Just remember this when you think you've had a bad week....

Remember Tsutomu Yamaguchi had you beat.

Tsutomu Yamaguchi was a survivor of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings during World War II. Although at least 69 people are known to have been affected by both bombings,[1] he is the only person to have been officially recognized by the government of Japan as surviving both explosions.[2]

He is the only person officially given the title Nijyuu Hibakusha or Twice Bombed Person by the Japanese Govt.

It's crazy that 69 people got hit with both Bombs.

Link

a reply to: pavil

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were both spared in preparation for atomic attack. Both cities were swollen with refugees.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: pavil

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were both spared in preparation for atomic attack. Both cities were swollen with refugees.

What???

originally posted by: silo13

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: pavil

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were both spared in preparation for atomic attack. Both cities were swollen with refugees.

What???

Wa-wa-what???

Up to that point, the city had been largely spared by the rain of conventional air bombing that had ravaged many other Japanese cities.

Guess why? So the effects of the bomb could be measured more accurately.

Before you go wa wha what? again, consider: if Hiroshima was (as claimed) such a significant military target, why was it largely spared until it got hit with the A Bomb?

a reply to: intrptr

That's what I said...

'Swollen with refuges?'

WHAT?

what people tend to forget aswell is besides the radiation from fallout, there was really no difference in devastation from the atomic bombs versus the firebombing we had been carrying out in their wooden cities for quite some time. youd be surprised how many pictures that are attributed to the atomic bombs were actually just fire bombed cities. visually they look identical though so an easy mistake to make. and if u ever think u got the rub in life imagine that japanese guy that continued to fight the war on an island for something like 30+ years.

a reply to: intrptr

I never knew that. Sounds like they did all they could to maximise the number of civilians in the blast zone.

Pretty cruel.

It could be worse. There is always someone who's got it worse than you. (Listen to the whole thing, it takes a little while and might lighten the bummer)

a reply to: Phage
Arlo Guthrie, Patron Saint of the Hippy Generation.

'Santa wears a red suit, he must be a commie and whats in that pipe he's smoking?'

originally posted by: SlowNail
a reply to: intrptr

I never knew that. Sounds like they did all they could to maximise the number of civilians in the blast zone.

Pretty cruel.

Unconditional surrender could have spared the Japanese people a lot of suffering, but when you consider the amount of suffering that Japan dolled out, it was probably fitting. Who knows how long the war might have continued had the bombs not been used... Japan had her own nuclear ambitions and some incredible delivery systems.

a reply to: intrptr

due to limits on the availiability of both long rang bombers , and runway capacity to operate them from - any attacks on japan had to be a comprimise .

the USAAF could not deliver the tonnage of bombs that generals WANTED to every japanese target

the manhattan project was " well underway " - by the time that the US had the capacity to launch strategic strikes against japans home islands

so the list of 6 " designated targets " was a valid one - as to include them in the conventional strives would reduce the impact on other targets

further - they [ the 6 ] were only vital to HOME land defence -

hiroshima in particular [ HQ of army group 25 ] - only needed to be destroyed to enable a invasion of honshu

so its being " spared " did not have any meaningfull impact on japans ability to wage war in the pacific islands

if the atom bomb had failed - then hiroshima would have moved very rapidly up the " target priority " list

hope that helps

a reply to: ignorant_ape

so its being " spared " did not have any meaningfull impact on japans ability to wage war in the pacific islands

No cities were 'spared' during WWII. Thanks to the mass bombing campaigns in Germany and Japan. And yes, certain cities were 'spared' for now because they didn't know when the bomb would be ready.

Not because they didn't have enough conventional bombs, lol.

Fire bombing of cities in Japan weren't just one time raids, but a campaign directed at destroying as much of the targeted city as possible, by repeated attack over a one or two day period. Thousands of planes participated in these raids, the destruction was intended to destroy as much of the city as possible by dropping incendiaries to ignite huge firestorms, to kill as many civilians as possible.

In the case of Japan, 67 cities.

Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kokiru and Kiyoto were largely spared for 'test' purposes.

Target List

originally posted by: Phage
It could be worse. There is always someone who's got it worse than you. (Listen to the whole thing, it takes a little while and might lighten the bummer)

Made my day! Thanks for sharing.