Hiroshima

[Randygh]

I just watched a KIRO 7 newsclip regarding the lantern festival on Green Lake that commerates the atomic bomb blast over Hiroshima. The bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki probably saved several million lives.

This weekend we're attending a large family reunion at Lake Chelan. I was visiting with one of my uncle's. He was among some of the first American soldiers to land on Japanese soil, Sept. 23, 1945. Without a doubt, he would have been killed. His post war occupational experiences are incredibly interesting. Uncle saw Nagasaki and said the destrution was unbelievable unless you were there.

[SomeSailor]

I've been to both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and there are many stark reminders. At the War Dead Museum, there are some amazing photos and artifacts on display. They have pieces of cement walls that have permanent shadows cast on them from the people that were standing in front of them. The intense light burned a shadow with their image on them. The people were vaporized, but their shadows remained.
Another eerie place is called the A-bomb Dome. The blast was detonated directly overhead, but the dome (being round) served as a deflector for the intense heat and concussion. The building burned and everyone perished, but the building stood in the dead center of ground zero.