Eighty years ago this month, the United States dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ushering in the Atomic Age and forever changing the world. For decades, the use of nuclear weapons has been controversial. But America’s decision, fateful as it was, saved lives and ended World War II .

On August 6, 1945, a Boeing B-29 bomber named the Enola Gay took off from the Mariana Islands, carrying a nuclear bomb nicknamed “Little Boy,” which was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, killing an estimated 70,000 people. Three days later, another bomber, Bockscar , dropped “Fat Man” over Nagasaki, killing approximately 40,000 people. On August 15, the Empire of Japan announced its surrender, formalized on September 2 aboard the ship USS Missouri .

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