Lie: Leaflets were dropped on Japanese cities to warn civilians to evacuate.
Truth: Leaflets were dropped after we bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Lie: Our use of the atomic bombs shortened the war.
Truth: The Japanese were looking for peace when they returned from the Potsdam Conference on Aug. 3, 1945, three days before the U.S. military bombed Hiroshima.
Lie: We bombed Hiroshima, which was an important Japanese Army base.
Truth: We bombed the city center of Hiroshima, which had a population of 350,000.
Truth: Only four of the 30 targets were, in fact, military in nature.
Lie: The destroyed area of Hiroshima contained major industrial targets.
Truth: The only "industrial" targets were three textile mills.
Truth: Residential areas sustained the most damage.
Truth: Less than 10 percent of Hiroshima's manufacturing, transportation and storage facilities were damaged.
Lie: Residual radiation was not a threat to the American soldiers who stayed to occupy Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Truth: The "black rain" that fell after the bombings contaminated the ground, which was one of the many sources of residual radiation.