From:
[email protected] (Gary S. Trujillo)
Newsgroups: alt.activism,soc.culture.japan
Subject: Hiroshima Survivors' Accounts (14 of 16) [was Re: Universal Peace Day]
Date: 4 Aug 90 21:11:58 GMT
Organization: gst's 3B1 - Somerville, Massachusetts
90/07/30 11:25:57 SYSOP HIROSHIMA_WITNESS_No.5-1
HIROSHIMA WITNESS
Hibakusha Testimony
The first atomic bomb actually used in war time was dropped on
Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killing 130,000 to 150,000 people by
the end of the year. Those who survived the bombing are rapidly
aging now after struggling for many years. The Hiroshima Peace
and Culture Foundation has decided to newly video tape the
testimony of 100 A-bomb victims to commemorate the International
Year of Peace 1986 to record the precious experiences of these
survivors to be handed down to future generations. This tape
includes portions of the testimonies of Takehiko Sakai, a group
of survivors who were in the same streetcar when the bomb fell
and Yoshito Matsushige.
Mr. Takehiko Sakai, 21 years old at that time, was at the west
drill ground when the atomic bomb was dropped. He did not lose
consciousness and remembers his military uniform catching fire.
The bomb fell two days after Mr. Sakai had arrived in Hiroshima
>from his regiment in Yamaguchi.
Sakai:Around the time of the bombing I heard a voice shout, "A
parachute is coming down." I was coming out of the passage way
>from the lavatory and looked for the parachute, but could not
find it. Putting it out of mind, I turned back when there was an
intense flash like the magnesium light used for photographing. By
reflex, I crouched or rather, I felt down. And that was when I
was jolted and knocked down by an immense force. The force and my
fall all took place at the same time, all in one moment. When the
blow came, I closed my eyes but I could still feel the extreme
heat. To say the least, it was like being roasted alive many
times over. It was terribly hot, much worse than the pain which
one must endure when an incision is made during surgery. While
trying to withstand the terrible heat, I moved my hand,but there
was no feeling in it. I also tried to move my feet, but I
couldn't tell whether they were still connected to my body. I was
completely numb from my knees down to my feet and from my elbows
to my shoulders. I looked out and it was pitch black. It was
stifling. The heat was terrible. I took a deep breath and then
mud and sand was sucked into my mouth. Thinking again, I held my
breath for a few seconds. A little while later, I noticed that
the side of my body was very hot. It was on fire. And I tried to
put it out. But it wouldn't go out so easily. Here are the scars,
these are my burns. I threw away my shirt and I sat down cross-
legged, and glanced in front of me. I could see people running in
the dark. Some of them were on fire, and some of them were just
rolling around on the ground. Gradually it became lighter. And
just then, the sun ray broke through the clouds. The light
appeared to be in many different colors, red and yellow, purple
and also white. At that time, I was a cadet in active service. So
I couldn't just run away. My institution told me that the bridges
in the city would all be destroyed in an attack of this magnitude
and that therefore would be impossible to get away. I thought
that surely something could be done since the entire army
couldn't have all been wiped out completely. Besides, running
away seemed like a cowardly thing to do and that's why I stayed
put and persevered. After a while, perhaps an hour or so later, I
realized that my face had become swollen. You could hardly
recognize me, my lips and my face were all popped up like this
and my eyes, I had to force my eyes open with my fingers in order
to see. It must have been a little after nine when the fire got
bigger, in the beginning it hadn't been so bad, but later after
the fire started. We wanted to rescue the people who were trapped
inside. But most of the people who actually escaped managed to
get up by themselves. Though we could hear their voices from
inside, we were too weak to lift up a big house with its tiled
roof because of our injuries. Really, there was nothing much that
we could do. Then, after some time, it started to rain heavily
like the sudden storm. I suppose that's what's known as the black
rain. It was about ten o'clock and I thought where it lasted, the
the rain would extinguish the fire. Actually, though, it made
very little difference and the fire raged on. Later on in the
evening when we were sitting around without having much to do,
most of the people had already fled and the city was still
burning. We could hear voices calling "Help!" or "It's , it's so
hot. Help us!" The voices, they weren't from nearby but from a
far away. We didn't know just where those voices came from, but
it became quiet by midnight. The bomb fell on the the sixth and
we remained here until about 3 o'clock in the afternoon of the
tenth. Then, on the evening of August 15, we heard that the war
was over. I was happy, I was really happy that the war had ended.
But I was also worried, I was worried about what would happen
next. I didn't know if I could be useful to society or not, but I
wanted to do something constructive and so I decided to become a
teacher. The situation in Japan those days quite pitiful. There
was very little to eat. Everyone was very poor. During the period
immediately after the bombing, because of my injuries, people had
to look after me and it was through their care that I was able to
get better. So I tried to repay this dept. by teaching my
students to be kind and consider it whenever I had the
opportunity to do so. Consequently, I think it was a good thing
that I became a teacher and in this way to somehow pay back
society for what had happened. This has been testimony by
Takehiko Sakai.
Seven hundred and fifty meters from ground zero, these are the
testimonies of the passengers who were on the same streetcar in a
Hatchobori area when the atomic bomb fell. A little after eight
in the morning on August 6, the streetcar for Koi left Hiroshima
Station. And at 8:15 it approached Hatchobori Station, 780 meters
>from the hypocenter and an intense flash and blast engulfed the
car, instantly setting it on fire. It is said that seventy cars
were running in the city at the same time. They were an important
means of transportation for the citizens, and all the trains were
packed with people since it was the morning rush hour. Nearly 100
passengers are said to have been on board on the streetcar which
0was near Hatchobori. But the survivors of only ten have been
confirmed to date. Seven out of ten have recorded their
testimonies on this video tape.
Tomiko Sasaki, 17 on that day, was on her way to her friend's
house in Funairi with two classmates as it was their holiday from
student mobilization labor. Approximately two weeks after the
bombing, her two classmates died.
Interviewer: Were three of you on the same part of the car?
Sasaki: Yes. I was standing in front here and the others were
next to me. There was the flash and darkness. I think I was
unconscious for a while. We came to and called each other's
names. My friends complained of the heat and terrible pain. I saw
that one side of her body had been badly burned. There was a
water tank for fire prevention, but the water wasn't clear due to
all the dust. I put my handkerchief in the water and I put it
over her burns, but she went on crying in pain. Both of my
friends were burned. As for myself, flesh was hanging from my
whole face was bloody. Fortunately I escaped from burnt. I think
it made a big difference that I was not burned. In fact, I think
that saved my life.
--
Gary S. Trujillo
[email protected]
Somerville, Massachusetts {wjh12,spdcc,ima,cdp}!gnosys!gst
