Japan is one of my first study abroad experiences that I ever had in my college career. One of my most moving experiences that I had was my visit to Hiroshima. I like to share this topic on this post to those who are reading this as as it is important to spread awareness. I had the pleasure of staying in Hiroshima during my first two days on this trip where I was able to learn about the Hiroshima bombing in-depth. When I was in high school, I was taught about Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and its idea to create this massive weapon. I only learned that it was used to end World War Two and was dropped to make Japan surrender in the war. This experience taught me about the toxic effects of the bomb and the massive destruction it carried out throughout the war.
The museum that we went to was a memorial museum to remember the 140,000 lives that were taken away in the bombing. There was a beautiful park that was constructed to show the hypocenter of the bombing and the remains of an atomic bomb done that was melted from the bomb. The museum had 80 year old artifacts that belonged to victims that had stains and residues of the bomb. I noticed the differences where the clothing had black and yellow stains which indicate the radiation effects. In the entrance of the museum, I saw an animation of the bomb and the time it was triggered to create its massive effect. Hiroshima was a big city filled not only with apartments and housed but was a military training center for soldiers and for ammunition. It was dropped primarily to destroy the military bases so that it would be hard for Japan to fight in the war. This destruction not only killed innocent civilians but also American POWs and Japanese soldiers. I listened to survivors who spoke about the horrors they experienced on the day of the bombing and the incidence of leukemia’s and burned parts of the body from the intense radiation emitted.
I was given the opportunity by my professor to listen to a lady who spoke about her mother who survived the atomic bomb. Her mother’s sister unfortunately didn’t. I was moved from her presentation about the damage it caused. I learned of how there was radiation in the Sea of Japan and severe burn marks on the victims of this war. She taught about the low birth rates and how her mother’s sister was nowhere to be found after the bomb. They recognized that she was melted after seeing her school uniform in the middle of the field. She also gave us an origami bird as a gift and rememberance of the war.
I am very thankful to have met this woman and to learn about the museum. There is a mass production of nuclear weapons in our world currently that needs to be stopped. The nuclear weapons are more powerful than the atomic bomb and has lasting destruction if released. Recently, President Obama went to Hiroshima to give a speech about the war and how as leaders to not use the nuclear weapons at all costs. We should all remember that mistakes made in the past should not be repeated and this incident is an example of the consequences we can create.