Just after 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, Tsutomu Yamaguchi, then a 29-year-old ship engineer with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was walking to the company shipyard in Hiroshima. Right then, "Little Boy", the world's first strategic atomic bomb, detonated in midair less than two miles away from Yamaguchi. The blast knocked him unconscious, burst his left eardrum and burned his upper torso. But Yamaguchi did not live in Hiroshima. To recuperate, he went home -- to Nagasaki. Three days after his injury, back home in Nagasake, Yamaguchi was recounting his story to a skeptical boss when "Fat Man", the second strategic atomic bomb, exploded all over that city, also less than two miles away. The shock wave tore off Yamaguchi's bandages. On August 15, 1945, when Yamaguchi was home, recuperating from his injuries, burns and high fever, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's unconditional surrender. "The reason that I hate the atomic bomb is because of what it does to the dignity of human beings", he recently explained to the London Times.
The very real argument is simply put: was the use of the Atomic Bomb, which killed 120,000 people instantly, a proper use. The answer is either, yes, because it saved American soldiers' lives who would have slogged through at least another year or two of war in the continent of Asia, or the answer is no, because in inhumanely targeted civilians and military indiscriminately. Whatever the answer, Mr. Yamaguchi cannot afford to be too judgmental. The Mitsubichi plant that he worked at made the planes, tanks and ships that devastated Pearl Harbor, China, and most of southeast Asia, the South Pacific, in a murderous rampage. Mr. Yamaguchi should probably read "The Rape of Nanking" to inform his opinion about what Japan's army and military-industrial complex did to the "dignity of human beings."
Still, a very interesting debate. Our former neighbor, Tom Immerman, God rest his soul, lost an eye on Guadalcanal. When I first moved in next door, he saw that I drove a Toyota. All he said to me is something I cannot print. He was a great guy. Years ago, when I was a kid, my grandfather was in a bar downtown in Niagara Falls with some WWII veterans. Japanese tourists walked in the bar and asked for directions to the Falls. One of the men at the bar looked at the unfortunate tourists and said, "Go to Hell. You had no trouble finding Pearl Harbor." The feelings still run deep...
For a fascinating re-enactment of the drop of the bomb, (if you have about ten minutes to spare) follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rHrV2QhArA
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