Hiroshima

You don't have to say anything more than "Hiroshima" to know what I was here for... the Atomic Bomb Museum. On August 6, 1945 the first atomic bomb was used, on a crystal clear morning at 8:15 am. It instantly destroyed over 90% of the city and instantly killed 70,000 people.

Three days later, on August 9th, the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.

On August 14th, Japan surrendered, ending World War II.

By the end of 1945, the death total in Hiroshima had increased to 140,000 with people dying because of radiation sickness and their severe burns.

It was thought that Hiroshima would be a radioactive wasteland, uninhabitable for at least 100 years. However a huge typhoon hit the city that fall and washed away much of the radioactive dust that had settled over the city. By spring the next year, grass was found sprouting, giving hope that the city could be rebuilt.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial was built to teach us what led to the bomb being employed, what its effects were, and hope that it will never be repeated again.

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I took a day trip to visit the memorial. I knew much of the history, but I was overwhelmed by the feeling of being there. It was a beautiful day, I couldn't have asked for a nicer day... the trees were changing into their fall colors and the sky was perfectly blue.

I took the street car from the train station to the memorial. The flow is generally to visit the museum first, then walk around the park and grounds, but I ended up doing the museum backwards because I saw this sign at the street car station:

A-bomb dome is the building behind me. It was one of the few structures that was not completely leveled by the bomb.

The lady I'm standing next to is one of the "Hiroshima Peace Volunteers" who spend their time telling their stories about the war, and particularly about the atomic bomb. This lady's mother was one of the survivors from the bomb, and she shared with me passages from her journal that she wrote. Incredibly powerful and personal.
Part of the reason that A-bomb Dome survived was that it was almost directly under the blast of the bomb. The bomb detonated 600 meters above the city for maximum effect, and the aim point can be seen below where the bridge in this picture comes to a "T" in the left corner.
As I continued my walk, I came across this group who was singing, chanting, and praying. I watched them for about 10 minutes until they were done, then I went closer to see where they were. You see the hill behind the sign in the right corner of the picture?
This hill contains the ashes of 70,000 people who died after the initial blast.

I then went to the museum itself. The museum was very impressive, and I have to say that it was "fair and balanced." It explained both sides of the war, and it pointed out that Imperial Japan was an aggressor leading to and during the war.

Some of the reasons for dropping the bomb: to end the war quickly and keep the Soviets out of the area...

The flight path of the bombers...

A recent aerial photo of Hiroshima, showing the layout of the city...

A model of the atomic blast over the city a split second after the detonation showing the location of the blast...

A model of Hiroshima before...

and after the blast...

A photograph taken of the area. The center island in the picture is now mostly a park area for the museum named Peace Memorial Park.

Another "Hiroshima Peace Volunteer" in the museum explaining the only photo taken of survivors on the day of the blast

The picture was taken at approximately 11:00 am, about three hours after the blast, about a mile and a half from the center of the destruction.

The photographer said, "I fought with myself for 30 minutes before I could take the first picture. After taking the first, I grew strangely calm and wanted to get closer. I took about ten steps forward and tried to snap another, but the scenes I saw were so gruesome my view finder clouded with tears."

Photographs taken from various points away from the city. Most pictures were taken out of curiosity, some were Air Force reconnaissance pictures.

The museum also had lots of artifacts and stories. This tricycle and helmet particularly touched me as little Tally loves to ride her trike with her helmet these days...

The father said his son was 3 years and 11 months old (Adayla's age as I was there) and "loved to ride his tricycle. That morning, he was riding in front of his house when, in a sudden flash, he and his tricycle were badly burned. He died that night." His father felt he was too young to be buried in a lonely grave away from home, and thinking he could still play with the tricycle, he buried his son with the tricycle in the back yard. 40 years later, in 1985, the father dug up his sons remains and had them transferred to the family grave and he donated the helmet and tricycle to the museum.

A full scale model based on drawings and stories of the first night after the blast. Amazing and awful to think of surviving something so powerful that your skin melted.

A full-scale model of the bomb, nicknamed "Little Boy," that was dropped on Hiroshima.

This sign states that the largest nuclear weapon ever tested was 3,100 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

This flame will only be extinguished when there are no nuclear weapons on the Earth.

I found this an incredible sign in the museum. It states, "There is a movement today to read and re-evaluate the school textbooks of the Asian countries which Japan held as colonies or occupied during the war. Hiroshima was dealt a severe blow by the atomic bomb, but Japan, too, inflicted great damage... Internationalization must begin with speaking the truth about the role each country played in the war. We must find a way to make our mutual pain a positive gift for the future."

"The Cenotaph for A-bomb Victims in the center of Peace memorial Park was constructed in 1951. In the symbolic coffin at the center of the cenotaph lies the A-bomb Victim Registry who have been confirmed as victims of the A-bomb.

Carved on the front of the coffin are the Japanese characters that mean, 'Let All the Souls Here Rest in Peace; For We Shall Not Repeat the Evil.'"

A view of Peace Memorial Park from the museum. There were dozens of school groups there. I was totally surprised to find them all calling out to me, saying "hello," "what's your name," and "welcome to Hiroshima." I was happy to take the time to chat with them throughout the day.

Beautiful city, beautiful people, and a beautiful museum. An incredible story