It’s been 65 years today since the devastating bombing of the city of Hiroshima. A month or two later (I have conflicting notes) my father was there, sent along with other American military personnel. He was in the the Coast Guard, then part of the Navy.
A couple of months ago, my father sent me these 3 photographs he took in Hiroshima. Growing up I had seen photos of his ship, of islands with palm trees, of him with a monkey on his shoulder, but never these. I want to share them today.
The note on the back of this one says “From top roof of standing hospital. Area was the university. Spots on picture I think is due to radiation on film.”
Also from the hospital roof:
This appears to be at ground level. The note simply says “Ruins of University.”
I am sure when my father took these pictures he had no idea that years later he’d be wondering if his health issues were due to being exposed to radiation, nor that one day he’d have a daughter who would, as a student of Japanese, visit a gorgeous rebuilt Hiroshima.
Hiroshima Castle, (I made my friends pose as “guardian samurai/ninja”, 1976
世界人類ãŒå¹³å’Œã§ã‚ã‚Šã¾ã™ã‚ˆã†ã«ã€€â€¢ May peace prevail on earth.
