My Wife's Grandparents Were Hiroshima Survivors

Mad Scientist

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Sep 15, 2008
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Mr. Seikitchi Uehara and Mrs. Matsu Uehara shown here with my wife at the nursing home in Okinawa where Grandma spent her last days as the effects of Dementia set in.

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Grandpa was an Engineer who was, believe it or not, too small to serve in The Emperors Army so put his Engineer degree to work designing Aircraft for the Army. He said he helped design a few Kamikaze planes but wouldn't ever elaborate and even though I'm an Airplane Nut, I never pushed the subject. He did say, and I agreed, that it was the F6F Hellcat that turned the tide of the War in the Pacific.

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He and his wife were in Hiroshima to attend a work related meeting of sorts. As fate would have it, on August 6th he wasn't feeling so good so he decided to take the day off and stay in their small apartment on the outskirts of Hiroshima.

That morning Grandma saw the B-29 fly over and witnessed the ensuing mushroom cloud. The next day Grandpa walked into the city and witnessed the devastation first hand. He said it was "Hell on Earth".

He never complained about anything that happened during the war or the nuclear bombs. He just said "It had to happen. Japan was never going to give up".

Both He and his Wife were designated Living National Treasures by the Gov't of Japan and were interviewed numerous times by various agencies and publications over the years. They both lived into their 90's in spite of the radiation effects of the bombing.

Here we are in the house that he built in Okinawa using Japanese Joinery Techniques where not as single nail was used!

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Nice.
I loved living in Japan.
Taught English there part-time. One of my student, an older gentleman, was a fire-bomb survivor (Nagasaki) and he told me stories he remembered about American bombings way back when.
 
It's interesting to note that there really was little or no media coverage of the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki radiation sickness. There is an interesting book by Pulitzer Prize winner George Weller called "First into Nagasaki". The book was compiled after Weller's death by his son who found the carbon copies of his accounts in Nagasaki shortly after the Japanese Surrender. Weller was working for the A.P. at the time and all his stories had to go through MacArthur's staff for approval before being sent to the A.P. Weller didn't even know it at the time but Mac's people spiked every single story and nothing got out. MacArthur had a little kingdom going in Japan and he was the de-facto Japanese ruler.
 
I recently posted a message concerning how persistent and potent the anti-Japanese propaganda was during WW-II. I should mention that I was no less affected by that propaganda than was any other American and the residual effect of it lingered with me well into the 1950s. And I was not alone in that effect.

I'm recalling a conversation with a buck sergeant on the ship going to Japan in 1957. That sergeant had done one tour in Japan and had recenly re-enlisted specifically to return there. During that conversation he seemed to detect some residual hostility toward the Japanese, especially from one fellow whose father had been killed on Tinian, and he spent some time assuring us that it wouldn't be long before our feelings toward the Japanese people would change once we were exposed to them and got to know them. And he was right.

I was stationed at a base called South Camp Fuji, which was situated at the base of Mount Fuji, a very beautiful, peaceful place. I clearly remember on my first day of liberty how taken I was with the Japanese children walking in well-behaved groups in their school uniforms, how they would nod politely when they saw I was looking at them as we passed. I later observed them to be generally well-mannered and very bright -- obviously very well raised by caring and intelligent parents.

The subliminal orientation I'd acquired from War-years propaganda quickly fell away. I quickly came to like and respect the Japanese people whom I found to be very pleasant, hospitable, clean, honorable, and generally decent human beings. And I came to deeply regret the need to use those two bombs.

After six months the entire 3rd Division was moved from Japan to Okinawa, which was similar but not quite the same as Japan. When my 18 month tour ended and I stood on the dock at Naha waiting to board the homebound ship I recall being torn between eagerness to get home and a compelling wave of sadness that I was leaving that place. And when the ship sailed that evening I noticed I wasn't the only one who was contemplatively quiet.

For a few days I searched around the ship looking for the buck sergeant who spoke with us on the inbound trip. I wanted to tell him how clearly I understood what he tried to tell us and how right he was.

While I can't speak for today I can tell you that Sayonara was a very sad word back in the fifties.
 
I heard this morning that the Japanese don't even teach what happened in WW2 in school so most of their citizens don't know what atrocities they committed.
 
I heard this morning that the Japanese don't even teach what happened in WW2 in school so most of their citizens don't know what atrocities they committed.
My oldest son was surprised to learn of the Rape of Nanking:

"Dad, did this really happen? Are these real pictures?".
 
I heard this morning that the Japanese don't even teach what happened in WW2 in school so most of their citizens don't know what atrocities they committed.
My oldest son was surprised to learn of the Rape of Nanking:

"Dad, did this really happen? Are these real pictures?".
I'm glad that Americans don't gloss over the bad things that we've done. Pretty shameful to do so, imo.
 
I heard this morning that the Japanese don't even teach what happened in WW2 in school so most of their citizens don't know what atrocities they committed.
My oldest son was surprised to learn of the Rape of Nanking:

"Dad, did this really happen? Are these real pictures?".
I'm glad that Americans don't gloss over the bad things that we've done. Pretty shameful to do so, imo.

What comparible thing have we done in an official manner as Nanking or what the Nazis or Stalin did that we would even have to gloss over?... :dunno:

:)

peace...
 
I heard this morning that the Japanese don't even teach what happened in WW2 in school so most of their citizens don't know what atrocities they committed.
My oldest son was surprised to learn of the Rape of Nanking:

"Dad, did this really happen? Are these real pictures?".
I'm glad that Americans don't gloss over the bad things that we've done. Pretty shameful to do so, imo.

I dont remember the US being involved in the Rape of Nanking. :eusa_whistle:

Hiroshima and Nagaski were totally legit, unless you think invading Japan and losing more American lives were OK. Remember Japan attacked the US. My family lost two members in the Pacific.
 
My oldest son was surprised to learn of the Rape of Nanking:

"Dad, did this really happen? Are these real pictures?".
I'm glad that Americans don't gloss over the bad things that we've done. Pretty shameful to do so, imo.

I dont remember the US being involved in the Rape of Nanking. :eusa_whistle:

Hiroshima and Nagaski were totally legit, unless you think invading Japan and losing more American lives were OK. Remember Japan attacked the US. My family lost two members in the Pacific.
Read for comprehension, yo.
 
It's interesting to note that there really was little or no media coverage of the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki radiation sickness. There is an interesting book by Pulitzer Prize winner George Weller called "First into Nagasaki". The book was compiled after Weller's death by his son who found the carbon copies of his accounts in Nagasaki shortly after the Japanese Surrender. Weller was working for the A.P. at the time and all his stories had to go through MacArthur's staff for approval before being sent to the A.P. Weller didn't even know it at the time but Mac's people spiked every single story and nothing got out. MacArthur had a little kingdom going in Japan and he was the de-facto Japanese ruler.

Really now?

The reason there was little US media coverage was because Truman and our military KNEW the American people would be appalled by the massacre their government committed. A massacre of civilians, most of whom were women and children. As such, Truman and the military silenced any media coverage of conditions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Truman was warned not to drop those terrible bombs on a defenseless nation by many in his administration and military, including Eisenhower and MacArthur. But, he wanted to frighten the thug, Stalin (like killing innocents on a vast scale would ever frighten him...Truman was a racist fool, but just as dumb as FDR).

It is a terrible fallacy that the bombs were necessary to avoid more bloodshed and end the war. The Japanese had tried to surrender several times, but thanks to FDR's crazy unconditional surrender, the death and destruction continued unabated.
 
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My Wife's Grandparents Were Hiroshima Survivors

Wonder if they flinched when they heard a loud noise?
 
My oldest son was surprised to learn of the Rape of Nanking:

"Dad, did this really happen? Are these real pictures?".
I'm glad that Americans don't gloss over the bad things that we've done. Pretty shameful to do so, imo.

What comparible thing have we done in an official manner as Nanking or what the Nazis or Stalin did that we would even have to gloss over?... :dunno:

:)

peace...

Well, our treatment of native Americans isn't something to be proud of.
 
It's interesting to note that there really was little or no media coverage of the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki radiation sickness. There is an interesting book by Pulitzer Prize winner George Weller called "First into Nagasaki". The book was compiled after Weller's death by his son who found the carbon copies of his accounts in Nagasaki shortly after the Japanese Surrender. Weller was working for the A.P. at the time and all his stories had to go through MacArthur's staff for approval before being sent to the A.P. Weller didn't even know it at the time but Mac's people spiked every single story and nothing got out. MacArthur had a little kingdom going in Japan and he was the de-facto Japanese ruler.

I apologize before hand for this, but the gods of the absurd require me to post this.

DIDN'T YOU SEE THE MOVIE WOLVERINE!!??

The joy of history via commercial speech.
 

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