It was December 1941 when the combined Japanese air and naval forces surprisingly attacked the sleeping Pearl Harbor. It was less than four years later when Enola Gay dropped what was later to be the root of the world’s first nuclear strike. It was also the day we entered the Nuclear Age.

I remember watching Pearl Harbor (the 132 million-dollar budget film directed by Michael Bay) and discovering just how fearless and ruthless the Japanese were at that time. Also, I was so convinced that they were the villains in the story and having two of their cities bombed was just a reasonable enough payback. I was wrong. I didn’t exactly know what the real deal was and I was blinded by my feeble presumptions and personal bias. Little did I know, the story didn’t really have a fair ending.

The enlightenment occurred when I visited the wonderful prefecture of Hiroshima. I was looking at the city’s brochures and maps to look for amusing sights to explore. And then, there I saw the boldly printed HIROSHIMA PEACE MEMORIAL MUSEUM. I didn’t think twice but I just pulled my friend’s hand and off we go to a tour that would later change my entire perspective regarding the “things” that happened between U.S. and Japan during the 1940’s. It completely turned my outlook 180 degrees and what was before seemed an appealing ending to me was now a tragedy that I still cannot fully digest.

Walking through each part of the museum was unearthing saddening facts that left me dumbfounded throughout the whole tour. Every glass case contained a horrifying past; every image mirrored a haunting memory.

But what I cannot seem to forget was this huge image of a wristwatch (that stopped exactly the time the bomb exploded) and the short message printed just below it:

“A dragonfly flitted in front of me

and stopped on a fence.

I stood up, took my cap in my hands,

and was about to catch the dragonfly

when......”

It was depressing enough just reading it but it was dreadful imagining it. My eyes welled up with tears.

What’s more is that I was able to touch objects that are now surviving bits and pieces, and I was also able to view Hiroshima on the day of the atomic bombing which was just as spine-chilling. Seeing the replica of those people with their dissolved skin, those ashes, and even the imprinted shadow of a man sitting on a porch made my insides jolt. Everything was due to radiation. Everything was due to the atomic bomb.

A-Bomb Dome: A symbol of hope for World Peace

Now, it appears to me that my opening line does not really offer that much clarity in expressing its intensity. By merely describing it as “the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” just like in high school history books, cannot substantiate or give justice to the indescribable horror that actually took place. At least to me, that was the impression.

To those of you who are not familiar with what really happened more than six decades ago, let me give a few facts.

AUGUST 6, 1945 8:16 A.M.
Hiroshima City - The atomic bomb exploded directly over the Shima clinic. The temperature reached 50 million degrees centigrade and flash heat fired miles away, burning skin and vaporizing people. Approximately 80,000 people were instantly killed or severely wounded. Almost 70 percent of the buildings were destroyed. (data from the book, Enola Gay)

Just a mile away from the epicenter, the effects of radiation and tremendous heat were unbearable – skins were burned, imprints were left on the skin as well.

The after-effect was equally disastrous. Black rain poured over Hiroshima, making things become worse than it already was. The effects of radiation were terrible – diseases, scars, etc., people were left damaged forever as they were probably passed on to the next generations. Caused by the bitter history, I’ve even heard sad stories about some Japanese who are against marrying someone from Hiroshima. I strongly resent this mind-set.

AUGUST 8, 1945
Nagasaki City – A plutonium bomb, which was more powerful than the uranium one (the one used for Hiroshima), exploded just above the northwest part of the city. However, there was less damage and fewer casualties.

It was only then that I realized that Japan was not the villain after all. It was also a victim. I regret being so narrow-minded and offensive. I am seeing the whole picture now. The way I considered the war and the attacks was also not quite right. It was not supposed to be looked at as a derby fight between the two nations – that one should retaliate or get even, but as a possible means to an end. The war had to end. It just had to.

And through all of these I made myself vow to be an instrument of peace and I extend all my prayers to the victims, their families, and to each and every one of you who has a vicious war within his/her own heart. We cannot let this happen again.

Yay for world peace!

For those who want to learn more about the Hiroshima Bombing – detailed accounts of the World War II and the after-effect stories, you can these out:

Enola Gay by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts

Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse

PEACE,

D