August 6 and August 9 were the 60th anniversaries of
They are the first and so far only nuclear catastrophes we have ever seen.
As with other anniversaries it is now time for reflection, in the cases of
As these two bombings and their aftermath, though with hugely devastating consequences for the entire world, seem to be fading from our collective memory, will, consciousness, and other stuff.
It is said, at first, the Americans responded to news of the bomb with a sense of relief.
This was especially true for millions of American soldiers, who knew that the alternative to a Japanese surrender was a grisly invasion of the Japanese mainland.
Just after dropping the bomb, navigator Theodore (Dutch) Van Kirk heard someone aboard the Enola Gay express, "This war is over." As Van Kirk later reflected, he silently agreed with the assessment. "You didn't see how anybody--even the most radical, militaristic, uncaring for their people--how anybody like that could stand up to something like this."
Justice and peace are intimately linked. Where there is armed conflict, injustice thrives, and injustice provides fertile ground for violence.
According to me, the purpose in dropping the bomb was three-fold.
1) Force
2) Obtain revenge for the Japanese attack on
3) Demonstrate to
On
Within seconds of its detonation, the bomb had destroyed most of central
A giant fireball unleashed total annihilation and consumed the city.
Buildings, bridges, and human bodies were evaporated by the force of the blast
And successive shockwaves spread throughout the region and a now-familiar mushroom cloud reached heights of over 48,000 feet over the city.
Just three days later, an even more destructive bomb was dropped over the city of
“The flash of light. The flash of light was like nothing I had ever seen before. Or since.” - Survivor of
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