Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
80 years ago today at 8:15 am (Japan time), the first atomic bomb,
nicknamed Little Boy, was dropped by a US B-29 bomber, Enola Gay, on Hiroshima.
It exploded at 580 meters above the city, destroyed 12 square kilometers, and killed
over 100,000 people, mostly civilians, by the end of the year. Three days later,
on August 9, the second atomic bomb, nicknamed Fat Man, was dropped by
Bockscar, another US B-29 bomber, at 11:02 am, killing more than 40,000
civilians instantly and an additional 30,000 by the year's end. In both sites, many
survivors who were injured or appeared uninjured had to live torturous days
until their death or throughout their lives because of the radiation. The
nuclear weapons were said to be used to end the long-lasting war with Japan, avoid
creating further US casualties, and demonstrate power to the Soviet Union. However,
a recent survey of Americans shows mixed views about the use of atomic bombs on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, among justified, not justified, and not sure. Now,
eight decades after the bombings, fewer than 100,000 atomic-bomb survivors are
alive. The inhumanity of nuclear weapons should never be forgotten.
Read the Wikipedia explanation about the atomic bombings eight decades
ago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki
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