Senator Clinton's recent comments indicating her willingness to use nuclear weapons got me thinking about the first, last, and only time human beings had done such a thing to their fellow men. I dug out my dog-eared copy of John Hersey's
Hiroshima and spent some time reminding myself what happens to the victims of such an attack. Thought I'd share some excerpts with folks.
Wounded people supported maimed people; disfigured families leaned together. Many people were vomiting. A tremendous number of schoolgirls—some of those who had been taken from their classrooms to work outdoors, clearing fire lanes—crept into the hospital. In a city of two hundred and forty-five thousand, nearly a hundred thousand people had been killed or doomed at one blow; a hundred thousand more were hurt...Tugged here and there in his stockinged feet, bewildered by the numbers, staggered by so much raw flesh, Dr. Sasaki lost all sense of profession and stopped working as a skillful surgeon and a sympathetic man; he became an automaton, mechanically wiping, daubing, winding, wiping, daubing, winding.
pp. 25–26
He (Mr. Tanimoto) was the only person making his way into the city; he met hundreds and hundreds who were fleeing, and every one of them seemed to be hurt in some way. The eyebrows of some were burned off and skin hung from their faces and hands. Others, because of pain, held their arms up as if carrying something in both hands. Some were vomiting as they walked. Many were naked or in shreds of clothing. On some undressed bodies, the burns had made patterns—of undershirt straps and suspenders and, on the skin of some women (since white repelled the heat from the bomb and dark clothes absorbed it and conducted it to the skin), the shapes of flowers they had had on their kimonos. Many, although injured themselves, supported relatives who were worse off.
p. 29
Under many houses, people screamed for help, but no one helped; in general, survivors that day assisted only their relatives or immediate neighbors, for they could not comprehend or tolerate a wider circle of misery.
p. 29
Just before dark, Mr. Tanimoto came across a twenty-year-old girl, Mrs. Kamai, next-door neighbor. She was crouching on the ground with the body of her infant daughter in her arms. The baby had evidently been dead all day. Mrs. Kamai jumped up when she saw Mr. Tanimoto and said, "Would you please try to locate my husband?"
(Mr. Tanimoto)...knew he hadn't a chance of finding Mrs. Kamai's husband, even if he searched, but he wanted to humor her. "I'll try," he said.
"You've got to find him," she said. "He loved our baby so much. I want him to see her once more."
pp. 40–41
There are many passages with far more gruesome descriptions of the victims, but these struck me as good examples to highlight the human cost.
Hiroshima is a fantastic read, and I'd recommend it to everyone. Most libraries and bookstores carry it. Just be sure you get the newer version, with "Chapter 5: The Aftermath," which was written 25–30 years later.
