Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki

The second and last use of atomic weapons in combat took place on this day, August 9 1945. A B-29 named 'Bockscar' took off from Tinian in the Marianas, and finding the primary target of Kokura obscured by cloud cover and smoke, dropped its bomb on the secondary target, Nagasaki City. The bomb missed its target by approximately 3 km, exploding halfway between the naval arsenal and the Mitsubishi armament works.

The ruins of Nagasaki, photo taken by the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey. In the background is a one-legged torii gate.

I often find it difficult to write posts or short pieces on heavy and complex topics such as these. I am unwilling to dig into counter-factuals, detail the x's and o's, or debate the moral high ground. There is only one truth above it all, and that is that the dead men women and children of Hiroshima and Nagasaki joined those in the cities burned to the ground by the Allies. No Japanese person suffered more in the Second World War than those who had nothing to do with it; after the war their stories were pushed into dark corners and it's only now, after so many of them have passed, that we're uncovering their stories and discovering the depth of their suffering.

What can any of us do, except read the history and consider the helpless? Today, let us remember those killed in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, 81 years ago today.

A view of the peace memorial in Nagasaki