Have I ever told you about Tsutomu "Lucky" Yamaguchi?*....
*****
*Mr. Yamaguchi was an
engineer/draftsman who designed oil tankers. One August day he was about
to wrap up a business trip and head home when the Americans dropped an
atomic bomb on him.It was 8:15 a.m., August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima.
When he regained consciousness, temporarily blind, burned and missing an ear he basically had one thought, get the hell out of here, get home. Which he somehow accomplished.
He went to his doctor who didn't recognize him, got patched up, went home to Mrs. Yamaguchi and his son who also didn't recognize him.
The next day he reported for work and was making a report to his higher-ups on the events in Hiroshima when the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on him.
It was 11 am on August 9, 1945 in Nagasaki.
Here are a couple versions of his story:
“Lucky” Yamaguchi: The Man Who Survived Both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic Bombs
The Man Who Survived Two Atomic Bombs
Home Sweet Home:
Nagasaki on a very bad day
This picture was taken
The folks in the foreground aren't looking at the cloud, the shock wave may not have even arrived.
So yes, should I stay or should I go?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
An' if I stay it will be double
*Since we first posted this story I have seen very earnest reports that the picture was actually snapped 15 minutes after the bomb hit. But looking at the folks just chatting away rather than having a collective WTF moment in Japanese I'm not sure the shock wave has been felt/heard.
Nagasaki was 78 years ago today.
Hiroshima, three days earlier, August 6.First posted March 6, 2020:
"Stay or go? Tough call for Chinese in Italy as coronavirus crisis hits"
