The nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

                   

This article is taken directly from Volume Two of my Memoires titled “Whistling in the Face of Robbers” beginning at page 220. I should add that one third of my Memoirs is about my own life and two-thirds of my Memoirs is about actual events that occurred during my life-time. This volume represents the years 1944 through 1951. I was eleven years old in 1944 and living in a small gold-mining town in British Columbia, Canada when those two bombs exploded. 

The printing in my book didn't have spaces between the paragraphs and the first lines of each paragraph were indented. That is not possible in this article . And now, the article.

The first bomb dropped on August 6, 1945 was when a B-29 bomber (the Enola Gay) released a 9,700-pound uranium bomb, nicknamed Little Boy, over the city of Hiroshima in southern Japan.

Hiroshima was an important military and communications center with a population of 300,000. It was also the only primary target city not thought to have American prisoners. Little Boy detonated 1,900 feet above the city, killing 70,000 people and wounding another 70,000. The bomb devastated everything within five square miles.                                                                                      

 The blast from an atomic bomb’s explosion only lasted for only one-half to one second, but in this amount of time a great deal of damage was done A fireball was created by the blast, which consisted mainly of dust and gasses. The dust produced in this fireball had no immediate substantial effect on humans or their environment. However, as the gasses expanded, a blast wave was produced. As this blast wave moved, it created static overpressure. This static overpressure then in turn created dynamic pressure. The static overpressure had the power to crush buildings. The dynamic pressure created winds which had the power to blow down trees and small buildings.                           

The blast pressure and fireball together only lasted for approximately eleven seconds, but because it contained fifty percent of the atomic bomb’s latent energy, a great deal of destruction occurred.                                                                 

In Hiroshima, the blast from the atomic bomb was measured to be about four and a half to six and seven tenths tons of pressure per square metre, while in Nagasaki the blast was measured to be about six to eight tons of pressure per square meter. Because of this dramatic change in the pressure, most sections of the cities were destroyed. The static overpressure in Hiroshima caused ninety-one and nine tenths percent of all the buildings to be destroyed, while the second bomb dropped on Nagasaki caused thirty-six and one tenth of all of the buildings to be destroyed.                                                                                                  

The static over-pressure created a dynamic pressure that had winds up to four hundred miles per hour—far more than a class f-5 tornado. These winds caused minor scratches, lacerations, or compound fractures, which came about when people and glass fragments were projected through the air.By combining the results of the static over-pressure and the dynamic pressure one can begin to see what damage was caused by the atomic bomb’s blast.                                             

The total number of people affected in this manner in Hiroshima was approximately seventy-eight thousand people, while in Nagasaki the total number affected was approximately forty-five thousand victims.                                     

The thermal radiation produced by an atomic bomb explosion will account for thirty-five percent of the atomic bomb’s damage. Thermal radiation can come in either one of three forms; ultraviolet radiation, visible radiation, or infrared radiation. The ultraviolet radiation is absorbed so rapidly by air particles that it has no substantial effect on people. However, the visible and infrared radiation creates an enormous amount of heat to be produced, approximately ten million degrees Celsius at the hypocentre.                                                                                 

This heat has two main effects. The first is known as flash burns. These flash burns are produced by the flash of thermal radiation right after the explosion. Flash burns can be either first degree burns (bad sun burns), second degree burns (blisters, infections, and scars), or third degree burns (destroyed skin tissue). The second type is known as flame burns. These are burns that come from one of two different types of fires, which are created when flammable materials are ignited by the thermal radiation. There are two kinds of raging fires. The first type is called firestorms. A firestorm is violent, has raging winds, and has extremely high temperatures; but fortunately it does not spread very rapidly. The second type is called a conflagration. A conflagration is when the fire spreads in a front. The thermal radiation produced by the atomic bomb’s explosion accounted for most of the deaths or injuries. In Hiroshima and Nagasaki the thermal radiation accounted for approximately twenty to thirty percent of the deaths or injuries from the atomic bomb’s explosion.                                                                                                                                      

Those  who were  at  a  distance  of  four  and  two  hundredths  of  a kilometer from the hypocenter received first degree burns. Those that were at  a  distance  of  only  three  and  one  half  kilometers from the hypocenter received second degree burns.  Those that were at a distance of only ninety-seven hundredths of a kilometer from the hypocenter received third degree burns. Ninety-five percent of the burns created from the thermal radiation were by flash burns, and only five percent of the burns were by flame burns. The reason for this low number of flame burns is that only two to ten percent of the buildings caught on fire.                                                                                                     

By combining the damage from both the flash and flame burns one can begin to see the effects that an atomic bomb’s thermal radiation had. Approximately sixty thousand in Hiroshima and approximately forty-one thousand people were either killed or injured from the thermal radiation.                  

The final effect that an atomic bomb caused was the nuclear radiation produced from the fission process. The nuclear radiation came in the form of either Gamma rays or Beta particles. Gamma rays are electromagnetic radiation originating in the atomic nuclei, physically identical to x-rays. They can enter into living tissue extremely easily and destroy them. Beta particles are negatively charged particles, identical to an electron moving at a high velocity. These forms of nuclear radiation are measured in RADs (radiation-absorbed-dose), which is defined as the absorption of five ten millionths joule per gram of material. During the initial nuclear radiation, mostly Gamma rays were emitted from the fireball. This period of initial nuclear radiation lasts for approximately one minute. During the residual nuclear period (fallout) the Beta particles and more of the Gamma rays are emitted. The residual radiation has two stages: early fallout and delayed fallout. In early fallout, the heavy and highly radioactive particles fall back to the earth, usually within the first twenty-four hours. In delayed fallout, the tiny and often invisible particles fall back to the earth, and usually last from a couple of days to several years.                       

The nuclear radiation from the atomic bomb’s explosion still have serious results. In Hiroshima, the initial nuclear radiation was spread over a distance of approximately fifty-three hundredths of a kilometer. In Nagasaki, the initial nuclear radiation only spread one and six thousandths of a kilometer. The reason why the nuclear radiation was not the main caused of deaths or injuries was that the atomic bomb was detonated so high in the atmosphere; approximately five hundred and seventy meters (1,870 feet in Hiroshima, and approximately five hundred and ten meters ) (1,673 feet) in Nagasaki. Even without causing many immediate deaths, the nuclear radiation probably caused the most serious effects. Those who suffered the effects of nuclear radiation were those who suffered from cataracts, leukemia, cancer of the thyroid, cancer of the breast, cancer of the lungs, cancer of the stomach, and mental retardation on babies in-utero. Others suffered from tumors of the esophagus, tumors of the colon, tumors of the salivary glands, and tumors of the urinary tract organs. Those who suffered the least were those who experienced increased rates of birth mortality, birth defects, infertility, and susceptibility towards illnesses. The total number of people affected by the nuclear radiation was estimated to be thirty-five thousand people in Hiroshima, and twenty-one thousand people in Nagasaki. It was either the blast, the thermal radiation, or the nuclear radiation from an atomic bomb explosion that had severe effects on both humans and on the environment in which they lived in.                                                                                                                  

President Truman warned Japan that if it didn't surrender, the United States would attack other targets with equally devastating results. The Japanese did not surrender. The United States continued conventional bombing raids on Japanese cities.                                                                                         

On August 9, another B-29 bomber that was named Bockscar, headed to bomb Kokura Arsenal; however, the pilot switched to his secondary target, Nagasaki, because of the weather over Kokura. Nagasaki was the home of a Mitsubishi torpedo manufacturing plant. The Bockscar dropped a 10,000-pound plutonium bomb, nicknamed Fat Man, over the slopes of Nagasaki. The atomic bomb killed 40,000, injured 60,000, and destroyed three square miles of the city. The fierce blast wind, heat rays reaching several thousand degrees, and deadly radiation generated by the explosion crushed, burned and killed everything in sight and reduced a third of the city into area to a barren field of rubble. Leveled Area—6.7 million square meters. Damaged Houses: Completely Burned—11,574 Completely Destroyed—1,326 Badly Damaged—5,509 Total—18,409. Casualties Killed—73,884, Injured—74,909 Total casualties—148,793.         

The only two cities in the world that have ever experienced having an atomic bomb being exploded on them were the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. In Hiroshima, the total number killed was one hundred and eighteen thousand, six hundred and sixty-one. The total number severely injured in that city was thirty thousand five hundred and twenty-four. The number slightly injured was forty-eight thousand, six hundred and six. The total number missing was three thousand and six hundred and seventy-seven. In Nagasaki, the total number killed was seventy-three thousand, eight hundred and eighty-four. The total number severely injured was seventy-four thousand nine hundred and nine. The total number slightly injured was one hundred and twenty thousand eight hundred and twenty.                                                                   

          

I will now include the statement of a survivor of the Hiroshima bomb old by a German priest who was in that city when the bomb exploded. But first I will continue with my narrative. This part of this article is also in Volume Two of my Memoirs.

It is extremely difficult to imagine what it must have been like to have been in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb exploded. I searched for and found a first-hand experience story about someone who survived the blast. He was one of the persons who witnessed the destruction of Hiroshima by the dropping of the atomic bomb on the city. He was Father P. Siemes, a German priest with the Novitists of the Society of Jesus in Nagasaki. Father Siemes was directly involved in the post-bombing rescue, and had also witnessed the Hiroshima explosion itself while barely avoiding the bomb's lethal heat and shock waves. In his subsequent writings, he said in part; 

“August 6^th began in a bright, clear, summer morning. About seven o'clock, there was an air raid alarm which we had heard almost every day and a few planes appeared over the city. No one paid attention and at about eight, the all-clear sounded. I am sitting in my room at the Novitists of the Society of Jesus in Nagasaki during the past half year. The philosophical and theological section of our mission had been evacuated to this place from Tokyo. The Novitists is situated approximately two kilometers from Hiroshima, half-way up the side of a broad valley which stretches from the town at sea level into the mountainous hinterland and through which courses a river. From my window, I have a wonderful view down the valley to the edge of the city.                                         

“Suddenly (the time was approximately 8:15) the whole valley is filled by a garish (extremely bright) light which resembles the Magnesium light used in photography, and I am conscious of a wave of heat. I jump to the window to find out the cause of this remarkable phenomenon, but I see nothing more than that brilliant yellow light. As I make for the door, it doesn't occur to me that the light might have something to do with enemy planes. On the way from the window, I hear a moderately loud explosion which seems to come from a distance and, at the same time, the windows are broken in with a loud crash. There has been an interval of perhaps ten seconds since the flash of light. I am sprayed by fragments of glass. The entire window frame has been forced into the room. I realize now that a bomb has burst and I am under the impression that it exploded directly over our house or in the immediate vicinity. I am bleeding from cuts about the hands and head.”                                                                 

“I attempt to get out of the door. It has been forced outwards by the air pressure and has become jammed. I forced an opening in the door by means of repeated blows with my hands and feet and come to a broad hall-way from which open the various rooms. Everything is in a state of confusion. All windows are broken and all the doors are forced inwards. The book-shelves in the hall-way have tumbled down. I do not note a second explosion and the fliers seem to have gone on. A few are bleeding in the room, but none has been seriously injured. All of us have been fortunate since it is now apparent the wall of my room opposite the window has been lacerated by long fragments of glass.”                                                                                                                                            

 “We proceed to the front of the house to see where the bomb has landed. There is no evidence, however, of a bomb crater; but the southeast section of the house is severely damaged. Not a door nor a window remains. The blast of air had penetrated the entire house from the southeast, but the house still stands. It is constructed in the Japanese style with a wooden framework, but has been greatly strengthened by the labor of our Brother Gropper as is frequently done in Japanese homes. Only along the front of the chapel which adjoins the house have three supports given away (it has been made in the manner of a Japanese temple, entirely out of wood).                                                          

“Down in the valley, perhaps one kilometer towards the city from us, several peasant homes are on fire and the woods on the opposite side of the valley are aflame. A few of us go over to help control the flames. While we are attempting to put things in order, a storm comes up and it begins to rain. Over the city, clouds of smoke are rising and I hear a few slight explosions. I come to the conclusion that an incendiary bomb with an especially strong explosive action has gone off down in the valley. A few of us saw three planes at great altitude over the city at the time of the explosion. I, myself, saw no aircraft whatsoever.”                                                                                                                                 

“Perhaps a half-hour after the explosion, a procession of people began to stream up the valley from the city. The crowd thickens continuously. A few come up the road to our house. Their steps are dragging. Many are bleeding or have suffered burns. We give them first aid and bring them into the chapel, which we have in the meantime cleaned and cleared of wreckage, and put them to rest on the straw mats which constitute the floor of Japanese houses. A few display horrible wounds of the extremities and back. The small quantity of fat which we possessed during this time was soon used up in the care of the burns. Father Nekter, who, before taking holy orders, had studied medicine, ministers to the injured, but our bandages and drugs are soon gone. We must be content with cleansing the wounds. More and more of the injured come to us. The least injured drag the more seriously wounded. There are wounded soldiers, and mothers carrying burned children in their arms. From the houses of the farmers in the valley came word: 

“Our houses are full of wounded and dying. Can you help, at least by taking the worst cases?”                                                                                                     

“The wounded come from the sections at the edge of the city. They had seen the bright light. Their houses had collapsed and buried the people in their homes. Those that were in the open, suffered instantaneous burns; particularly on the lightly clothed or unclothed parts of the body. Numerous fires spring up which soon consumed the entire district.” unquote                                                                     

 

“Father P. Siemes also said, “We now conclude that the epicenter of the explosion was at the edge of the city near the Yokogawa Station, three kilometers away from us. We are concerned about Father Kepp, who, that same morning, went to hold Mass at the Sisters of the Poor, who have a home for children at the edge of the city. He had not returned as yet.”                                           

“Toward noon, our large chapel and library are filled with the seriously injured. The procession of refugees from the city continues. Finally, about 1:00, Father Kepp returns together with the Sisters. Their house and the entire district where they live had burned to the ground. Father Kepp is bleeding about the head and neck, and he has a large burn on the right palm. He was standing in front of the nunnery ready to go home. All of a sudden, he became aware of the light, felt the wave of heat and a large blister formed on his hand. The windows were torn out by the blast. He thought that the bomb had fallen in his immediate vicinity. The nunnery, also a wooden structure made by our Brother Gropper, still remained but soon it was noted that the house is as good as lost because the fire, which began at many points in the neighborhood, sweeps closer and closer, and water is not available. There is still time to rescue certain things from the house and to bury them in an open spot. Then the house is swept by flame, and they fight their way back to us along the shore of the river and through the burning streets.”                                                                            

“Soon came news that the entire city has been destroyed by the explosion and that it is on fire.” What became of Father Superior and the three other Brothers who were at the center of the city at the Central Mission and Parish House? We had up to this time not given them a thought because we did not believe that the effects of the bomb encompassed the entire city. Also, we did not want to go into town except under pressure of dire necessity, because we thought that the population was greatly perturbed and that it might take revenge on any foreigners whom they might consider spiteful onlookers of their misfortune, or even spies.”                                                                                                

“Brother Stolto and Brother Balighagen go down to the road which is still full of refugees and bring in the seriously injured who have sunken by the wayside, to the temporary aid station at the village school. There, iodine is applies to the wounds but they are left uncleansed. Neither ointments nor other therapeutic agents are available. Those that have been brought in are laid on the floor and no one can give them any further care. What could one do when all means are lacking? Under these circumstances, it is almost useless to bring them in. Among the passersby, there are many who are uninjured. In a purposeless, insensate manner, distraught by the magnitude of the disaster, most of them rush by and none conceives the thought only with the welfare of their own families. It became clear to us during these days that the Japanese displayed little initiative, preparedness, and organizational skill in preparation for catastrophes. They despaired of any rescue work when something could have been saved by a cooperative effort, and fatalistically let the catastrophe take its course. When we urged them to take part in the rescue work, they did everything willingly, but on their own initiative they did very little.”                                

 

“At about 4:00 in the afternoon, a theology student and two kindergarten children, who lived at the Parish House in the city, came and reported that the church, Parish House and adjoining buildings had burned down, and that Father Superior, LaSalle and Father Schiffer had been seriously injured and that they had taken refuge in Asano Park on the river bank. It is obvious that we must bring them in since they are too weak to come here on foot.” 

“Hurriedly, we get together two stretchers and seven of us rush toward the city. Father Rekter comes along with food and medicine. The closer we get to the city, the greater is the evidence of destruction and the more difficult it is to make our way. The houses at the edge of the city are all severely damaged. Many have collapsed or burned down. Further in, almost all of the dwellings have been damaged by fire. Where the city stood, there is a gigantic burned out sear. We make our way along the street on the river bank among the burning and smoking ruins. Twice we are forced into the river itself by the heat and smoke at the level of the street. Frightfully burned people beckon to us. Along the way, there are many dead and dying. On the Misasa Bridge, which leads into the inner city, we are met by a long procession of soldiers who have suffered burns. They drag themselves along with the help of staves or are carried by their less severely injured comrades—an endless procession of the unfortunate. Abandoned on the bridge, there stand with sunken heads a number of horses with large burns on their flanks. On the far side, the cement structure of the local hospital is the only building that remains standing. The interior however has been burned out. It acts as a landmark to guide us on our way. Finally we reach the entrance of the park. A large proportion of the populace has taken refuge there, but even the trees of the park are on fire in several places. Paths and bridges are blocked by the trunks of fallen trees and are almost impassable. We are told that a high wind, which may well have resulted from the heat of the burning city, had uprooted the large trees. It is now quite dark. Only the fires which are still raging in some places at a distance, give out little light. At the far corner of the park, on the river bank itself, we at first come upon our colleagues. Father Schiffer is on the ground pale as a ghost. He has a deep incised wound behind his ear and has lost so much blood that we are concerned about his chances for survival. The Father Superior has suffered a deep wound of the lower leg. Father Cieslik and Father Kleinserge have minor injuries but are completely exhausted.”                                         

“While they are eating the food that we have brought along, they tell us of their experiences. They were in their rooms at the Parish House—it was 8:15, exactly the time when we had heard the explosion in Nagatsuki (Nagasaki) then came the intense light and immediately thereafter the sound of breaking windows, walls and furniture. They were showered with glass splinters and fragments of wreckage. Father Schiffer was buried beneath a portion of a wall and suffered a severe head injury. The Father Superior received most of the splinters in his back and lower extremity from which he bled copiously. Everything was thrown about in the rooms themselves, but the wooden framework of the house remained intact. The solidity of the structure that was the work of Brother Gropper again was shown forth. They had the same impression that we had in Nagatsuki: that the bomb had burst in their immediate vicinity. The Church, school and all buildings in the immediate vicinity collapsed at once. Beneath the ruins of the school, the children cried for help. They were freed with great effort. Several others were also rescued from the ruins of nearby dwellings. Eve, the Father Superior and Father Schiffer, despite their wounds, rendered aid to others.”                                                  

 

“In the meantime, fires which had begun some distance away are raging even closer, so that it becomes obvious that everything would soon burn down. Several objects are rescued from the Parish House and were buried in a clearing in front of the Church but certain valuables and necessities which had been kept ready in case of fire could not be found on account of the confusion which had been wrought. It is high time to flee, since the oncoming flames leave almost no way open. Fukai, the secretary of the Mission, is completely out of his mind. He does not want to leave the house and explains that he does not want to leave and says that he does not want to service the destruction of his fatherland. He is completely uninjured. Father Kleinserge drags him out of the house on his back and he is forcefully carried away. Beneath the wreckage of the houses along the way, many have been trapped and they scream to be rescued from the oncoming flames. They must be left to face their fate. The way to the place in the city to which one desires to flee is no longer open and one must make for Asano Park. Fukai does not want to go further and remains behind. He has not been heard from since. In the park, we take refuge on the bank of the river. A very violent whirlwind now begins to uproot large trees, and lifts them high into the air. As it reaches the water, a water spout forms which is approximately 100 meters high. The violence of the storm luckily passes us by. Some distance away, however, where numerous refugees have taken shelter, many are blown into the river. Almost all who are in the vicinity have been injured and have lost relatives who have been pinned under the wreckage or who have been lost sight of during the flight. There is no help for the wounded and some die. No one pays any attention to a dead man lying nearby.”                                                                                                  

“The transportation of our own wounded is difficult. It is not possible to dress their wounds properly in the darkness and they bleed again upon slight motion. As we carry them on the shaky litters in the dark over fallen trees of the park, they suffer unbearable pain as the result of the movement, and lost dangerously large quantities of blood. Our succoring angel in this difficult situation is an unknown Japanese Protestant Pastor. He has brought us a boat and offers to take our wounded upstream to a place where progress is easier. First, we lower the litter containing Father Schiffer into the boat and two of us accompany him. We plan to bring the boat back for the Father Superior. The boat returns about one-half hour later and the pastor requests that several of us help in the rescue of two children whom he had seen in the river. We rescue them. They have severe burns. Soon they suffer chills and die in the park. The Father Superior is conveyed in the boat in the same manner, as Father Schiffer. The theology student and I accompany him. Father Cieslik considers himself strong enough to make his way on foot to Nagatsuki with the rest of us, but Father Kleinserge cannot walk so far and we leave him behind and promise to come for him and the housekeeper tomorrow. From the other side of the stream comes the whinny of horses who are threatened by the fire. We land on a sand spit which juts out of the shore. It is full of wounded who have taken refuge there. They scream for aid for they are afraid of drowning as the river may rise with the sea, and cover the sand spit. They themselves are too weak to move. However, we must press on and finally we reach the spot where the group containing Father Schiffer is waiting.”                                              

 “Here a rescue party had brought a large case of fresh rice cakes but there is no one to distribute them to the numerous wounded that lie all about. We distribute them to those that are nearby and also help ourselves. The wounded call for water and we come to the aid of a few. Cries for help are heard from a distance, but we cannot approach the ruins from which they come. A troop of soldiers comes along the road and their officer notices that we speak a strange language. He at once draws his sword, screamingly demands who we are and threatens to cut us down. Father Laures Jr., seizes his arm and explains that we are German. We finally quiet him down. He thought that we might be Americans who had parachuted down. Rumors of parachutists were being bandied about the city. The Father Superior, who was clothed only in a shirt and trousers, complains of feeling freezing cold, despite the warm summer night and the heat of the burning city. The one man among us who possesses a coat gave it to him and in addition, I give him my own shirt. To me, it seems more comfortable to be without a shirt in the heat.” unquote     

I was able to locate the statement of a Japanese survivor of the Nagasaki bombing. He was a Japanese citizen, named Sakita who recalled the dropping of the atomic bomb on his city. I will tell you of the facts he disclosed including his own words. These are also in Volume Two of my Memoirs.  

“It was so hot, so humid when I got home that morning.  I couldn't sleep. I took off my shirt and went out into the backyard to wash and cool myself. Through the open back door, I heard the clock chime 11 a.m. Almost at that moment, I heard the faint drone of airplane engines in the sky above Mount Kompira behind my house. “Oh no, not another air raid, I thought. Then I remembered the alarm had been lifted that morning, so I concluded the sound was coming from Japanese aircraft. Suddenly, a loud full boom like the burst of an anti-aircraft shell sounded in the direction in which the airplane would have passed, and just as I looked up to see if it had been the enemy, a blinding flash of light filled the sky and my body was showered in a wave of intense heat.”  unquote                                                   

He  later  said  that  he  felt  a  searing  pain  on  his  face  and  threw himself onto  the  ground  with  his eyes shut. Sakita was about a mile south of the center of the blast.  The upper half of his body was badly burned. The family’s home was pushed over like a "flimsy match-stick toy" and Sakita was trapped by debris. He managed to squeeze free. The long row of houses along his street was broken wood and rubble. Nearby factories were enveloped in flames and thick smoke churned into the darkening sky. Directly north, Sakita could see hundreds of people stumbling through the smoke toward the nearby mountains. He said. "I suddenly realized I, too, should flee for my life." 

Barefoot and shirtless, skin peeling from the left side of his face, he turned and ran toward a cave dug into the steep hillside behind his home. That shelter was crammed with people hiding for their lives. Sakita could not get inside. He clawed his way up the burning hill behind the cave and came to a road halfway up Mount Kompira. He said, “The ground was strewn with countless numbers of corpses. I could no longer bear to walk among them. I jumped into a sweet potato patch, tripping over the vines as I ran.” unquote                  

After two days of wandering, he made his way to a makeshift hospital. He said; “Two or three nurses were desperately trying to care for the injured, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. It became obvious that however long I waited my turn was not going to come. A nurse threw a small tin of petroleum jelly to him. It was pointless to wait for more. I left, and started home. The road home was barred by civilian guards. I tried to get through. My parents and sister may be there. Please let me go look for them,” unquote He pleaded. The guards turned him away, and Sakita wept. “I lamented over the fact that I might never see my parents again and wondered how on Earth I would be able to go on living alone. I did not know what to do.” unquote                                              

He roamed aimlessly, looking for friends among the dead. He spent two days and nights in the middle of a pine grove, hungry, bleeding, in pain and in shock.                                                                                                                                              

He learned later his parents were walking home on the street in Nishima-chi when the bomb exploded. They were carried to a makeshift hospital in Isahaya City, where they spent a month recovering from their injuries. They died several years later from what Sakita said were radiation-related illnesses.  

I will now give you my own thoughts on the proliferation of nuclear bombs as stated in the same volume of my Memoirs.  

This kind of horror has put fear in the minds of government officials around the world and that is why that since 1945, no more of those such bombs have been dropped on any city in the world.                                                      

 However what is frightening is that there are approximately 30,000 nuclear warheads with a destructive capacity of 5,000 megatons (5,000 million tons of TNT) stored around the world. That is enough to kill almost everyone in the world. The stupidity of making that many nuclear bombs is mind boggling especially when you consider that it is conceivable that if one of those bombs falls from the air onto a city, more will follow and just as dominoes fall, one after another will continue to fall until all those bombs have exploded and killed billions in the holocaust effectively wiping out most of the human beings on Earth and most of the animals on Earth also.                                                     

At the time of this writing, many countries have nuclear bombs in their arsenals. There are at least as many as 15,695 nuclear weapons stockpiled around the world. In 1969, Russia detonated a 50 megaton nuclear bomb that is equivalent to 50 million tons of TNT. If such a bomb was dropped on Toronto, it would literally destroy every building in an area from Oshawa to Hamilton. If dropped on Manhattan, it would destroy everything from Jersey City to Queens, New York. Its immediate blast range would be 22 miles (35 km). Now you know why no-one wants a nuclear war. It would literally annihilate almost everyone in the world. unquote

I hope that you have found this article interesting and informative.