6 August 1945

[Bartleby]

8:15 am (Japan time)

In the museum at Hiroshima you can see a clock frozen in time, its iron arms twisted back from the heat.

Roughly 35 million minutes ago as I write. Possibly the most horrific single moment in human history....

He: You saw nothing in Hiroshima.
She: I saw everything in Hiroshima.

from Hiroshima Mon Amour

B

[Lainey]

Was't there a recent news article about Truman's grandson laying a wreath at Hiroshima? Pretty amazing.

[Bartleby]

Was't there a recent news article about Truman's grandson laying a wreath at Hiroshima? ...

Truman's grandson visits Hiroshima, offers prayer for A-bomb victims
HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) -- Clifton Truman Daniel, the eldest grandson of former U.S. President Harry Truman, visited Hiroshima on Saturday and met with survivors of the wartime atomic bombing ordered by his grandfather.
The 55-year-old former journalist listened to an 83-year-old survivor who said he had to leave his mother behind as he ran from the fire approaching their home after the blast.
Daniel told the meeting with Mikizo Iwasa, a leader of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, that even though it is hard to hear such stories "we have to hear" them.
"If we do not pay attention and if we do not look to you as our teachers, we are going to make the same mistake again," Daniel said.
Earlier in the say Daniel visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. He told reporters the exhibit was "devastating," but added he was struck most by the "message of the peace the entire city is devoted to."
Asked how he sees his grandfather's decision when opinions are still divided about its legitimacy, Daniel said, "I do not think we will ever finish talking about that," adding "(the) important thing is keep talking about it."

SNIP
Ari Beser, the 24-year-old grandson of Jacob Beser, a radar specialist who was the only military officer to take part in both atomic bombing

SNIP

Daniel's first visit to Japan came after his meeting in New York in 2010 with Masahiro Sasaki, head of the nonprofit Sadako Legacy and older brother of Sadako Sasaki, a girl who succumbed to leukemia at age 12 a decade after the bombing.
Daniel has said it was about 14 years ago when his son brought home a book about the girl's story, "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes." Moved by her story of folding more than 1,000 cranes to make her wish of living come true, he said it is important for his family to "understand what happened" and the "full consequence" of decisions made by his grandfather.
SNIP

The Mainichi
Aug 4

[freein05]

Have we learned?

[razz]

I just read an account of Tom Harpur visiting the Hiroshima site (Harpur's Heaven and Hell published in 1983 at the height of the Cold War) and was shocked at the devastation. I have to confess that I had not understood the full horror of the tragedy. I knew that it was terrible but not the devastation and longterm consequences. As Free says, have we learned?

[Bartleby]

I just read an account of Tom Harpur visiting the Hiroshima site (Harpur's Heaven and Hell published in 1983 at the height of the Cold War) and was shocked at the devastation.
Thanks Razz. I'll look for it.

The title reminds of my own first visit to Hiroshima in the late 70s when I was a college exchange student and touring western Japan during spring break.

I arrived in Hiroshima during a blinding rain and was soaked by the time I made it to the Peace Dome and museum. After a day of seeing the exhibits describing the attack and its effects, like stone steps with the shadow of a person (all that is left of a human being), I made my way to the harbor with a heavy heart.

As I waited for the ferry to Miyajima, a sacred island in the Inland Sea where I had a room booked in a Japanese inn, the rain stopped and a rainbow appeared over my destination, with its iconic red torii gate in the sea.

The hell part is obvious. Then the island: washed by the rain, no cars or trucks, pure silence, school children and deer wandering about with no apparent cares, my first night in a traditional ryokan. Seemed like Shangri-la.

[Bartleby]

Have we learned?

Well, we have not used atomic or nuclear weapons since then and did manage to avoid annihilation during the Cold War.

In a narrow sense, I guess the answer is yes, we learned something.

Remember the Doomsday Clock?

It is based on the concept that once a civilization developed nuclear capabilities it was only a matter of time before it annihilated itself. In some writings in the 40s and 50s the assumption was shockingly short, like 2 to 5 years if I remember correctly.

So at 67 years and counting, we are at least doing better than expected!

The current Doomsday Clock indicates "5 minutes to midnight." When first introduced in 1947, it was at 7 minutes. Since then, it has ranged from 2 minutes (in 1953 with the advent of the H-bomb) to 17 minutes (in 1991 with the end of the Cold War).

So in the view of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, we haven't learned that much, an assessment that seems about right to me.

http://www.thebulletin.org/content/doomsday-clock/timeline (http://www.thebulletin.org/content/doomsday-clock/timeline)

[bae]

Have we learned?

My uncle is still at his post on the USS Arizona, where he has been since December 7th, 1941. My grandfather was on-deck to invade the Japanese mainland when we dropped the atom bombs.

You'd think the example we set in response to the Pearl Harbor attack would have discouraged future attacks on our nation, and yet, on 9/11/01, we all saw how well that worked. Perhaps we have mellowed though, as we didn't nuke Mecca and Medina on 9/12.