Friday, August 6, 2010

THE FORGOTTEN HOLOCAUST REMEMBERED

Anniversary of Hiroshima Bombing


hiroshima

The United States dropped the first atomic bomb used in warfare on Hiroshima, Japan. An estimated 140,000 died from the immediate effects of this bomb and tens of thousands more died in subsequent years from burns and other injuries, and radiation-related illnesses. Pres. Harry Truman ordered the use of the weapon in hopes of avoiding an invasion of Japan to end the war, and the presumed casualties likely to be suffered by invading American troops.The weapon, “Little Boy,” was delivered by a B-29 Superfortress nicknamed the Enola Gay, based on the island of Tinian, and piloted by Col. Paul W. Tibbets.
On August 6, 1995 up to 50,000 people attended a memorial service commemorating Hiroshima Peace Day on the 50th anniversary of the first atomic bombing.

The Day the Sun Rose Twice



As if that wasn’t enough…..
On August 9, 1945
The second atomic bomb, “Fatman,” was dropped on the arms-manufacturing and key port city of Nagasaki. The plan to drop a second bomb was to test a different design rather than one of military necessity. The Hiroshima weapon was a gun type, the Nagasaki weapon an implosion type, and the War Department wanted to know which was the more effective design.

Responsibility for the timing of the second bombing had been delegated by Pres. Harry Truman before the Hiroshima attack to Col. Paul W. Tibbets, the commander of the 509th Composite Group on Tinian, one of the Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific. Scheduled for August 11 against Kokura, the raid was moved forward to avoid a five-day period of bad weather forecast to begin on August 10. English translation of leaflet air-dropped over Japan after the first bomb [excerpt]: “We are in possession of the most destructive explosive ever devised by man. A single one of our newly developed atomic bombs is actually the equivalent in explosive power to what 2000 of our giant B-29s can carry on a single mission. This awful fact is one for you to ponder and we solemnly assure you it is grimly accurate.”

Of the 195,00 population of the city (many of its children had been evacuated due to bombing in the days just prior), 39,000 died and 25,000 were injured, and 40% of all residences were damaged or destroyed.

“What on earth has happened?” said my mother, holding her baby tightly in her arms. “Is it the end of the world?”Sachiko Yamaguchi (nine years old at the time of the bombing).




 
Jonah Raskin is a professor at Sonoma State University and the author of The Mythology of Imperialism and Field Days.

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