Hiroshima, The Unseen Pictures

History & Shocking AhBoon | 07 Feb 2007 01:39 pm

The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed about 250.000 people and became the most dreadful slaughter of civilians in modern history. However, for many years there was a curious gap in the photographic records. Although the names of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were incised into our memories, there were few pictures to accompany them. Even today, the image in our minds is a mixture of devastated landscapes and shattered buildings. Shocking images of the ruins, but where were the victims?

The American occupation forces imposed strict censorship on Japan, prohibiting anything “that might, directly or by inference, disturb public tranquility” and used it to prohibit all pictures of the bombed cities. The pictures remained classified ‘top secret’ for many years. Some of the images have been published later by different means, but it’s not usual to see them all together. This is the horror they didn’t want us to see, and that we must NEVER forget:

Signals

All the watches found in the ground zero were stopped at 8:15 am, the time of the explosion.

Within a certain distance from the site of explosion, the heat was so intense that practically everything was vaporised. The shadows of the parapets were imprinted on the road surface of the Yorozuyo Bridge, 1/2 of a mile south-southwest of the hypocenter. Besides, in Hiroshima, all that was left of some humans, sitting on stone benches near the centre of explosion, was their outlines.

The massacre

On August 6, 1945, 8.15 am, the uranium atom bomb exploded 580 metres above the city of Hiroshima with a blinding flash, creating a giant fireball and sending surface temperatures to 4,000C. Fierce heat rays and radiation burst out in every direction, unleashing a high pressure shockwave, vaporising tens of thousands of people and animals, melting buildings and streetcars, reducing a 400-year-old city to dust.

Beneath the center of the explosion, temperatures were hot enough to melt concrete and steel. Within seconds, 75,000 people had been killed or fatally injured with 65% of the casualties nine years of age and younger.

Radiation deaths were still occurring in large numbers in the following days. “For no apparent reason their health began to fail. They lost appetite. Their hair fell out. Bluish spots appeared on their bodies. And then bleeding began from the ears, nose and mouth”.

This photograph shows an eyeball of an A-bomb victim who got an atomic bomb cataract. There is opacity near the center of the eyeball.

Many of them were fired from their jobs. Hibakusha women never got married, as many feared they would give birth to deformed children. Men suffered discrimination too. “Nobody wanted to marry someone who might die in a couple of years”.

Yamahata, the photographer of Nagasaki

On Agust 10, 1945, the day after the bombing of Nagasaki Yosuke Yamahata, began to photograh the devastation. The city was dead. He walked through the darkened ruins and the dead corpses for hours. By late afternoon, he had taken his final photographs near a first aid station north of the city. In a single day, he had completed the only extensive photographic record of the immediate aftermath of the atomic bombing of either Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

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Source [Fogonazos]

More info at the Japanese Congress.

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Technorati Tags: Atomic Bomb, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Pictures, Yamahata

149 Responses to “Hiroshima, The Unseen Pictures”

on 07 Feb 2007 at 4:45 pm 1.Unseen Pictures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at Vincent Chow said …

[...] Click here and here to see more pictures. (via) [...]
on 09 Feb 2007 at 4:35 am 2.dsf said …

Forgot one thing….the adults brought it on themselves.
on 09 Feb 2007 at 5:07 am 3.Ken said …

I don’t get why everyone seems to forget that the states did this and twice. Everyone loves the states but I say what would have happened if the shoe was on the other foot.
on 09 Feb 2007 at 5:30 am 4.Yoda said …

The USA did not start the war. Why blame the USA for finishing the war? Japan enslaved quite a few nations of people during their moment of conquest. Japan did not treat prisoners well and… anyway, now we all drive toyotas so in the end they won.
on 09 Feb 2007 at 5:35 am 5.Zuban Jakobowcki said …

The moral of the story is that if you let the government of your country fall into the hands of warmongering psychopaths, be it by your active support or your passive compliance, they WILL start a war. They will send you & your children to fight & die where you don’t belong, and they will attract inevitable retaliation. The advantage of ruthlessness only works temprarily, while it has the element of surprise. When your oppnent throws away the civilised rule book too, & their revenge has the moral advantage of provocation, it will be terrible indeed. Don’t let it happen.
on 09 Feb 2007 at 7:41 am 6.Senjin said …

God – this is terrible and thats final…
USA did drop 2 – TWO of these bombs, and dont say that they Finished the war whit it, the second bomb was just to see the effect!
They set the bombs to explode on diffrent heights, just to see the damn diffrence… USA sucks!! Go Usama!
on 09 Feb 2007 at 7:42 am 7.Senjin said …

Zuban Jakobowcki are u talking about USA?
Sounds like it!
on 09 Feb 2007 at 8:04 am 8.H Jones said …

You guys do realize that the Japanese had this coming? They attack America for no good reason, and if we did not just happen to have our carriers out to sea we would have been screwed. After we witnessed the fierceness of the Japanese when we fought them on the ground, we made the correct decision NOT to send our troops in a ground attack on japan, which would have cost millions of lives, and instead used our advantage. If the Japanese had the A-Bomb they would have used it too. We simply beat them to it and we made a decision which minimized American fatalities and showed japan who NOT to attack next time.
on 09 Feb 2007 at 8:05 am 9.H Jones said …

Oh, and to Senjin: Zuban Jakobowcki’s post more applies to the Japanese in World War II
on 09 Feb 2007 at 8:45 am 10.honu said …

I grew up in Hawaii, were a boat still remains underwater with over 200 dead bodies still inside of it. Sure the death toll is nowhere near that of those bombs. We were a neutral country at the time Pearl Harbor was attacked, most of the military men were sleeping or at church. Recently I saw a Television show on the history channel that said more people were killed by Kamakazi attacks on boats then there were people killed by the bombs. Maybe that’s american Propaganda, maybe it’s true. I think the moral of this story is that WAR itself is devistating, nasty, and when there are people in the world like Hitler, the emperor of japan during wwII Hirohito, Osama, and George Bush there will be war, death, and ultimately there will no be peace. People like Senji think all Americans support death and support war. He thinks because we have a few bad people representing our country that all of us are bad. I support peace, innocent people do not deserve to die because of one warmongers ideals.
on 09 Feb 2007 at 8:46 am 11.» Atomic Tourism - Titan missile museum - Ah Boon.Net 阿文 said …

[...] You may have seen the devastating power of an atomic bomb on my Hiroshima post. Now you may visit one of the ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) silo in Titan Missile Museum in Sahuarita, Arizona, about 20 miles south of Tucson. You may have a chance to have a look at this monster which could have been launched in just 58 seconds, hurling a city-destroying nuclear warhead at the Soviet Union. Armageddon is not a pleasant prospect. [...]
on 09 Feb 2007 at 9:06 am 12.AhBoon said …

Hi Thanks for all the comments, the purpose of my post is not to blame who’s attacking who. or who started the war… dont forget how the Japs atacked China, The Nanking Massacre

but just a message that War shouldn’t happen again and only the civilians will suffer the pain.
on 09 Feb 2007 at 9:32 am 13.Onco400 said …

The ol’ A-bombs worked pretty good, didn’t they? I’m surprised it took two of ‘em, though…. Maybe the Japs were in denial that it actually happened.

For the moron who claims the USA dropped the second bomb just to see what would happen…. You do realize Japan surrendered shortly thereafter?? Personally I’d draw a conclusion from that.
on 09 Feb 2007 at 10:32 am 14.joe campbell said …

You people discust me. japan attacked men they were at war with, usa attacked woman and children they were not. end of story.
on 09 Feb 2007 at 10:57 am 15.Xpendable said …

Remember when Americans had balls,
We took care of anybody that attacked us. By the way, we take care of the people we attack as well, who rebuilds besides the US? Use your heads or move to another country, by the way, I am an American born Muslim. Go USA! Protect us so we have the freedoms we have today. War Kills. If your not bad enough to end the fight, then it is a good idea not to start it.
on 09 Feb 2007 at 11:19 am 16.H Jones said …

@joe campbell

I’m pretty sure the USA had not received or declared war on the Japanese when they bombed pearl harbor.

Also, remember, At least one of the A-bombs(I’m too lazy to wikipedia which) was aimed at a bridge, A STRATEGIC LOCATION, and it was misfortune that caused it to miss so badly that it killed so many civilians.

Oh, and as far as civilians go, With the Japanese no one was really a civilian, all civilians would have fought to the very end or would have killed themselves(I forget which island they did that on)

Also, one has to realize that if a country is gonna attack another they are going to suffer the consequences.
on 09 Feb 2007 at 12:13 pm 17.pathfinder said …

1,000,000 US soldiers would have died trying to take the Japanese mainland.

MORE than justified.
on 09 Feb 2007 at 12:30 pm 18.USS Arizona said …

Joe Campbell is an ignorant dumbshit. End of story.
on 09 Feb 2007 at 3:07 pm 19.Suzette said …

Boon, I agree with your original intention. War should be stopped. Lots of innocent lifes are at stake.
BTW, I tagged you in my blog.
on 10 Feb 2007 at 12:43 am 20.Zuban Jakobowcki said …

For the record, I was talking about EVERYONE’s country. Tyranny can pop up anywhere, if you let it, & it will cost you your lives, your family, your prosperity, your cities & your culture. Don’t ever be so gullible as to follow the war-mongers; there is nothing in it for you, only the same path that led to Dresden & Hiroshima.
on 10 Feb 2007 at 4:56 am 21.Your worst nightmare said …

If you study WWII you will find out the truth. Harry Truman made a tough decision. THe bombs actually saved millions of lives, both Japanese and American. If the allies had attacked the Japanese mainland, Millions of Japanese and Americans would have died. These decisons are the very nature of war and war is hell.

It was a terrible thing, no doubt. It prevented an even more terrible thing. The second bomb was dropped when the Japanese refused to surrender after the first one was dropped.

Think about the condition of Japan after the war if we hadn’t dropped the A-bombs? The allies could have just blockaded Japan and continued to drop conventional bomb until very little was left.

Read the history…..
on 10 Feb 2007 at 1:17 pm 22.kbuchanan said …

Raping of Nanking: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_Massacre
The Holocaust: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust
Bombing of Dresden http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II
Bataan Death March: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataan_death_march
World War II Casualties: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties

War is hell.

The US was planning an invasion of the Japanese mainland (Operation Downfall). Based on the previous fighting at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, military planners were convinced that the Japanese would fight to the last man, woman, and child. At the time some estimates put the expected casualties at up to 1 million US and 10 million Japanese. With the use of the bomb, these estimates were never realized.

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a necessary evil. They initially took lives but eventually saved so many more.
on 10 Feb 2007 at 2:00 pm 23.war is hell said …

Lets think for a minute….The USA dropped leaflets warning of the attack, warning the civilians to leave..did the base at Pearl Harbor get the same courtesy???….No Friggen way.. the cowards attacked without warning and at a target that was not in the war at that time… the US entered the war after Pearl Harbor…

Wow did you people flunk history or what….
on 12 Feb 2007 at 8:37 pm 24.Kevin said …

Was Hiroshima necessary? Considering that Japan spent a year trying to get the United States to negotiate a cease fire, I would say not. The terms that the United States ended up giving to Japan were nearly identical to what they were asking for during this time.

Japan was a beaten country and a new government was trying to end the war months before the atomic attacks. A ground invasion, indeed, would have cost many lives, but a ground invasion was never necessary at all. Japan wanted out before this happened.

http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v16/v16n3p-4_Weber.html
on 01 Mar 2007 at 10:36 pm 25.Jeffery Wright said …

the second bomb was to make it known that the first one wasnt a fluke, that we could continue to bomb them right off the face of the earth is we wished. a very good motivator for surrender.

people who insist on peace at all costs are willing to pay a price higher than i want to. i do not want to give up my freedom and lifestyle simply to ensure there is peace.

when bad people want to take my freedom and lifestyle from me and my fellow citizens, i want our military to respond and protect us, thats what they’re there for.

but we’re blamed for being war mongers by responding to threats… apparently we should simply be pacifists, and let bad people do with us what they like… as long as there is peace, hmm?

i dont think so.
on 13 Mar 2007 at 12:00 am 26.terror said …

hasta los huevos de los USA los putos Japoneses y toda la mierda, son lo mismo, unas mierdas, los iluminatis, los rockefeller, y su puta madre, basta de jodernos
a tomar por culo,
on 20 Mar 2007 at 12:33 pm 27.formula 1 said …

Chi ha fatto questo? E un buon posto per trovare le informazioni importanti!:)
on 15 Apr 2007 at 9:25 am 28.It’s Beta » Blog Archive » The Unseen Pictures in Hiroshima after the Atomic bombing said …

[...] [link][more] [via: reddit.com: newest submissions | article link] [...]
on 15 Apr 2007 at 10:45 am 29.oswaldo said …

Every USA goverment sucks!!

I think the japanese people suffer just like american people suffered on 9/11.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 10:51 am 30.Japanophile said …

To the people that say the US deliberately killed woman and children, I put to you the Japanese Baloon Bombs that were made for the purpose of burning down as much as possible of the US:

“On May 5, 1945, a balloon bomb which had drifted over the Pacific killed five children and a woman. It exploded when a 13-year-old girl (Joan Patzke) attempted to pull the immense balloon from a tree during a church group picnic in the woods near Bly, Oregon. Having taken some local children on an outing, Reverend Archi Mitchell watched in horror as his wife, Elsie Mitchell, and five children who accompanied them (ages 11 to 14) were killed.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon_bomb

Also:

http://www.militarymuseum.org/Hayfork.html
on 15 Apr 2007 at 11:10 am 31.ashabot said …

This is all so very, very sad.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 11:33 am 32.Fabrice said …

Kevin is right; “Japan wanted out before this happened”

It is sad to realize that Hiroshima and Nagasaki turned out to not be a lesson for the rest of the world. Ask your family, friends, and even strangers. Nobody really feels the gravity of it. It’s like it never happened. Unfortunately history always finds ways to repeat itself.

Our world is covered with nuclear targets – too many for the planet to handle. Images are more convincing than numbers. I purchased the book 100 Suns by Michael Light. 100 SUNS documents the era of visible nuclear testing. It greatly helped me understand the danger humanity is facing.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 11:46 am 33.the uncarved block said …

I think many of you are missing the point that the photos are trying to get across. We can go around in circles pointing fingers and placing blame, but in the end, nothing is resolved. Chances are, most of us posting were alive during WWII (or our parents for that matter). As human beings, we must look at the mistakes that we have made in the past and learn from them, otherwise we will end up making the same mistakes. I respect all of your opinions whether I agree with them or not. Do people still carry resentment toward others for what has happened in the past…yes. Are there still governments and underground groups who wish to see the elimination of a perceived enemy…yes. It is quite possible that there will always be war on earth, but we must take responsibility to not let the past consume us and destroy the limitless opportunities that we are afforded in the present. I live and work in Japan, my wife is Japanese. I don’t have regret for what happened. Regret would imply that I had some direct control over the situation. I do know that I never want something like that to happen again. Peace to you all.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 11:47 am 34.Jacob said …

“Japs”? Seriously? Jesus. First of all if you’re going to sling around slurs it would more appropriate to say “Nips”…which isn’t particularly pleasant, but at least it’s correct. The Nipponese were preparing for surrender when the US decided to bomb the shit out of them. Dropping those bombs wasn’t about the Nipponese, it was about showing the Soviet Union not only what we could, but more importantly what we were prepared to do. I’m not in any way putting forth that Pearl Harbor was justified, but neither was atomic escalation. So, yes. What Kevin said a bit earlier.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 12:38 pm 35.vay said …

I think another poster was getting at this above, but I want to underscore it. We need to remember that, although Britain is often cited as the first country to ever use unrestricted bombing of a civilian populace, in fact that dis-honor goes to Japan. (They did it in China before Britain was even in the war.)

The Japanese had no moral compunction whatsoever in conducting their war of imperialism in Asia. Case in point would be their use of biological weapons in China. To get an eye-opening view of just to what lengths they were willing to go, check out these stories:

“Doctors of Depravity”:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=439776&in_page_id=1770

“Dissect them Alive”:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1437667.ece

Considering this evidence, if the Japanese had had atomic weapon technology available to them, do you think they’d have had any hesitation WHATSOEVER in using it against us, the Chinese or anyone else?
on 15 Apr 2007 at 12:45 pm 36.vay said …

I think another poster was getting at this above, but I want to underscore the point. We need to remember that, although Britain is often cited as the first country to ever use unrestricted bombing of a civilian populace, in fact that dis-honor goes to Japan. (They did it in China before Britain was even in the war.)

The Japanese had no moral compunction whatsoever in conducting their war of imperialism in Asia. Case in point would be their use of biological weapons in China. To get an eye-opening view of just to what lengths they were willing to go, check out these stories:

“Doctors of Depravity”:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=439776&in_page_id=1770

“Dissect them Alive”:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1437667.ece

Considering this evidence, if the Japanese had had atomic weapon technology available to them, do you think they’d have had any hesitation WHATSOEVER in using it against us, the Chinese or anyone else?
on 15 Apr 2007 at 12:57 pm 37.Dan said …

@ Jeffery Wright

I would trade my lifestyle for peace.
But you say:

“when bad people want to take my freedom and lifestyle from me and my fellow citizens, i want our military to respond and protect us, thats what they’re there for.”

This doesn’t feel right.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 1:16 pm 38.dave said …

the first bomb was without question justified. The second was most likely not. By the way this opinion is well informed and not just extremist, idealist, liberal, conservative, patriotist babel.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 2:15 pm 39.paul vandersluys said …

perhaps the us had to show the soviet bloc at that time we have these weopons so you had best mind your p+q’s or else
thank you , paul
on 15 Apr 2007 at 2:38 pm 40.Shailendra said …

It’s Horrible!! And some people try to justify it??
People are not the property of any government ..Only innocents die in war. We do not belong to any nation divided by imaginary lines.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 3:05 pm 41.ntfx said …

I don’t get why people are trying to justify Pearl Harbor with nuclear war…dropping atomic bombs on innocent civilians is NEVER okay. Besides, why wasn’t Nazi-occupied Europe given the a-bomb? This makes no sense unless you consider blatant racism.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 4:51 pm 42.Yo Mama said …

so let me hear it again , saddam was feared to posses WMD and he end it up dangling , Now Iran should not get nuke because it can mis use it . OH GEE look who is talking
on 15 Apr 2007 at 4:55 pm 43.David H. said …

This is truely a sad story for humankind. The innocent die along with the guilty.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 5:16 pm 44.Harry said …

Sure Japan did horrible things.

But those bombs were an attack on mainly innocent people: woman, children that had nothing to do with the atrocities commited by Japan.

Again and again the real enemy is not attacked, but those who are extremely losely connected with them.

Osama killed about 3000 innocent people in his attack.
In what are the atomic attacks different from that?

Attacking innocents is always a terrorist attack, no matter what side you are on.

Never again!
on 15 Apr 2007 at 5:31 pm 45.JD said …

Hum… so much hatred and aggressivity from ALL sides!
If there is really a god out there, he must be proud of us, humans…

We are destroying ourselves, and all the others life forms on this planet. And all that in the name of “God”, “freedom”, “progress”.

Remember why wars are started: because of a bunch of assh0les in some governements who wants more power AND because of soldiers who just “follow orders” without thinking and/or without any guilt! You are authorised/rewarded to shoot/torture everybody, and nobody will blame you because of the “it’s war” lame excuse.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 5:42 pm 46.Human said …

Thankyou AhBoon for the interesting article – I have seen this set of collected photos together once or twice before, but nice article you’ve wrapped round them. Do you by any chance know the source of the ‘don’t upset the masses’ quote?

Commenters – I was just here looking at a set of images that *should* make one stop, pause and reconsider the inhumanity, the horror of nationalist-driven war. Yet here I find apologists, ranters and nationalist rhetoric-pushers, all jumping up and down on their well-worn, soapboxes for the chance to play another round of the same tired old blame game. For shame.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 5:47 pm 47.smuise said …

It is true that sometimes war is the only answer. Sometimes you must defend yourself. Sometimes you must stand up and fight for those who cannot. Sometimes you must kill or be killed. But how often is this actually the case?

Too often throughout history the justifications for war have been based on nothing more than military posturing, nationalistic fervor or religious zeal. Too often we have allowed ourselves to believe that there is no other way. Too often we have made the wrong choice.

As I look at these horrible images, and think of the many lives that were lost, I cannot help but think that there must have been a better way.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 5:51 pm 48.Will said …

The USA could have demonstrated their threat to Japan by dropping atomic bombs anywhere on Japanese land. Did they really have to involve cities of people who weren’t directly fighting a war, and who may not have liked their military’s aim anyway? Why didn’t the USA bomb two military bases instead? I think it was wrong to drop it on civilians to add bitterness to the point they were trying to make.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 6:05 pm 49.bboy said …

“Xpendable said …

Remember when Americans had balls,”

Um, no? I don’t recall that particular country doing anything brave or heroic, or having balls. Their solution to war is numbers – throw as many young men at enemy bullets until the enemy run out, then kill them.

The more dead americans, the better, IMHO.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 6:51 pm 50.USofAss said …

Some fruits of US terrorism … Who really believes the US is a freedom dispatcher thing, other than the ignorant rabid American fucktards and stupid shallow jingoists!! Hopefully, one day US will kneel like shit when a nuke fall on it and saves the world from its daily routine of terrorism…
on 15 Apr 2007 at 7:05 pm 51.nikua said …

how dare u sick ppl justify what america did in japan. even after seeing the pictures u are adamant that u were right and wat not. i just hope someone gives u taste of yr own medicine
on 15 Apr 2007 at 7:14 pm 52.surfvivor said …

It’s hard to get into a debate about WWII. Heavy shit is here and now.
It’s all about resources. Today we have over a dozen permanent military bases in the middle east. All of this craziness with a long and protacted war will continue as long as we and the rest of the world are so dependent on oil. Unless we as humans reinvent our world, the shit is going to hit the fan again.
After a great surf this morning I got in the car to go home to a giant plate of food only to hear on the radio that dozens of people were again killed in Iraq, many of them children, by a suicide bomber. And you don’t think that the US didn’t know that the area was going to be so unstable? Creating an area of instability justifies the military presence and…war funding. Sound familar?!
It’s about what we all do; go to the game, see a movie, go on a bike ride, you know, just have fun. If we really want to avoid a repeat of atomic bombs going off we need to get off our asses NOW!
on 15 Apr 2007 at 10:15 pm 53.Sebastyne said …

What I find even more disturbing than these pictures were the comments after. There are still people who find a way to justify this in their minds. THAT, to me, is unbelievable and very, very frightening.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 10:31 pm 54.moppo said …

Again

In the days of Vietnam
Before the cuisine and immigrants
We vowed we’d learned it
Once and for all
Learned how relentless
Stupidity can be
How good men can go bad
In the flurry of emergencies
And urgencies and the higher mission
Of cause and party.

How did we let it happen again,
Again, against that never-again?
How did we let that resolve become
Anachronism and hand wringing
And oh well it’s not our game?

Where is the rage and the spitfiring?
Lost, wouldn’t you know, in success
In the comfort of having made it anyway.
We are loath to bang the drum
For fear we’ll miss our lunch at noon
Or the shopping trip.

Where are the martyrs and screamers
Blocking the path of arrogance?
Sound asleep in age and ease
Hoping someone young will roar
And bring it all about before
We all go down in dust,
Lessons lost and treasures tossed.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 10:37 pm 55.Ken H. said …

From what I’ve read in my research on the subject, the Japanese were performing a preemptive attack on America’s Pacific fleet in Pearl Harbor before they could wipe out Japan’s navy. The Japanese felt they had no choice given America’s embargo on Japanese trade due to their actions in China. Although I do not in any way condone what Japan did in China or Hawaii, the fact remains that Pearl Harbor was a military target and Hiroshima and Nakasaki were civilian cities. Yes, Japan went too far with their imperialistic goals but this is a mistake made by many nations, England and France included.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 11:20 pm 56.Josh Walwyn said …

That is Disgusting! And Unfortunatly makes me hate americans,

that is a war crime, killing 250,000 innocent civilians,

It may have stopped the war, but in a disgusting in-humane way.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 11:32 pm 57.Allan said …

What terrible pictures!

What’s really remarkable about the comments to this post is all the USA-bashing. People seem to forget that the Japanese government refused to accept that the US could do this, resulting in the Nagasaki attack. Truman gave them a chance to avoid the second bomb, but the Japanese did not take it. The Emperor lied, thousands died!!!!

Another thing overlooked in the analysis of Japanese conduct during World War II is their treatment of conquered Burma, Korea, parts of China, Singapore, etc. Also, the Bataan Death March was not a 5K fund-raising walk.

None of that appears to matter anymore. The USA is a bunch of warmongering haters who have always destroyed peace loving, kite flying “people of color”. Halabja and Nanking don’t matter- Iraq and Japan were nice countries whose regimes only wanted the best for everyone.

It seems like America-haters really hope Iran gets the bomb soon so more pictures like this will be taken.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 11:36 pm 58.Dean said …

One wrong does not justify another. Pearl Harbor does not justify Hiroshima. 9-11 does not justify Iraq. The only way to stop the violence is to stop the violence. Protect yourself and others, yes. Attack those who attack you and those who live by the sword will die by the sword. When will we learn? Violence returned only leads to violence returned. Better to take the attack and protect our land more responsibly than to return evil for evil. These pictures are a chilling unveiling of the “righteousness” of our leaders. We can’t reverse history but we could learn from it and stand up and say, “No more.”
on 15 Apr 2007 at 11:37 pm 59.Michael Weigel said …

My father flew a B-29 during the war. He knew that the attack from Japan was coming before Pearl Harbor was bombed. There was a serious confrontation brewing and most military people knew it. My father was a AAF pilot before before the war started.

He flew fire bomb raids against Japan. These raids killed far more people than those that died from atomic weapons.

Civilians were targeted because these cities contained thousands of home mini-factories where aircraft and other military parts were manufactured.

Hundreds of thousands of allied prisoners of war were in Japan. By neglect and abuse they were dying at the rate of 10,000 per day. General Curtis Lemay knew this and put maximum pressure on Japan to surrender.

The truth of the matter is summed up by a former Japanese army air force pilot. He ended the war as a Major. He said “If we had had the bomb we would have dropped it on you”.

This was a war to the death. America prevailed. Oh, I feel guilty now.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 11:39 pm 60.Frank said …

Senjin you sack of shit! We dropped two bombs on those little slant eye motherfuckers because we could you stupid worthless fuckface bitch. Next time those pussies won’t go fucking with the USA! It is little cry baby douchebag’s like you that make us all sick. Go suck Usama’s cock!
on 15 Apr 2007 at 11:43 pm 61.Robert Gartner said …

War, war, and more war. Funny how in the United States ( the supposed civilized country ) it is illegal to kill your wife or your husband, for example, though their behavior may be downright demonic. And in a divorce many lawyers take all your money; its illegal to kill them too.

How is it that we allow a country to make war on another while we fry individuals, giving them the death penalty, in the name of justice?

Makes no damn sense to me. Gratefully I was party to an evening where a woman came to Rice University, Houston, Texas on the 50th anniversary of Hiroshima, a survivor, with US government footage of the destruction that has been withheld from the American Public for decades. Why?

I cried for all of creation that evening.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 11:49 pm 62.paul said …

Here’s the facts.

Japan killed and raped millions of civilians and seeked to conquer the whole pacific up to India. United States was attacked for no reason. The bomb wasn’t ready by the time Germany surrendered. Japan didn’t surrender after the first bomb, the second caused them to end the war. Both cities were military industrial complexes which provided the war machinery to continue the war. Americans killed more people using fire bombs than the nukes. Nukes are just another method to kill along with a whole suite of other options.

I think America is the fairest of the all superpowers in history, but is very aggressive in implementing it wars. Any other country, islamic or communist would use the Nukes to blackmail and will use it quite often unless they fear being attacked themselves by protectors of democratic values.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 11:49 pm 63.Peter Jefferies said …

You nay sayers are fools. At the time of the bomb the US had lost close to 300,000 lives, and the rest of the world had lost well over 60,000,000. Put your self in that place and time, which of course is impossible, and then make your choice.

How many more of our “boys” to we send into the meat grinder? Hell no, lets just blow the shit out of them. Every time under those circumstances.

Let the islamist attack some schools in the US, and see how long it takes for mecca and medina to become giant fields of glass. F/O

You want peace? Stop killing Americans, otherwise make peace with your maker.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 11:50 pm 64.Mike B. said …

From what I’ve read so far in this topic both sides, Japanese and American suffered, I’m no WW2 expert so I’m not going to pretend to be, but what I will say is that if you drop the nationalism and look at both sides of the war in perspective then you’d get a much better understanding of what the atomic bombs were for. I’ve got no idea if the Japanese were trying to negotiate peace before the dropping of the atomic bombs, I’ve got no idea of what exactly president Truman was thinking when he authorized the dropping of the atomic bombs, I don’t think I ever will but I would bet that he wasn’t happy about how many civilians lives were lost. War is Hell, end of story. No matter what side your on, if you can end a war then do it.

Don’t let pride in your own nation cloud your judgement.
This is an American speaking… I don’t condone the fact that President Truman dropped the atomic bombs in the first place, but the fact of the matter is that he did, and we cant change that.

War is Hell: Keep Out of It.
on 15 Apr 2007 at 11:59 pm 65.Mike B. said …

From what I’ve read so far in this topic both sides, Japanese and American suffered, I’m no WW2 expert so I’m not going to pretend to be, but what I will say is that if you drop the nationalism and look at both sides of the war in perspective then you’d get a much better understanding of what the atomic bombs were for. I’ve got no idea if the Japanese were trying to negotiate peace before the dropping of the atomic bombs, I’ve got no idea of what exactly president Truman was thinking when he authorized the dropping of the atomic bombs, I don’t think I ever will but I would bet that he wasn’t happy about how many civilians lives were lost. War is Hell, end of story. No matter what side your on, if you can end a war then do it.

Don’t let pride in your own nation cloud your judgement.
This is an American speaking… I don’t condone the fact that President Truman dropped the atomic bombs in the first place, but the fact of the matter is that he did, and we cant change that.

War is Hell: Keep Out of It.
(correct me on any of this if I’ve got things wrong, I’m mostly trying to get the point across that this thing that happened was wrong but it just might’ve been the lesser of two evils.)
on 16 Apr 2007 at 12:00 am 66.Mike B. said …

oops, how did I make it post twice?
on 16 Apr 2007 at 12:01 am 67.Eric said …

Senjin, it’s “OSAMA” you illiterate son of a bitch. I hope you die a slow death full of suffering you fucking cocksucker.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 12:08 am 68.Joe_Blow said …

Just wanted to point out a few things in defense of the USA. When we beat the Germans and the Japanese we helped them rebuild their countries. Their factories were newer than ours, helping them to undercut us in steel production, and pretty much wiping out steel production in this country.
We (USA) didn’t make them all learn English. We are not conquerors. We give the countries we fight the benefits of our freedoms. Now some countries (Iraq) don’t want those freedoms. They want their women in burqa’s and “barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen”, treated like second class citizens. Or property. Usually when a war happens you can count on the females in the populace to look out for their own children, and the children of others, and push for an end to hostilities. Not in Iraq, there they raise their children to die for Allah! All we have to do is wait them out and the Iraqi’s will blow themselves up. Then the only ones left will be the Iranians, Syrians, etc.. that are there fighting the good fight, using the locals as fodder for thier war against the US. So much for my rant. As for the Japanese in WWII, they had valid complaints about the way they were treated by the US before the war. But as others pointed out, the Japanese started the war with an sneak attack. They attacked on a Sunday to catch everyone napping, and it worked. The US was lucky that we didn’t have all our carriers in port, otherwise we would have been hurt more severely. The Iraqi’s are lucky that we’re fighting this war with one hand tied behind our backs. If we went unrestricted warfare on their asses we’d kill them all and let Allah sort them out. Along with the 72 virgins.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 12:09 am 69.robert said …

those who don’t learn from history are condmned to repeat it. more people were saved because of a terrible bomb then were harmed.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 12:10 am 70.jfreibourn said …

This is an awful sight, but to those that try and make comparisons of that time to our current times, there simply is no comparison. This was a time of war, the officially declared type between nations. It was started by the Japanese and communicated the USA in a surprise attack.

Also, Japan was working on atomic weapons with the help of the Nazis (Germany was sending uranium, plans as well as gold to Japan toward the end of the war). Japan would have used these weapons on the USA, history to that point had shown that no tactic was off the table (look at what had happened in China, not to mention the incendiary bombs that were being unsuccessfully launched at the USA mainland).

This is a terrible thing that happened, but it’s not right to blame the USA for fighting a war they didn’t start and probably saving lives in the end. Also, it looks to me like Japan is still a country ruling itself. Do you think the imperial nature of the Japanese government wouldn’t still be ruling the lands they conquered if they won the war? As far as I can see, losing a war to the USA and allies isn’t so bad.

Do not try to rewrite history based on anger over current events.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 12:49 am 71.Goddess Artemis said …

Pictures, pictures, pictures… Always reminds me history of humanity…and wars…Albert Einstein once said: “I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

These are so touching, so biting but thank you for sharing.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 12:51 am 72.Moggo said …

There is no justification for the horrific deaths of so many human beings that are trying live life just like the rest of us.

Government leaders bring this type of sadness to their people with war, it’s the political leaders of each county that bear this responsibility. Unfortunately, the people will always suffer the consequences of the decisions from our government leaders.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 1:05 am 73.Chance said …

War sucks!
on 16 Apr 2007 at 1:06 am 74.eric said …

“It may have stopped the war, but in a disgusting in-humane way.”

I swear, liberals are retarded. War isn’t humane fucktard. Stopping it sooner, with less lives and property destroyed is.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 1:35 am 75.Tim Manning said …

Pictures of the attack that entered the US into war.
http://www.sflistteamhouse.com/Misc/Pearl%20Harbor/original.htm

Pictures, unfortunately, I feel will not be enough to prevent a further catastrophy like this. It is important that people understand the concept of government-sponsored terror. The US knew that the attack on Pearl Harbour was coming, just like Condelleeza Rice was forced to admit in the 9/11 commission report that the memo put on Bush’s desk two days before 9/11 was titled, Bin Laden Determined to Strike Within The US.
(see last picture on this page)
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/march2007/060307mediascripting.htm

There is a disturbing trend here of the US government, at the very least, knowing about coming attacks on the nation, and doing nothing about it in order to enter into war. I invite people to watch the documentary Terrorstorm, by Alex Jones, documenting many many cases of government sponsored terror by previous US administrations.
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=786048453686176230

Until people understand the concept of government sponsored terror and how it continues today, I fear we are headed towards a nuclear conflict. Peace out.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 1:51 am 76.Ian Ansbergs said …

It was absolutely tragic that so many people lost their lives. It was tragic that the decision had to cross Harry Truman’s desk. I feel the utmost sympathy for every individual touched by the legacy of that weapon, from the scientists who designed it, to the president who had to authorize its detonation, to the pilot who dropped the bomb, to those who lost their lives, especially to their families, and even to we Americans today who have to deal with the world pointing fingers at us because an administration composed of members who were dead long before many of us were born, made a decision in what they felt was the best interest of the American people, and the world. We all suffered.

But that’s war. Its horrible. For everyone.

It would be so much better if war was unnecessary, but I don’t think it is, yet. It would be ideal if all disagreements could always be resolved simply by dialogue, but that requires an open mind on both sides of the table, and the world isn’t there yet. Its naive to think otherwise.

You can’t talk away an offended God, or a substantial border dispute. No amount of apology is going to erase centuries of hate and discontent. Religious disputes are not political issues open to debate and negotiation.

I hate that the world is that way, and in time it may improve, but the fact is that sometimes peace can only be attained or maintained by violent means.

Sometimes, its necessary to do terrible, destructive things in order to prevent even more terrible, more destructive things from happening.

A moral high ground is not necessary (in all honesty, who has a right to moral high ground anyways? Let he who is without sin cast the first stone), simply an understanding of the realities of the situation.

We Americans have been involved in some of the most tragic events of this century. Sometimes as victims, sometimes as perpetrators. But don’t think for a second that we wanted any of those things to happen.

You’re a fool if you think that we are blood-thirsty, raving mad, idiots, warmongers and sheep. To accuse us of such is to dehumanize us, and is the first step toward discrimination. We, like you, are trying to make the best decision possible based on the information we have.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 2:22 am 77.Sherrian said …

Every one says the American’s have done nothing heroic
or positive. All you idiots don’t remember the moon landing,
you’re so stupid you hv to doubt it. Remarkable.

All the benefits that Americans hv implemented in our own society has been shared with all countries. Inventors of automobiles,
light bulbs, airplanes, computers etc. haven’t all been hoarded, they’ve been shared. So quit bitchin’ and invent something or go play your dumb games or music with headphones and stop interrupting the flow of humanity. ITS UNBELIEVABLE SOME OF YOU ARE SO STUPID.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 4:01 am 78.Mike B. said …

Its amazing what humans do to each other in war…
on 16 Apr 2007 at 9:12 am 79.Endem All said …

Ian Ansbergs: I was going to post my opinion but said it much better than I could have.

War is, too often, a necessary evil.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 11:11 am 80.tlo said …

First, let me say war is an atrocity upon humanity. I am an american and do not condone the current actions of my government and seek daily to peacefully end them. Second, it is a historical fact that America was not at war with anyone at the moment Japan ruthlessly attacked. The attack was a ploy of Hitler and the Nazi regime to both draw America into the war and cause us to fight on two fronts on opposite sides of the world in an effort to deplete our vast resources. Yes at the time we had what appeared to be near limitless resources. The attack on Pearl Harbor did not only kill soldiers as several of the posts have seemed to naively indicate. An enormous amount of civilians also lost their lives that day as did nurses, doctors, cleaning personel and the like whose only crime was that of compassion and the need to earn a living. America had been given several politcal oppurtunities to help our allies and go to war prior to Pear Harbor but we refrained, much to the dismay of our good citizens who were slaughtered in their bunks, having their morning coffee,or praying for peace in their churches. We dropped the first bomb to save the lives of an estimated 2 million souls, 1 million Japanese and 1 million American by known cost of lives from our ongoing battles with the Japanese. Yes our government of the time did take the loss of Japanese life into consideration in their decision. If you do not believe this then please do a little bit of research, and I do not mean google it, and find the actual historical documents showing this. They simply chose the lesser of two evils for both sides. It was that simple, do we kill two million people or do we kill ten thousand. What choice would you have made. The second bomb was dropped because it was the prevailing belief of our leaders that Japan and the world would not believe we had the capability of subsequent atomic strikes and that the world’s known supply of uranium would virtually have been depleted. It was also believed that due to the enormous cost and the amount of time necessary to mine and enrich more uranium that the world would not believe that we could do it before we potentially lost the war and the atomic threat was a one-punch Judy. As a final note, the bombs were dropped at different altitudes because the altimeters and triggers of the day were not exactly accurate. Please educate yourselves before you start pointing fingers, the world will be a better place for us all as America intended.
on 16 Apr 2007 at 12:16 pm 81.Nano said …

Facinating look at the numbers of dead during WWII. Only a mere 600,00 Japanese civilians were killed by US bombs. The Japanese killed 16,000,000 Chinese civilians, 4,000,000 Indonesia, 1,000,000 Vietnamese, and 1,500,000 India, and 800,000 other civilians. 24 million civilians killed by the Japanese, and we only killed 600,00 Japanese?
on 16 Apr 2007 at 12:27 pm 82.Daryl said …

So, some of you say the the United States suck. Let’s examine that for a moment.

1st – The United States tried to stay out of the war, period. The Japanese pulled a sneak attack, and tried to eliminate their own guilt with 14-page memo containing a vague warning that was not delivered in its entirety until after the attack at Pearl Harbor was executed.

2nd – Ask any veteran that had the unfortunate fate of being a prisoner of the Japanese during the war…….that will show you how “humane” they were to any of us. And I’m not going to even mentioned the numbers of men who died trapped in wreckages of our fleet when the war was started.

3rd – The Japanese were working on several prototype bioweapons, one of which was designed to release infected fleas into civilian populations (thanks a lot for that one guys), which could have infected an killed countless numbers of civilians.

4th – War has the unavoidable cost of civilian lives. That is why no war is ever clean. Some of you genius-minded types have accused the U.S. for killing women and children who were not at war with us, while at least the Japanese struck men who they were at war with. Wake up. They were NOT at war with us. They pulled a sneak attack against a country that was trying to AVOID war, and unfortunately for them it had a terrible price on their own soil.

I could go on about this topic for hours. Fact is that the Japanese struck against a country that was both capable and willing to strike back. If you take the terrible chance of war, you have to be prepared for what losing that war would cost. The Japanese called their war philosophy “Bushido”, but they failed to account for what defeat would bring.

Now, regarding the photos.
They are a sad statement indeed. We should remember them so that each generation is duly warned about what happens when a weapon of mass destruction is unleashed. But don’t blame the Americans – blame Hirohito for allowing such a thing to happen to begin with. He, with god-like stature, led his countrymen into a war that could not be won, and while he was allowed to remain in power, the people who he should have protected paid the terrible price for his blunder. If you are both Japanese and upset about these photos, tell your emperor. He was in charge, and as an officer and a leader, he is solely responsible for the Japanese lives that his decision cost. Honor would have dictated his end, but instead he lived. Why?????

Finally, about the bombs themselves. Some of us had family that fought in that war. Some of them fought the Japanese and did not come home. A few were prisoners and did come home. We know what you did to them. And, far more barbaric than any single bomb, the Japanese were guilty of atrocities in Manchuria that remain unequalled to this day. Look up the Rape of Nanking in any Japanese history book. You won’t find it, because the Japanese have found themselves completely blameless, and fail to mention what happened there. So there were only >>>TWO
on 16 Apr 2007 at 5:58 pm 83.gozino said …

Extraordinary Photos, the picture of the eyeball is amazinghttp://www.gozino.net
on 17 Apr 2007 at 7:11 am 84.William Robert said …

Let me just say this… Unit 731 and the Nanking rape. Two good reasons to nuke two Japanese cities!!! These acts were fully justified and the cost of an invasion would have been over 5 million, soldiers on both sides and civilians. So before you call this barbaric, look into the history books and get your facts straight! Horrible turn of events but the lesser of two evils! Please dont be so ignorant and blind to facts, that is one of the evils of this world. Not to accept the truth as it is Besides… USA did one hell of a job with helping Japan after the war and later South Korea… Ecenomic powerhouses of the region.
And finally…. these pic’s are a sad tirbute to a leader that made grave errors of judgement. This happend cause of his bad leadership.
btw… good points Daryl…
on 17 Apr 2007 at 8:57 pm 85.the new shelton wet/dry said …

[...] All the watches found in Hiroshima were stopped at 8:15 am, the time of the explosion. [...]
on 18 Apr 2007 at 9:29 am 86.Hunter said …

If you think this is terrible just look at the Raping of Manchuria. Japan is not innocent, they brought it upon themselves. If the US invaded the mainland the casulties whould be completly devistating.
on 19 Apr 2007 at 3:44 am 87.clem said …

If some of you knew history then you would know that the US dropped 2 bombs on barren islands to show Japan what would happen if they dropped one on their city. Still Japan refused to sway. Don’t whine to us when we get the better of you after you started the war. “Trespassers will be violated”. Just think of what would happen in today’s world if a terrorist detonated an atomic/nuclear bomb on US soil. We will lay waist to half the world. I suggest you think about your actions before you act them out.
on 20 Apr 2007 at 12:54 am 88.Tiger Mohammad Rosenberg said …

When I stopped here, passing by with my Stumble, I wanted to stop and see the photos. I’m not one of them “I want to see dead people” type, It makes me sad, makes me hurt, but I need to see, to never forget if you will. I looked at each photo and pondered the human condition. Wounder what it would be like if that happened here and now, what if I had lived, would I be able to man-up? would I be strong enough? would my friends?
When I started to read thought the list of stuff others have written, I cried. Might makes right? Two wrongs make a right?
on 20 Apr 2007 at 6:27 pm 89.Hand of NOD said …

Answer to ‘why all the USA bashing?’ is simple, everyone hates US of A, at least nowadays.

The truth is irrelevant…
on 22 Apr 2007 at 11:40 am 90.AhBoon.net - Weird and Funny news around the world said …

[...] Well lets get back to the contest, this is a Demotivated week. I have a good start on Sunday, where I’ve got Reddit again on my Hiroshima Post. I was thinking that I will have more traffic to come along the week as I have already prepared some interesting posts. On Tuesday I found out that the Adsense ads were no more showing on my site; because the ad placement against their TOS. I corrected according to their request, and finally the ads show up again on Friday. If you want to know my feeling, its same like how AhPek felt when he couldn’t find good PPP Opps. [...]
on 22 Apr 2007 at 11:50 am 91.The Unseen Pictures: Hiroshima « Journey of A Traveler said …

[...] Apr 21st, 2007 by Yaser I saw this here. I really don’t have any words. It’s just really sad that nobody knows, cares, remembers. All I can say is: every moment is precious & continously remember the destroyer of pleasures, the moment that your death comes. One moment you might be on top of the world, the next…well look below. Khayr, here is a copy of the post where I saw it got it from originally: [...]
on 28 Apr 2007 at 7:24 am 92.Shea Judd-Hume said …

These images are horrible and this should have never happened. Men should not drop bombs on children. Shea Seattle, WA
on 07 May 2007 at 1:25 am 93.» Guessing AhBoon’s Traffic - The Best Review….Ah Boon.Net 阿文 said …

[...] She choosed my older Posts (Hiroshima and No Seatbelt) as her favourates, this shows she went ways back or has been followed this site for some time. She is the only one who mentioned about my contents and the efforts I put on it. This makes her review stands as a Unique and Creative one. Thus she deserve the prize and I hope you would agree with me after reading her post. [...]
on 12 May 2007 at 3:32 am 94.» Guessing AhBoon’s Traffic - The Winner is…. - AhSoon 阿順 said …

[...] The reason she won the prize was because, she choosed my older Posts (Hiroshima and No Seatbelt) as her favourates, this shows she went ways back or has been followed this site for some time. She is the only one who mentioned about my contents and the efforts I put on it. This makes her review stands as a Unique and Creative one. Thus she deserve the prize and I hope you would agree with me after reading her post. [...]
on 18 May 2007 at 3:28 am 95.mabel said …

blame neither country.what we should learn here is the effect of war.whether we use bomb,stick or watever.people die in war.children to elders.we should live together in peace and learn to forgive,forget and learn.iraQis are having war with america.iraqis suffer too.their people die.us soldiers die too.so love one another.God crate us.and God decide to end our life.we as humans have no rights to end people’s life.all religion says killing is wrong.
on 03 Jun 2007 at 9:18 am 96.» Titan Missile Museum in Arizona - AhSoon 阿順 said …

[...] You may have seen the devastating power of an atomic bomb on my Hiroshima post. Now you may visit one of the ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) silo in Titan Missile Museum in Sahuarita, Arizona, about 20 miles south of Tucson. You may have a chance to have a look at this monster which could have been launched in just 58 seconds, hurling a city-destroying nuclear warhead at the Soviet Union. Armageddon is not a pleasant prospect. [...]
on 03 Jun 2007 at 2:17 pm 97.jimbait said …

Hey,calm down.didn’t you all remember what japan do to us??(malaysian).They treat us(chinese and malay,also indian) like a rubbish.Everyday,there was a person who got his head cut.

Thats a lesson for them,

And starting from that day,they realize,there was a bigger power than them.Blame the president of Japan,who start the war first.And now we can see toyota car in other world,and they has developed better than America.
I BET they will continue their plan to invade america.They musn’t forget what america did to them.

WIth the stupid slogan,”asia untuk asia”(asian for asian),
on 08 Jun 2007 at 1:11 am 98.Sarkozy Hearts Deportations | Prose Before Hos said …

[...] Other things that make you say hmmmmm: You can use condoms to make a fire, you can use the internet to see pictures of Hiroshima after the bombing, you can wonder what the architect smoked, you can attend your frat wedding, you can get a million dollars for offering your tid bits on political sex scandals, or you can just have a delicious diet water. [...]
on 08 Jun 2007 at 3:33 pm 99.beast said …

well as far as my knowelege goes it all come down to oil again,cause when USA and GERMANY were at war Japan supported gemany in the war cause of which USA stoped the oil supply to japan(japan was dependent for oil supply),incontex to the stoped oil supply, japan in frustration bombarded the Pearl Harbor and this is how it all begun.I would not support any of the countries cause this according to me is debetable.but i forsure take 1 thing negetive on part of the USA that their greed for oil has always been their priority and they can go 2 ny extent to fulfill their priority
on 21 Jun 2007 at 12:43 am 100.Beast said what? said …

…USA and GERMANY were at war …

What? There was no war with Germany until Pearl Harbor. Japan pissed off the 500lb gorilla much to Germany’s suprise and disdain, becuase all that did was force us to get involved and start kicking everyone’s ass. It’s just a good thing that we got the bomb first and practiced restraint in using it only twice. Had Hitler or Hirohito gotten nuclear weapons, London, Paris, Moscow and most of Western Eurpoe and the Pacific Islands would be cratered. Stop subscribing to liberal revisionist history and just accept the truth that in 1945, the US was asked to be the hall monitor of the planet… something we still have to do today unfortunately.
on 02 Jul 2007 at 2:14 pm 101.shawnna said …

I recently studied WWII in my history class… my teacher is so pro-america (and racist may i add) our class never say the other side…
after taking a look at these pictures i really, even more than i did, disagree with my country’s decisions…
i just cant believ all the devastation and such it caused…
and i feel really ashamed now since i have family who “fought ” over in Japan…
on 02 Jul 2007 at 2:15 pm 102.shawnna said …

I recently studied WWII in my history class… my teacher is so pro-america (and racist may i add) our class never saw the other side…
after taking a look at these pictures i really, even more than i did, disagree with my country’s decisions…
i just cant believe all the devastation and such it caused…
and i feel really ashamed now since i have family who “fought ” over in Japan…
on 22 Jul 2007 at 11:41 am 103.PhysicalForm said …

”eric said …

“It may have stopped the war, but in a disgusting in-humane way.”

I swear, liberals are retarded. War isn’t humane fucktard. Stopping it sooner, with less lives and property destroyed is. ”

you should stop by wal-mart and pick up some reading comprehension. it just might help you out…
on 22 Jul 2007 at 11:53 am 104.PhysicalForm said …

Daryl and Vay have, by far, illustrated that many of you are, in fact, deficient in mental faculties. At least they are trying to explain to you that, yes, you do belong on that cute little short yellow bus
on 22 Jul 2007 at 12:09 pm 105.PhysicalForm said …

[shawnna said …

I recently studied WWII in my history class… my teacher is so pro-america (and racist may i add) our class never saw the other side…
after taking a look at these pictures i really, even more than i did, disagree with my country’s decisions…
i just cant believe all the devastation and such it caused…
and i feel really ashamed now since i have family who “fought ” over in Japan…]

In japan, there is no other side. gg…
on 25 Jul 2007 at 2:53 pm 106.Zuleyka said …

I dont think any country deserves to suffer like that, but if we(americans) had known the effects of the bomb we would have never used it. Unfortunately, we learned of the devastion the radiation caused in japan after the fact. And since then we learned how to make bombs(clean h- bomb or neautron bomb) that are effective in war but will not have the devastation Japan experienced. I think both countries learned their lesson.

Clean H- Bomb or Neutron Bomb-
(Thus the neutron bomb is considered a tactical weapon because it can do serious damage on the battlefield, penetrating tanks and other armored vehicles and causing death or serious injury to exposed individuals, without producing the radioactive fallout that endangers people or structures miles away.)
on 27 Jul 2007 at 5:44 am 107.Big Kyle said …

Aliright guys here it is. FDR declared the United States neutral, if you dont know what that means it is simply that we dont wanna fight. He made the whole world clear of that. But when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, we jumped into Whoopass Mode. When the Allies finally stopped Hitler, we put our focus on the Japs. Since they were ultimately responsible for the U.S. entering the war, they’re ass was now grass(or I guess vaporized ). I know it must have been awful that thousands of innocent men, women, and children lost they’re lives but lets be honest with ourselves, better them than us right? If there is a TRUE American out there who would rather our troops invade the mainland of Japan, lose around 1,000,000 soldiers, spend billions of dollars, and risk not even winning, I would sure like to meet this person. President Truman made the right decision for the U.S. as well as the world. Sure there was innocent bloodshed, but what was your first thought on 9/11? “NUKE ‘EM!”
on 27 Jul 2007 at 5:44 am 108.Big Kyle said …

Alright guys here it is. FDR declared the United States neutral, if you dont know what that means it is simply that we dont wanna fight. He made the whole world clear of that. But when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, we jumped into Whoopass Mode. When the Allies finally stopped Hitler, we put our focus on the Japs. Since they were ultimately responsible for the U.S. entering the war, they’re ass was now grass(or I guess vaporized ). I know it must have been awful that thousands of innocent men, women, and children lost they’re lives but lets be honest with ourselves, better them than us right? If there is a TRUE American out there who would rather our troops invade the mainland of Japan, lose around 1,000,000 soldiers, spend billions of dollars, and risk not even winning, I would sure like to meet this person. President Truman made the right decision for the U.S. as well as the world. Sure there was innocent bloodshed, but what was your first thought on 9/11? “NUKE ‘EM!”
on 05 Aug 2007 at 4:28 pm 109.melo said …

japans attack on pearl harbor was completly unjustified. it was an attack to cripple the u.s. fleet in pearl harbor so japan would have complete control of the pacific ocean. the plan was to take over midway island as a forward base and establish pacific supremcy. at the same time japan was invading china, raping,pilaging and forcing their culture the chinese. all the people who want to bitch about americas use of nucular weapons on those cities need to look closer. those cities were not only mini factories but major areas of trade and commerce. nagasaki i belive was a major sea port. like LA or new orleans and hiroshama was a major land based disturbution like chicago. the POINT, is that of course your going to bomb these areas. they are of the most stratigic value. the japanse put their civilians up as sheilds and as such those civilans allowed themselves to become targets. they had advanced warning that they were going to be blown to hell. but they chose not to leave.
so who did more wrong here?
japan
invading foreing countrys.
killing innocent people in a nuetral country
bombing a base without a formal declaration of war
attempting to establish supremecy of the seas upoun an unsuspecting country
the first country to use kamakzees which was a desparation move by japan knowing that they could not win the war but prolong it.

and the wrong the u.s. did.
defended itself.
brought itself back after being nearly crippled
warned japan repeatediatly after island jumping that we were going to bomb the shit out them if they didnt surrender.
the second a bomb fell because after the us dropped the first one. the u.s. called tokoyo and said surrender or we will continue to bomb tokoyo said no. you think the u.s. is going to back down on its threat and resolve of ending the war? japan knew it was fighting a losing war and japan did not want to surrender. for those who claim that they were in the process. they had a few months to surrender but still continued to fight.
why? if you were a winning country not want to protect your soldiers and stop a prolonged war?

for those who say we were wrong. japan had many chance’s. they blew it over and over again. and thats why we blew them up.

and if you as a u.s. citizen do not know your history. you need to sit down, shut the fuck up and learn somthing. you want sit there and bitch about the u.s. using an a bomb to end the war. if japan had won the u.s. would most likly be owned by the japanese you’d be arrested for treason and the title to this page would be “LA the unseen pictures” your the type of person who would complain that we were to hard. its a goddam war. war is ugly. war doesnt mean play nice. there are no innocents in war. you most likly have sat and enjoyed a life of never being hungry and always have a roof over head wouldnt know what to do if history did repeat itself.
on 05 Aug 2007 at 4:44 pm 110.melo said …

my fault hiroshima was the sea port

this is one of the reasons it was targeted

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/4729407.stm

see the spot that says MILITARY HEADQUARTERS ?

if i were in command of and army i would bomb that city too. if i had to land an army and set up logistics and wanted an easy access i’d wipe that city off the earth and make it easy for my forces. that is, in the event that i HAD to invade if the central goverment wasnt surrendering (japan)
on 08 Aug 2007 at 12:45 am 111.Dingo Bluefoot said …

Thank you for this post. It’s good to remind us of the horrors of war so that we may strive to prevent this ever happening again.
on 18 Aug 2007 at 9:39 pm 112.Doru Hendrikje said …

They leave the West behin. Doru Hendrikje.
on 20 Aug 2007 at 10:56 pm 113.Tiffany said …

Senjin, people like you are the reason these wars start in the first place. You hate people that you do not even know based on an act that our generation had no control over. It is ignorant for you to condone the acts of violence made by people like Usama, when acts like those are the reason these people suffered so much. War and bombs are never justified the USA was wrong to creat such massive damage and civilian casualties. Just as Japan was wrong to attack a neutral country. The point is war is wrong and if we dont all stop hating eachother for our governments actions it will continue. When does it all end? when will we stop our governments from causing so much harm to so many in the quest for power? all are guilty of this in one ponit of history. Its time to learn from all our mistakes in the past to make a better future, and in order to do that we must all stop going against eachother because of what the news and our government tells us. We are all people and we should look at eachothers lives equally. WAR SUCKS AND SO DO IGNORANT HATEFUL PEOPLE!
on 23 Sep 2007 at 4:21 pm 114.WHITELIONX said …

Ok the war was actually behind the scenes and was usa and USSR japan got into the firing line of the usa. The americans were trying to prove a point to the ussr the real reason the war ended was because ussr told america if they dropped such a worthles little toy on ussr like they did in japan then ussr would have simply taken usa of the globe and thats the real facts. america always try to push push push and one day its going to backfire because the public will turn against politics and hey the sooner we lose politics the better after all i dont need nobody to protect me from anything thats why god gave me a brain and fists a brain to know what to do when its needed and my fists just in case all else fails
please human beings wake up even just a LITTLE bit we are pawns and being played like idiots rofl
on 24 Sep 2007 at 11:12 pm 115.zafada said …

fucking humans.
on 25 Sep 2007 at 11:50 am 116.warsucks said …

Yes I do agree on what we did was totally wrong, Espically with the children. Im a mother to three children. But what i do agree with is that how we defended for our country. Which i will do the same for my children.
What happen on 9/11 was hurtful and I can feel ur grief but yet again, WE ARE DOING ON what we gotta do. I dont like the war. Yet if we pull our army men back. It will happen again. Now im gonna speak my mind. ALL COUNTRIES NEEDS TO GET OVER THEM SELVES AND STOP SAYING WHO IS BETTER.. I am a american and i love U.S.A..
Everyone has there own say on what happen on Sept 11,Hiroshima.. I did NOT LIKE what i saw, I was pissed on what we had to do. N all U people over fucken sea’s need to stop n think on what we did. WE DID IT TO DEFEND OUR OWN FUCKEN COUNTRY..Don’t hate the playa.hate the game..
on 25 Sep 2007 at 11:54 am 117.warsucks said …

I agree with you Tiffany.. People all over start fights for there selfishness and for there own stupidity
on 27 Sep 2007 at 11:25 pm 118.NecessaryEvil said …

Don’t want the US bombing your country? Don’t bomb ours… Simple as that. That applies to any country,common sense. Don’t start something that you may not be able to finish.

WHITELIONX,what are you trying to say? Your chronology is so disjointed it makes no sense.
Your’e trying to say that the U.S. and USSR were at war and Japan was caught in the middle?
At a time when they were uneasy allies?

Are you hinting at an ideological war BEFORE the Cold War? Maybe you haven’t heard of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

You are right though,about the human race having a need to wake up.

War is a horrible thing,but you can’t expect a nation to remain passive after it’s been attacked to maintain status quo.

The U.S. was attacked by Japan not to bring it into the war but in the hopes of keeping it out… Big mistake. Why? Because the U.S. had embargoed it’s fuel supply in order to halt it’s expansion of China. Need I add that at that time the U.S. was still recovering from a deppresion? It was WWII that propelled us to the status of a superpower.

I’m a veteran,I may not like war but if the need to defend my country arises I will bear arms to defend it and my brain and fists alone won’t make the cut. In a perfect world maybe,but not in this reality.

As for bashing citizens of respective countries,aren’t you all aware that,that gets you nowhere? Common sense dictates that no one wants to go to war. You can’t blame the general populace for the likes of Hitler,Hirohito,Mussolini,Osama Bin Laden,Saddam Hussein and yes,even George Bush.

No,I’m not saying that they are all in the same league, theyr’e not.But aren’t these the people that should be looked at in situations where countries and even whole civilizations go to war?

Look at who the world leaders are,political or religous in such events… And think! It might change your world view…
on 19 Oct 2007 at 12:10 pm 119.Innocent_American said …

To those who say they hope Americans get punished:
Hypocrisy.
USofAss: Seriously. You say that Americans are dosing out daily terrorism. In case you haven’t noticed we’re been attacked before reacting.
Point-in-case:
Revolutionary War
To pay for that war, the English government began to make the the English-speaking settlers pay more and more taxes. This brought the English a lot of money, but it made the settlers more and more angry. They were especially angry because they couldn’t vote or speak for themselves in England about these taxes. The settlers said this was “taxation without representation” and it was wrong.

The settlers decided to boycott everything they had been buying from English traders – they would not buy their tea, clothes, glass, paper, and so on (This is when many Americans began to drink coffee). To show that they meant it, in 1773 they threw a lot of tea on an English ship overboard, into the ocean – this is called the “Boston Tea Party.” Women proudly spun and wove their own cloth, though they had not done it for a long time.
The settlers sent petitions and letters to the King of Great Britain who ignored them and only grew more fierce against them. The settlers began storing ammo and weapons. British troops were planning a march to Lexington to arrest John Hancock and Sam Adams, then on to Concord to seize colonial munitions. At nightfall on April 18, Paul Revere hung a two-lantern signal in the steeple of Old North Church, alerting his comrades that the Redcoats were crossing the harbor. Revere then galloped to Lexington and pressed on to Concord, where he was captured by a British patrol. Questioned at gunpoint, Revere was released after divulging nothing but misinformation. Over 700 Redcoats marched through the night of April 18, 1775, reaching Lexington near dawn. Awaiting them were 77 Minutemen – farmers and laborers trained to be “ready in a minute.” One musket went off. Historians still debate which side fired the first shot, but within seconds, eight colonists lay dead on Lexington Green.

WW1
The first and foremost answer would be the sinking of the Lusitania, an British cruise/transport ship, bound for Britain from New York. The German U-boat ring sought to sink all supply ships headed for Britain in order to starve the island. It sank the Lusitania as part of its efforts. 1195 people died, including 128 Americans.

WW2
Obviously we only got into the war because Pearl Harbor was attacked. I think that is, at least, a known fact.

9/11-
Sept. 11: Hijacked jetliners hit the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon outside
Washington. A fourth hijacked plane crashes into a field in Pennsylvania. Trading on Wall Street is stopped. The Federal Aviation Administration halts all flight operations at the nation’s airports for the first time in U.S. history. U.S. military is placed on high alert. President Bush addresses the nation and vows to “find those responsible and bring them to justice.” Hundreds of New York City firemen and policemen sent to rescue WTC workers are lost when the WTC
Twin Towers collapse. Reaction from international leaders is swift as world leaders react with outrage over the attacks.
CONFIRMED DEAD: 2948
• REPORTED DEAD: 24
• REPORTED MISSING: 24
• TOTAL: 2996
INNOCENT VICTIMS.

The U.S. does not go looking for wars. They are thrust upon us because we are a strong country and we do things that some people don’t like. The United States is an amazing country with the freedoms and liberties we have attained from fighting these wars, from the Revolutionary til now. We have the right to bash our own government because of the people who have died to make it that way. Why would you wish a “nuke” to be dropped onto our country. I wasn’t even alive when those bombs were dropped and you hope that I am punished for it. STRAIGHT HYPOCRISY.
Seriously, pick and a stance and stick with it. If you think it is wrong that so many innocent civillians died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki why would you wish it on the innocent civillians of the United States. All of you who say that are hypocrites. Plus, I don’t know why you are fighting the case now, it’s over and can’t be changed even if you wanted it to be or if you are right. I feel sympathy for the victims of the a-bombs. I am actually here looking for research as I am doing a term paper on the book Hiroshima by John Hersey, an account of six victims of Hiroshima. I was disgusted throughout the book but I will not sit here and say who deserved what and what is justified. Seriously, it’s over, nothing can be done. Don’t blame innocent civillians today if you think what we did was wrong.
on 30 Oct 2007 at 5:13 pm 120.SPC E.S. US ARMY said …

I do understand where some of you are coming from saying that Japan “brought this on themselves”, but at the same time it is ridiculous to say that. Perhaps if the bombs were dropped on Japanese soil, but not in a town full of women and children, then Japan would have reconsidered surrendering. In no way do I feel that it is right to be so inhumanely causing death and suffering to so many innocent people. Think of the war now in Iraq, although I agree with it, many in America do not, yet we are still there. So would we just be “getting what we bring on ourselves” if a country that didn’t agree with us were to drop an atomic bomb on a U.S. city?
on 17 Dec 2007 at 2:31 am 121.Rana said …

this is completely sick !! i hate wars and i hate the word ATOM !! why couldn’t Truman go fight with that japanese leader face to face instead of doing this to innocent people that have nothing to do with anything !! wasn’t it enough when he dropped the first bomb on hiroshima at 6 august !! that’s my birthday and i feel sick about it if you really want to achieve peace you mustn’t care about who started the war but about who ended it and how they did it .. we dont .. i dont care about who started this war whether it was the USA or Japan but i care about how it ended .. the usa ended it by killing men.. killing women .. killing kids ..

I hate my birthday ..
on 19 Dec 2007 at 7:43 pm 122.ggbg said …

Cool, but Chernobil is better!
on 20 Dec 2007 at 8:48 pm 123.Neil said …

1 thing I have to add… A lot of people justify Pearl Harbour saying “at least it was a military target”. I think soldiers in a country NOT at war should be looked at as civilians.
on 22 Dec 2007 at 12:32 pm 124.Nash said …

cant you people do your own homework? why is that you guys enjoy scraping others content?
learn to do your things @$$h0le
on 02 Jan 2008 at 5:42 pm 125.I'm from bulgaria said …

Да ви еба ,айките тъпи чуденци! (evil)
on 02 Jan 2008 at 5:42 pm 126.I'm from bulgaria said …

Да ви еба mайките, тъпи чуденци! (evil)
on 06 Jan 2008 at 12:17 am 127.John said …

Where are the pictures from the Rape of Nanking?

Does that fall into your “never forget!” file too?

The thing to never forget is that Japan was not the innocent victim of aggression in the 1940’s.

The war was 60 years ago, let’s forget it, ok? I love Japan, why bring this old shit up.
on 07 Jan 2008 at 10:30 am 128.Sean said …

I think the Americans defend their actions by saying millions would have died if they had attacked on land. Who told you that? The very government that dropped the bomb. The bomb had two purposes; to end the war, and to find out what the effects of an atomic bomb on a city would be. The grounds on which the Americand defend themselves is entirely on speculation. Maybe millions of people would have died attacking on mainland. Maybe not. No one can see the future. In any case think of all the people that have died since the dropping of the bomb to due radioation sickness and cancer. I think the lasting effect the bomb made is equal to what would have happened. I do think one good thing occured from it though. The world has learned its lesson. You don’t play around with nuclear bombs.
on 20 Jan 2008 at 3:59 pm 129.amy said …

read about bikini atoll..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikini_Atoll where the USA continued nuclear bomb testing in the Pacific after WW2 where innocent people, lost their home to radioactivity and were sent to an almost uninhabitable island..and then the hydrogen bomb was dropped without warning or evacuation of islands nearby..http://www.bikiniatoll.com/.
as for Hiroshima/Nagasaki – the targeting of civilians is never justifiable, sure the Japanese did horrible things to innocent people, but targeting their civilians is no better when peace is the goal – espicially when Japan was already moving towards negotiating an end to the war. If we don’t realize the horrors of war esp. for civilians – history may repeat itself – even recently civilian infrastructures were directly targeted in the attacks by Israel against Lebanon, when the issue was with Hezbollah (july 2006)- and on top of that..the Canadian PM supported Israel calling it self-defence. Think about it – Canada as nation is known for peace-keeping, and the UN has regulations against the targeting of civilians. Hiroshima/Nagasaki/attacks on Lebonese civilians was Wrong. Sure Hezbollah illegally attacked Israeli towns/cities, but that is terrorism and the attack of lebonese civilians was also illegal (some were struck by Israeli missiles as they followed instructions to leave, others couldn’t leave because roads, bridges and gasoline stations were targeted – source: “intent for a nation” by michael byers)-do not respond to terrorism with terrorism (the targeting of civilians for political gain).do not let history repeat itself..try to be empathetic to people all over the world suffering from war when most want peace – don’t put the blame on the civilians by saying they brought it on themselves.
on 24 Jan 2008 at 9:17 am 130.Rachel said …

Even though i’m American i think they did a stupid thing they killed children that are our age and even littler like babies.
on 25 Jan 2008 at 8:50 am 131.John R. Brussea said …

You know, if the intent was imply to save lives in an attack on the mainland, why not just drop a single A-Bomb on some small island off the coast.

You must know, if you are going to drop such a weapon on a population center, you are going to kill non-combatants, by the tens of thousands.

Would the Japanese Emperor, and/or any Military General witnessing the effects of this single display of atomic power not have woken up and smelled the coffee?

Do you mean to tell me such an idea didn’t occur to any of our military, or governmental minds? I think there must have been people who wanted to see the effects on a city.

Well, they did. So did God.

Yes, it’s true the Japanese government, and military culture, were comprised of hideously evil people. This only means that our own military, and Government weren’t that far behind them in evil.

Propaganda tastes the same, whether it is spewed from the throat of dictators, or presidents.

Defensive, willful blindness to injustice, or criminality, wounds the soul the same, whether that soul lives in Japan, or the USA.

Wake up! We should all hang our head in humility, and cry out to God for salvation of our deeply dysfunctional species.

Come quickly Master Jesus!
on 03 Feb 2008 at 3:33 am 132.S. Claassen said …

It was wrong to throw these bombs on Japan. And I read in disgust how some people still defend this barbaric means of winning a war.
It was wrong, like it was wrong of the Turkish to commit genocide on the Armenian people in WWI or how Serbians killed Muslims in Sebrenica in the ’90’s.
No country is free of it’s guilt of atrocities comitted in the past.
People tend to forget that OR maybe try to deny it.
on 04 Apr 2008 at 7:08 am 133.caleb said …

Sure the U.S. killed thousands of civilians, but how many civilians did Japan kill? They were massacring thousands of people on islands, Chinese, and even their own people the Japanese. We focus on how many were killed, but how many were saved? I two buses were driving off a cliff one with 50 kids the other with 100 which would you save? the one with 100, right? but you would still have people mad at you for not saving the one with 50. But I think John said it best, “come quickly Master Jesus” indeed, come quickly!
on 04 Apr 2008 at 7:12 am 134.caleb said …

one more thing, a radio announcer said after the bombing, “we have used the atomic bomb to harshen the affects of war and we will continue to use it” all while nice soothing, victorious type music played in the background.One of the affects of war is death. you have to think about that too
on 11 Apr 2008 at 2:32 am 135.amanda said …

The US government and business owners funneled money into the Nazi party as early as 1933. Read some books and learn your ugly history and the lines between good and evil become seriously blurred. How can anyone look at these images and say they brought it on themselves? When Ward Churchill said the victims of 9/11 were partially responsible because they worked in the business that were the heart of the capitalistic greed so many other countries hate about America he was almost hanged. He actually lost his tenure position which is hard to do. The people of Japan, the people of Germany, did the same as the people of Great Britain and France and the U.S…. worked for the war effort they believed in and tried to survive. Americans (aside from Pearl Harbor) saw no war, no death, no hunger, no devastation and had fewer casualties than any other major player yet inflicted unimaginable pain on others. Good? Evil? In war they are inseparable.
on 11 Apr 2008 at 2:41 am 136.amanda said …

oh and I am disgusted when I am reminded that there are so many ignorant people in this world… those of you who say it was Japan that caused us to get in the war anyway need to pull your heads out of the sand. You think you are so smart but you have bought into all the lies and bullshit our leaders and their media have fed to us for over a century. There is documented proof that Japan was ready and willing to surrender. Letters were written to Truman from the Emperor all summer long (1945) and he ignored them. The main goal was to scare Stalin (Russia) into being a good little communist. The US wanted him to know who was in control so when this pesky little war was over he wouldn’t try anything tricky. That was the first step in the cold war. Seriously people, quit parroting bullshit information that has been concocted for the sole purpose of keeping you docile and compliant and do a little independent thinking. It doesn’t mean you are unpatriotic or hate the troops… it means you believe in that little document call the Declaration of Independence where we were given the right to overthrow any US regime that violated our rights and trust. Pay attention.
on 12 Apr 2008 at 10:59 am 137.sam said …

You know, im not saying eitherway was right or wrong, but do you honestly think that it was right to drop a bomb on innocent villages? At least with Pearl Harbor is was involving the military.
on 12 Apr 2008 at 10:59 am 138.sam said …

You know, im not saying eitherway was right or wrong, but do you honestly think that it was right to drop a bomb on innocent villages? At least with Pearl Harbor is was involving the military.
on 12 Apr 2008 at 10:59 am 139.sam said …

You know, im not saying eitherway was right or wrong, but do you honestly think that it was right to drop a bomb on innocent villages? At least with Pearl Harbor is was involving the military.
on 27 Apr 2008 at 5:59 am 140.RH (England) said …

War brings out the very worst in human nature, lets hope it doesn’t get any worse than this.

Blame and reasons for this are meaningless compared with the consequences. We should be more concerned that this does not happen again.

We are now 8 years into a new millenium and the human race is still doing what its best at, Killing each other. When will we learn?
on 27 Apr 2008 at 6:32 pm 141.sean said …

do you know whats messed up…. right now your sitting there reading this and a bomb could go off anywhere in your country and your life just ends….at any time that could happen and yes nuculer war heads are now that strong…it could happen at any time any where without reason….look at september 11th for instance no one exspected that
on 03 May 2008 at 12:15 am 142.Tu Padre said …

You never expected 911? wow you must be as dumb as your government….. it must have come as “such a surprise” that America carried out an attack on its own people to pave the way for the “new world order” and blame it all on the middle east (that they have been working hard on de-stabilizing for years) and all for what? all in the name of profeteering.
It’s amazing that the only people that make money from this so called war are the very same people who started it, who lead it and who ensure it continues as long as possible by manufacturing concent, yes, you guessed it people, your wonderfull government, wading, unchecked, across the globe in a trail of destruction.
WAKE UP.
STOP PAYING TAX.
1
on 04 May 2008 at 8:21 am 143.Tu Padre said …

P.S; Amanda, will you marry me?!
on 06 May 2008 at 4:36 am 144.carlos said …

Many here blame Hiroshima on Japan’s people for starting a war… Guess the hundreds of thousands deads on Iraq wish los of bombs on the US for starting they a war too.
on 06 May 2008 at 2:43 pm 145.linda said …

When I look at the pictures and ask how do these things happen, how can mankind be so cruel and deluded? The answer lies in most of the comments above. Each person has fundamental darkness (ignorance of the value of life). War is only the most vivid manifestation. Until each individual is awakened to that value such sorrow will exist.

Nam myoho renge kyo

For peace on earth and the happiness of all living beings
on 07 May 2008 at 3:02 am 146.commonstreetcriminal said …

I think that when u make a decision to drop a bomb on a city like we did, you have to think that the hole country is a part of it. I am a real person b 4 i’m a patriot, look there is no reason to kill people just to make a point.We have pay 4 everything we do, one way or another, an I dont want to have to pay 4 something that someone that has on right to make decisions like that wants me to pay 4. i think we need 2 put all the people who want 2 have war on there own part of the world, and let thrm have at it, then we can get on with the real problems like, education, health care, starvation, and making the world a better place, because i have kids, and they dont need are bullshit like this 2 have 2 fix, they should be working on new and better things, I am saddend that this had 2 happen, in the eyes of god and mankind, I am sorry 4 what my people dun. People think we are lazy, an dum, arrogant and loud. Well some of us are, and some of us just want 2 be happy with all people. I hope that we all put this in the front of are minds, because if we forget for one second what happend, We are all doomed. If the roll’s were reversed, we would be the ones asking why. Everyone, let’s just stop the madness.
on 16 Jul 2008 at 4:03 am 147.Jeorge Jetson said …

Japan was into some really evil stuff that brought on this abomb attack. Look at the below links to see what Japan was up to before the a bomb attack.

http://BrainMind.com/JapanAtrocities.html
http://BrainMind.com/Unit731.html
on 04 Sep 2008 at 6:08 am 148.Scott said …

If you start a war with a sneak attack you better be able to win it or suffer the full retaliation of your enemy. Japan was totally defeated but still would not surrender. Use of atomic weapons was inevitable.
on 17 Oct 2008 at 3:52 am 149.fleagle said …

I’m loving the bomb photos…technology be a righteous thingy!!!!

Moral: “don’t thump a giant on the nose ’cause he might just squash ya!”