a backdrop for many of the scenes.Parts of the ship were meticulously photographed and then carefully drawn to form the backdrop for the film.In the film the battleship was converted into a starship by the brilliant professor Dr. Benton Quest of the now well-known Johnny Quest cartoon series.Then the ship and a hand-picked international crew headed into space to find a cure for a deadly virus launched at Earth by the evil Gamelon Empire.The film ran 2 ½ hours and used several ground breaking animation techniques.It also featured many name-level stars in the voice roles.
The film would gross millions at the box office and became a smash hit both in the U.S. and Japan.The result was that many people flocked to San Francisco to see the great lady.The film would spawn two remakes in the 80’s and in the 2000s as well as several TV series.
On the 40th anniversary of the Los Angeles attack President Reagan spoke aboard the Yamato as he announced that the U.S. would be the first nation to sign the International Treaty Outlawing the Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons.Speaking to a crowd of World War II veterans from both sides of the Pacific the President said, “The ship we are on if it could talk it could tell us many a story.In signing this treaty it is my hope that there will be future generations to which its stories both in reality and in fiction will still resonate.”
I said I might come back to this occasionally and so I have. Vexacus and others asked about the fate of the Yamato and I couldn't let the matter rest, so here is a brief snippet on the fate of the Mighty One in this TL! Please enjoy and comment!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Postscript – Fate of the “Mighty One”
The early surrender of Japan in March, 1945 brought an end to those plans.Under the terms of the surrender all surviving Japanese naval units were to be turned over to the United States.One of the ships was of course the Yamato.This created a big problem, what do you do now that you are the owner of the largest battleship on Earth?
After some consideration it was decided that the Yamato would be sailed to San Francisco where for the time being it would remain docked as a “war prize.”A select prize crew was selected to take the vessel to San Francisco and Admiral “Bull” Halsey was selected as the temporary captain of the ship.The purpose behind the choice was to give Halsey a chance to enter San Francisco harbor on one of the mightiest warships afloat which he had helped to capture.It was the conqueror bringing the spoils of war home in a very big way!
It is said many of the IJN naval officers and sailors who had sailed on Yamato were on the docks and on boats in the harbor watching the proud “Mighty One” begin her journey to San Francisco.Many wept openly and unashamedly and over a dozen crew and officers later committed hara-kiri out of sheer grief at the loss of this greatest of ships.
Halsey would arrive in San Francisco to a heroes’ welcome.People gathered on the Golden Gate Bridge as the proud warship made its way underneath it.Even the prisoners in Alcatraz were allowed to witness the ship sail by from the safety of the exercise field.To a man each of them could only gape in awe at the sheer size of this great ship.
For Halsey sailing the Yamato to San Francisco had a very profound effect.Being aboard the Yamato Halsey could understand the pride the Japanese had in this “wonderful lady”, as he came to call her affectionately on the trip over to the U.S.The man, who vowed after Pearl Harbor that when he was done the Japanese language would only be spoken in Hell, now had softened as he stood on the decks of the mightiest of Japanese warships.
After the Yamato docked it would become a tourist attraction for a year.But its final disposition was still in question.Then in 1946 it was announced that the Yamato would be sailed to Bikini Atoll to take part in Operation Crossroads, a series of atomic bomb tests to determine how effective nuclear weapons were against naval surface ships.Several ships from both Axis powers were to be the “guinea pigs” for these tests.
When Fleet Admiral Halsey learned of the plans for the Yamato his exact words were, “Over my very dead body!”Admiral Halsey would later write that having been given the honor of piloting that incredible ship all the way to San Francisco he was “damned if he was going to allow that beautiful ship to become a pile of radioactive junk.”
Halsey asked for help from every source he could get to save the Yamato.He even went on radio talk shows throughout the country.He urged people to write Washington and save a ship which even though it had been on the opposite side of the conflict was too fine a vessel to end up sunk.
Halsey’s appeal was very successful; starting with amazingly enough U.S. naval veterans who had fought in the war in the Pacific.Even more amazing was that some of these men were veterans of the Task Force Taffy 3 which had faced down the Yamato in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.To a man these veterans who supported Halsey agreed that turning Yamato into a target for a nuclear weapon was not the end that ship deserved.
Even more touching was what happened when an elementary school teacher, one of many, asked her 4th grade class to write letters for an assignment where the children were asked to tell President Truman why the Yamato shouldn’t be sunk, and the top 3 judged by the teacher would be sent to the White House.The letter which won first place would later be published both in the local newspaper and in others throughout the country.
Dear Mr. President Truman
The Yamato is a very big and beautiful ship.Even though it was part of the Japanese Navy it is still a very wonderful proud ship.Now that the war is over I don’t think we should bomb it but we should save it so that future mommies and daddies can show it to their children.We should always try to remember the past and not destroy it….
The letter writing campaign was successful.In May, 1946 it was announced that the Yamato would not be going to Bikini Atoll but would stay in San Francisco Harbor as a permanent museum piece.The announcement was hailed by many although many other wanted to see Yamato at the bottom of the sea, old wounds did die hard.
In 1948 the Yamato was opened as a floating maritime museum.Some of the first guests were Japanese sailors and officers who had served upon her as well as the young girl who wrote the letter above, and Admiral Halsey.The Japanese naval personnel offered their deepest thanks to Admiral Halsey for his help.Halsey is said to have remarked to one of the senior officers, “We may have been enemies but damn you fellas built one hell of a ship!”
For the next sixteen years the Yamato would attract huge crowds.Then in 1965 a meeting occurred in Hollywood that would have major implications for the vessel.The Toho film company, famous for creating Godzilla and other famous monster films approached Hanna-Barbera with a proposal.A script was being produced for a new feature length animated film and Toho wanted to have American cooperation on the project.The project would later be called Star Quest.
Star Quest was to be a science fiction action/adventure film set in the near future.In the film the battleship Yamato would be used as a backdrop for many of the scenes.Parts of the ship were meticulously photographed and then carefully drawn to form the backdrop for the film.In the film the battleship was converted into a starship by the brilliant professor Dr. Benton Quest of the now well-known Johnny Quest cartoon series.Then the ship and a hand-picked international crew headed into space to find a cure for a deadly virus launched at Earth by the evil Gamelon Empire.The film ran 2 ½ hours and used several ground breaking animation techniques.It also featured many name-level stars in the voice roles.
The film would gross millions at the box office and became a smash hit both in the U.S. and Japan.The result was that many people flocked to San Francisco to see the great lady.The film would spawn two remakes in the 80’s and in the 2000s as well as several TV series.
On the 40th anniversary of the Los Angeles attack President Reagan spoke aboard the Yamato as he announced that the U.S. would be the first nation to sign the International Treaty Outlawing the Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons.Speaking to a crowd of World War II veterans from both sides of the Pacific the President said, “The ship we are on if it could talk it could tell us many a story.In signing this treaty it is my hope that there will be future generations to which its stories both in reality and in fiction will still resonate.”
Last edited:
That's pretty damn cool, man. I love museum ships.
Loved the Johnny Quest allusion, as well.
Loved the Johnny Quest allusion, as well.
Geon
Donor
Postscript on Yamato Take 2
I discovered an error in my writing. Originally I intended (see earlier post) to have Yamato sailed to Pearl Harbor. Therefore I have been forced to edit the story slightly to keep in line with earlier canon. If this is posted on wiki please consider this canon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perhaps one of the most poignant tales of post-war Japan was the final fate of the Yamato.Before the surrender of Japan the great battleship had been in preparation for one last great mission.It was known that sooner or later the Americans would land troops on the islands of Iwo Jima and later Okinawa.Japanese planners had intended that Yamato would sortie with a small group of warships on a one-way trip to Okinawa and attempt to beach on the shore of that island to end its life as a gun platform taking as many U.S. ships and troops as possible before it was destroyed.
The early surrender of Japan in March, 1945 brought an end to those plans.Under the terms of the surrender all surviving Japanese naval units were to be turned over to the United States.One of the ships was of course the Yamato.This created a big problem, what do you do now that you are the owner of the largest battleship on Earth?
After some consideration it was decided that the Yamato would be sailed to Hawaii where for the time being it would remain docked as a “war prize.”A select prize crew was selected to take the vessel to Pearl Harbor and Admiral “Bull” Halsey was selected as the temporary captain of the ship.The purpose behind the choice was to give Halsey a chance to enter Pearl Harbor on one of the mightiest warships afloat which he had helped to capture, and the very one from which Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto had planned the attack on that same naval base
It is said many of the IJN naval officers and sailors who had sailed on Yamato were on the docks and on boats in the harbor watching the proud “Mighty One” begin her journey to Pearl Harbor.Many wept openly and unashamedly and over a dozen crew and officers later committed hara-kiri out of sheer grief at the loss of this greatest of ships.
Halsey would arrive in Pearl Harbor to a heroes’ welcome.Sailors and civilians watched as Admiral Yamamoto’s flagship sailed into the naval base.To a man all of them could only gape in awe at the sheer size of this great ship.
For Halsey sailing the Yamato to Pearl Harbor had a very profound effect.Being aboard the Yamato Halsey could understand the pride the Japanese had in this “wonderful lady”, as he came to call her affectionately on the trip over to the U.S.The man, who vowed after Pearl Harbor that when he was done the Japanese language would only be spoken in Hell, now had softened as he stood on the decks of the mightiest of Japanese warships.
After the Yamato docked it would become a tourist attraction for a year.But its final disposition was still in question.Then in 1946 it was announced that the Yamato would be sailed to Bikini Atoll to take part in Operation Crossroads, a series of atomic bomb tests to determine how effective nuclear weapons were against naval surface ships.Several ships from both Axis powers were to be the “guinea pigs” for these tests.
When Fleet Admiral Halsey learned of the plans for the Yamato his exact words were, “Over my very dead body!”Admiral Halsey would later write that having been given the honor of piloting that incredible ship all the way to Pearl Harbor he was “damned if he was going to allow that beautiful ship to become a pile of radioactive junk.”
Halsey asked for help from every source he could get to save the Yamato.He even went on radio talk shows throughout the country.He urged people to write Washington and save a ship which even though it had been on the opposite side of the conflict was too fine a vessel to end up sunk.
Halsey’s appeal was very successful; starting with amazingly enough U.S. naval veterans who had fought in the war in the Pacific.Even more amazing was that some of these men were veterans of the Task Force Taffy 3 which had faced down the Yamato in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.To a man these veterans who supported Halsey agreed that turning Yamato into a target for a nuclear weapon was not the end that ship deserved.
Even more touching was what happened when an elementary school teacher, one of many, asked her 4th grade class to write letters for an assignment where the children were asked to tell President Truman why the Yamato shouldn’t be sunk, and the top 3 judged by the teacher would be sent to the White House.The letter which won first place would later be published both in the local newspaper and in others throughout the country.
Dear Mr. President Truman
The Yamato is a very big and beautiful ship.Even though it was part of the Japanese Navy it is still a very wonderful proud ship.Now that the war is over I don’t think we should bomb it but we should save it so that future mommies and daddies can show it to their children.We should always try to remember the past and not destroy it….
The letter writing campaign was successful.In May, 1946 it was announced that the Yamato would not be going to Bikini Atoll but would stay in Pearl Harbor as a permanent museum piece.The announcement was hailed by many although many other wanted to see Yamato at the bottom of the sea, old wounds did die hard.
In 1948 the Yamato was opened as a floating maritime museum.Some of the first guests were Japanese sailors and officers who had served upon her as well as the young girl who wrote the letter above, and Admiral Halsey.The Japanese naval personnel offered their deepest thanks to Admiral Halsey for his help.Halsey is said to have remarked to one of the senior officers, “We may have been enemies but damn you fellas built one hell of a ship!”
For the next sixteen years the Yamato would attract huge crowds.Then in 1965 a meeting occurred in Hollywood that would have major implications for the vessel.The Toho film company, famous for creating Godzilla and other famous monster films approached Hanna-Barbera with a proposal.A script was being produced for a new feature length animated film and Toho wanted to have American cooperation on the project.The project would later be called Star Quest.
Star Quest was to be a science fiction action/adventure film set in the near future.In the film the battleship Yamato would be used as a backdrop for many of the scenes.Parts of the ship were meticulously photographed and then carefully drawn to form the backdrop for the film.In the film the battleship was converted into a starship by the brilliant professor Dr. Benton Quest of the now well-known Johnny Quest cartoon series.Then the ship and a hand-picked international crew headed into space to find a cure for a deadly virus launched at Earth by the evil Gamelon Empire.The film ran 2 ½ hours and used several ground breaking animation techniques.It also featured many name-level stars in the voice roles.
The film would gross millions at the box office and became a smash hit both in the U.S. and Japan.The result was that many people flocked to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to see the great lady. The film would spawn two remakes in the 80’s and in the 2000s as well as several TV series.
On the 40th anniversary of the Los Angeles attack President Reagan spoke aboard the Yamato as he announced that the U.S. would be the first nation to sign the International Treaty Outlawing the Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons.Speaking to a crowd of World War II veterans from both sides of the Pacific the President said, “The ship we are on if it could talk it could tell us many a story.In signing this treaty it is my hope that there will be future generations to which its stories both in reality and in fiction will still resonate.”
I discovered an error in my writing. Originally I intended (see earlier post) to have Yamato sailed to Pearl Harbor. Therefore I have been forced to edit the story slightly to keep in line with earlier canon. If this is posted on wiki please consider this canon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Postscript – Fate of the “Mighty One”
Perhaps one of the most poignant tales of post-war Japan was the final fate of the Yamato.Before the surrender of Japan the great battleship had been in preparation for one last great mission.It was known that sooner or later the Americans would land troops on the islands of Iwo Jima and later Okinawa.Japanese planners had intended that Yamato would sortie with a small group of warships on a one-way trip to Okinawa and attempt to beach on the shore of that island to end its life as a gun platform taking as many U.S. ships and troops as possible before it was destroyed.
The early surrender of Japan in March, 1945 brought an end to those plans.Under the terms of the surrender all surviving Japanese naval units were to be turned over to the United States.One of the ships was of course the Yamato.This created a big problem, what do you do now that you are the owner of the largest battleship on Earth?
After some consideration it was decided that the Yamato would be sailed to Hawaii where for the time being it would remain docked as a “war prize.”A select prize crew was selected to take the vessel to Pearl Harbor and Admiral “Bull” Halsey was selected as the temporary captain of the ship.The purpose behind the choice was to give Halsey a chance to enter Pearl Harbor on one of the mightiest warships afloat which he had helped to capture, and the very one from which Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto had planned the attack on that same naval base
It is said many of the IJN naval officers and sailors who had sailed on Yamato were on the docks and on boats in the harbor watching the proud “Mighty One” begin her journey to Pearl Harbor.Many wept openly and unashamedly and over a dozen crew and officers later committed hara-kiri out of sheer grief at the loss of this greatest of ships.
Halsey would arrive in Pearl Harbor to a heroes’ welcome.Sailors and civilians watched as Admiral Yamamoto’s flagship sailed into the naval base.To a man all of them could only gape in awe at the sheer size of this great ship.
For Halsey sailing the Yamato to Pearl Harbor had a very profound effect.Being aboard the Yamato Halsey could understand the pride the Japanese had in this “wonderful lady”, as he came to call her affectionately on the trip over to the U.S.The man, who vowed after Pearl Harbor that when he was done the Japanese language would only be spoken in Hell, now had softened as he stood on the decks of the mightiest of Japanese warships.
After the Yamato docked it would become a tourist attraction for a year.But its final disposition was still in question.Then in 1946 it was announced that the Yamato would be sailed to Bikini Atoll to take part in Operation Crossroads, a series of atomic bomb tests to determine how effective nuclear weapons were against naval surface ships.Several ships from both Axis powers were to be the “guinea pigs” for these tests.
When Fleet Admiral Halsey learned of the plans for the Yamato his exact words were, “Over my very dead body!”Admiral Halsey would later write that having been given the honor of piloting that incredible ship all the way to Pearl Harbor he was “damned if he was going to allow that beautiful ship to become a pile of radioactive junk.”
Halsey asked for help from every source he could get to save the Yamato.He even went on radio talk shows throughout the country.He urged people to write Washington and save a ship which even though it had been on the opposite side of the conflict was too fine a vessel to end up sunk.
Halsey’s appeal was very successful; starting with amazingly enough U.S. naval veterans who had fought in the war in the Pacific.Even more amazing was that some of these men were veterans of the Task Force Taffy 3 which had faced down the Yamato in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.To a man these veterans who supported Halsey agreed that turning Yamato into a target for a nuclear weapon was not the end that ship deserved.
Even more touching was what happened when an elementary school teacher, one of many, asked her 4th grade class to write letters for an assignment where the children were asked to tell President Truman why the Yamato shouldn’t be sunk, and the top 3 judged by the teacher would be sent to the White House.The letter which won first place would later be published both in the local newspaper and in others throughout the country.
Dear Mr. President Truman
The Yamato is a very big and beautiful ship.Even though it was part of the Japanese Navy it is still a very wonderful proud ship.Now that the war is over I don’t think we should bomb it but we should save it so that future mommies and daddies can show it to their children.We should always try to remember the past and not destroy it….
The letter writing campaign was successful.In May, 1946 it was announced that the Yamato would not be going to Bikini Atoll but would stay in Pearl Harbor as a permanent museum piece.The announcement was hailed by many although many other wanted to see Yamato at the bottom of the sea, old wounds did die hard.
In 1948 the Yamato was opened as a floating maritime museum.Some of the first guests were Japanese sailors and officers who had served upon her as well as the young girl who wrote the letter above, and Admiral Halsey.The Japanese naval personnel offered their deepest thanks to Admiral Halsey for his help.Halsey is said to have remarked to one of the senior officers, “We may have been enemies but damn you fellas built one hell of a ship!”
For the next sixteen years the Yamato would attract huge crowds.Then in 1965 a meeting occurred in Hollywood that would have major implications for the vessel.The Toho film company, famous for creating Godzilla and other famous monster films approached Hanna-Barbera with a proposal.A script was being produced for a new feature length animated film and Toho wanted to have American cooperation on the project.The project would later be called Star Quest.
Star Quest was to be a science fiction action/adventure film set in the near future.In the film the battleship Yamato would be used as a backdrop for many of the scenes.Parts of the ship were meticulously photographed and then carefully drawn to form the backdrop for the film.In the film the battleship was converted into a starship by the brilliant professor Dr. Benton Quest of the now well-known Johnny Quest cartoon series.Then the ship and a hand-picked international crew headed into space to find a cure for a deadly virus launched at Earth by the evil Gamelon Empire.The film ran 2 ½ hours and used several ground breaking animation techniques.It also featured many name-level stars in the voice roles.
The film would gross millions at the box office and became a smash hit both in the U.S. and Japan.The result was that many people flocked to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to see the great lady. The film would spawn two remakes in the 80’s and in the 2000s as well as several TV series.
On the 40th anniversary of the Los Angeles attack President Reagan spoke aboard the Yamato as he announced that the U.S. would be the first nation to sign the International Treaty Outlawing the Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons.Speaking to a crowd of World War II veterans from both sides of the Pacific the President said, “The ship we are on if it could talk it could tell us many a story.In signing this treaty it is my hope that there will be future generations to which its stories both in reality and in fiction will still resonate.”
Last edited:
An Oklahoman
Banned
I just got done reading this wonderful TL over the past week. I've blown off most of my school work, but it was totally worth it.
In all seriousness, kudos to you. I was moved to tears several times.
In all seriousness, kudos to you. I was moved to tears several times.
Lost Freeway
Banned
Please tell me that USS Enterprise was preserved as a museum ship. It would be a massive injustice for the Big E to be scrapped while the so-called "mighty one" that didn't actually do anything gets saved.
Geon
Donor
Have no fear Lost Freeway. The Enterprise ended its days as a museum ship in San Diego.
------------------------------------------------
I have a question for everyone who enjoyed this thread, I have two epilogues that I had in mind to post here but felt they were either too loopy or too syrupy. One involves Marlena Dietrich, the other...well let's just say that's the loopy one. Like any good book I find myself drawn back to this and I confess I am still floored by the amount of attention this got. So, just tossing these two ideas out I'd like to hear a few comments from, those who read and enjoyed this thread.
Again, thanks for all the attention and the comments positive and negative.
Geon
Penny for The Guy
Banned
Go For Broke
Considering the quality of your posts, do BOTH ideas And damn the contradictions (if there be any.)
Considering the quality of your posts, do BOTH ideas And damn the contradictions (if there be any.)
- Status