Hiroshima remembers atomic bomb: 'abolish the evil of nuclear weapons'

[Redheart]

Hiroshima remembers atomic bomb: 'abolish the evil of nuclear weapons' | World news | The Guardian

Hiroshima has marked the 70th anniversary of the moment the city was flattened by an atomic bomb with prayers, a moment’s silence and vows to redouble efforts to halt nuclear proliferation.

On a sweltering day in the Japanese city, tens of thousands of people lowered their heads and stood in silence at 8.15am, the time the bomb was dropped on 6 August 1945, killing 80,000 people instantly and another 60,000 in the months that followed.

Doves were released into the morning sky and a Buddhist temple bell tolled as people across Japan marked the anniversary of the first nuclear attack in history.

On Sunday, a similar event will be held to remember the second atomic bomb, dropped on Nagasaki. More than 70,000 people died.

Thursday’s ceremony was attended by 40,000 people, including representatives of more than 100 countries.

Among them was the US ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, and the US under-secretary for arms control, Rose Gottemoeller, the most senior US official sent from Washington to the annual memorial.

Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said that as the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack, Japan had an “important mission” to promote nuclear disarmament.

 

[Shimus]

Nobody really deserves or needs nukes. They're used as a power card, a deterrent force. But that much loss of life, that fast? Blink of an eye, really, you could wipe out the world. Nobody, nowhere, deserves that amount of power. NO country. Because man is not capable of wielding that power appropriately when the time comes.

 

[LilAnn]

I have found myself thinking about the pilots who dropped the bombs. Aside from being the prolific mass murderer in all of history, I always wonder how they handle it, emotionally. Thats a 140,000 lb weight on their shoulders.

 

[Susimi]

I hope the world never again sees the destruction that was seen in Hiroshima and Nagasaki through the result of nuclear weapons, and it just baffles me that countries like NK wield around their nuclear arsenal like a child who found his dads gun.

Looking at the pictures of the aftermath it really does hit home the destruction that was caused and I always wonder what if there was cloud covering Hiroshima that morning? Where would the bomb have been dropped?

 

[Corzhens]

That bombing of Hiroshima and later on Nagasaki was what broke the camel's back, so to speak. My grandpa used to tell us that the Japanese would have been our master now if not for those bombings. But war stories really made me sick. I can still imagine those people who have nothing to eat because they were forced by the government to contribute to the coffers for war purposes. I'm talking about the Japanese in Japan during the 2nd world war.

 

[Susimi]

At that stage of the war Japan was pretty much defeated but had there been an invasion on their home islands then there is little doubt that there would have been countless losses as they fought to the last in an effort to uphold their pride and honour. Had the nuclear weapons not been deployed though, I do wonder if there would have been a stage where Japan called for a surrender.

 

[thegrey]

I wish with all my heart that the entire world would suddenly be without nuclear capabilities. Unfortunately, there are hostile factions in the world who now have the technology to build them. All we can do is try to keep these hostile countries from blowing everyone else up! The ship of nuclear disarmament sailed long ago.

 

[ke gordon]

Hiroshima remembers atomic bomb: 'abolish the evil of nuclear weapons' | World news | The Guardian

Hiroshima has marked the 70th anniversary of the moment the city was flattened by an atomic bomb with prayers, a moment’s silence and vows to redouble efforts to halt nuclear proliferation.

On a sweltering day in the Japanese city, tens of thousands of people lowered their heads and stood in silence at 8.15am, the time the bomb was dropped on 6 August 1945, killing 80,000 people instantly and another 60,000 in the months that followed.

Doves were released into the morning sky and a Buddhist temple bell tolled as people across Japan marked the anniversary of the first nuclear attack in history.

On Sunday, a similar event will be held to remember the second atomic bomb, dropped on Nagasaki. More than 70,000 people died.

Thursday’s ceremony was attended by 40,000 people, including representatives of more than 100 countries.

Among them was the US ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, and the US under-secretary for arms control, Rose Gottemoeller, the most senior US official sent from Washington to the annual memorial.

Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said that as the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack, Japan had an “important mission” to promote nuclear disarmament.

I wonder why Truman thought it was necessary to use two bombs. I would think one would have accomplished the objective. I mean a second one could have been threatened. I think one would have been enough to get the Japanese to surrender. Well, sometimes I wish we would drop a bomb on ISIS held territories. However, I guess the chance of innoccents being killed may be too high.

 

[Redheart]

I wonder why Truman thought it was necessary to use two bombs. I would think one would have accomplished the objective.

All is fair in war . . .

Before the decision to drop the atomic bombs was made, to demoralize the Japanese, lots of conventional bombs were dropped in Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe and Osaka, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians. But despite all that carnage the Japanese leaders urged their soldiers to keep fighting.

Had the Japanese surrendered after the flurry of airstrikes, the atomic bombs wouldn't have been dropped. But because they didn't, they had to be forced to do it. Dropping the two bombs made it quite clear failing to surrender would lead total obliteration. And it worked.

 

[Susimi]

Japan would of never surrender. At the time of the signing of the surrender, Japan called it a ceasefire, because of the shame.

Japan had anticipated the oncoming ground troops and they began training school children on how to fight the invaders with sticks. They were ready to fight to the very last person. Even after they had dropped two bombs on them, they were split at giving up and throwing in the towel. They wouldn't of given up until the supreme leader called for it.

I did hear of stuff like that going on. I read in an article about the recovery efforts after the first atomic bomb dropped how they were using boats that were being readied for kamikaze attacks had there been an invasion, to help with the injured and dead.

I've got a book that is an account from a Japanese college boy who was taken out of school and started training to fly the rocket powered Baka bomb suicide plane. Apparently people were just being taken out of college to train to fight against their will.

 

[Rowe992]

Well the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the killing of people who were not in any conflict with you is a worse act that the dropping of nuclear bombs on your enemies if you ask me. Japan had no reason to attack the US but they wanted to show their supposed military might and as a result they payed dearly!

 

[Susimi]

The killing of anybody no matter their race, faith, affiliation or whatever is wrong in my eyes but killing is always going to happen unfortunately. The killing of civilians in a war, dragging them into something they would rather not be a part of, is totally wrong, which is why I regard the carpet bombings and the fire bombings of cities of nations on both sides of the conflict to be a much worse act.

Pearl Harbor was somewhat of a strategic strike on a military facility. The IJN wanted to deal a blow to the US Navy so that they could have a free roam of the Pacific theatre. They were hoping to knock out the carriers but fortunately for the US they had shipped out a few days before. Not at all saying it was right, it just is what it is.

 

[LilAnn]

The IJN wanted to deal a blow to the US Navy so that they could have a free roam of the Pacific theatre

I have never heard that. As a matter of fact, all we were taught in school was that they did it to scare us, so we wouldn't get involved. My husband was taught it was because of an embargo we placed on them. We both went to school in the south, so...

 

[Susimi]

Maybe it was different teaching methods? I was always taught that it was to take the US Navy out of the equation so the IJN could roam the Pacific without the US being a thorn in their side.

I can't see they would attack simply to get their own back or for a scare tactic either. I could always be wrong though.

 

[LilAnn]

Maybe it was different teaching methods? I was always taught that it was to take the US Navy out of the equation so the IJN could roam the Pacific without the US being a thorn in their side.

I can't see they would attack simply to get their own back or for a scare tactic either. I could always be wrong though.

I think it probably was different teaching styles. You teach the kind of facts that are sensible and rational. And around here they teach the facts as they were given by the burning bush. Although, I don't see how knowing this truth in particular will let the devil eat my soul.

Seriously, though, I learned to take everything I was taught around here with a grain of salt. They make up the facts as they go.