Evanston: the twice-bombed man
Evanston: the twice-bombed man
Two days ago, Tsutomu Yamaguchi died at age 93.
On August 6, 1945, Mr. Yamaguchi was on a business trip to Hiroshima. He was getting off a streetcar when the first atomic bomb detonated less than two miles away, rupturing his eardrums , burning his upper body, and immediately killing 80,000 less fortunate.
After spending the night in a bomb shelter, he returned home the following day. Home was Nagasaki.
On August 9, Mr. Yamaguchi was in his office, when “suddenly the same white light filled the room. I thought the mushroom cloud had followed me from Hiroshima.
“I could have died either of those days. Everything that follows is a bonus.”
70,000 more died that day.
What followed, after his wounds healed, was a long life of unexpectedly good health. Trained as an engineer, he also worked for the American occupation forces and taught.
There may have been more than 150 others who were ‘twice-bombed’, but Mr. Yamaguchi was the only one officially recognized as such.
----------
The only color in this winter world is my breakfast bowl of uncooked oatmeal, nuts and fruit.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010