Kiejiro Matsuhima....

I had the opportunity to hear the most incredible life account today. One that given a well deserved standing ovation. While I had already planned to attend the speaking event and gracefully exit when it came time to pick my son up from his sitter's place, it turned into a moot point. One of my instructors required us to go for two reasons: 1) it details a very big, very important, very strong piece of history. 2) She was on the committee to bring this particular speaker to the campus, so it was kind of necessary for her to be in attendance.

The speaker was Mr. Kiejiro Matsushima, an 80-year-old survivor of the Hiroshima Atom Bomb. That, of course, would make him 16 when the bomb was dropped; a young and impressionable man.

Mr. Matsushima started his story for us by expressing his admiration for all of us to "listen to speaking of mine." He then went on to state something that I have always said about history: "We have to learn from the past to make better for today." In fact, those are almost the exact words I used for the first assignment I had this semester in American History 2.

Matsushima had 2 brothers who had joined the Japanese Navy after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It was draining on all the Japanese citizens because the war just continued on and on. Excitement after December 7, 1941 turned to misery as Japan kept losing battles, food became a big problem ("we always hungry"), and the economy grew worse. By 1944, everyone was miserable and schooling was taken away as every citizen old enough to work went to new jobs in the factories. The students were first excited over this prospect, but had changed their minds by the end of the week.

In 1945 things were turning more deadly for Japan. Attacks happened often, and in one moment more than 100,000 people were killed, but Hiroshima was still okay. By this time, Matsushima's father had passed away and his mother decided it was time for her to leave the city, so she evacuated herself to her in-laws home not terribly far away. Matsushima remained behind...and worked. By the end of July, the work in the factories ended and school started back up on August 1, 1945. It was only five days later the city of Hiroshima was dealt an unfair blow.

Matsushima's school was 2 kilometers away from the center of the blast, meaning he was only approximately 1.25 miles away. He expressed how fortunate it was that school still started at 8:00 AM then, versus the 9:30 AM start time they have now. Why? Because the bomb was dropped and detonated at 8:15 AM and he would still have been in the detonation zone. He also said he felt so lucky to have been in math class on the second floor of this very sturdy wooden building, in the extreme front row, and the extreme South side corner. He thinks it saved his life because he was not on the blast side. His friend on the North side, next to the window, was badly burned and knocked unconscious. He also survived, but died young.

He said he remembered looking out the window, reveling in the sunny day and bright blue sky. He saw the two American B-29 Bombers flying high in the air (he said maybe 10,000 Meters high) and knew there must have been 3 or 4. He could only see the two. He thought they were very beautiful shining in the sun. There were no more Japanese planes and the anti-aircraft guns cannot fire that far in elevation. The Japanese were used to this, though, so there was really no thought about it. "We were careless," he stated. He turned his eyes back and the moment he was center to his teacher there was a "very strong flash. Big, big wind, shock wave. Heat wave. I thought I was thrown into oven for a moment."

Bearing in mind that steel melts around 1540* Celsius, and the heat at the moment of detonation was 4000* Celsius, AND that Matsushima was barely over a mile away, you can imagine just how hot this was. Or maybe not...

He kept his eyes closed, covered his ears, and jumped under his desk. "Hundreds of thunders, then so dark. Almost midnight."

I may have the exact word wrong, but he said the Japanese refer to this as "pikadong," (peek a dong), meaning strong heat, flash, heat, noise. Says it all.

He said he prayed to Buddha and his mother for help. His whole body was bleeding, his clothes were torn, but his injuries weren't serious. Just little cuts from the shards of the broken window panes. At that moment everyone thought a single bomb was dropped beside just them. He couldn't understand what happened. Did thousands of bombs drop? "Many so badly burned in city center, skin hanging. I could see muscle. They swelled like pigs." He demonstrated how these people were walking like zombies because of the pain and the lack of skin on their arms. They were constantly saying they wanted water. "Only two bombers. What did they do??"

He decided to leave the city and walk the roughly 6 miles East to where his mother was, the only person he wanted. He crossed the Miyuki Bridge and could see "whole city burning. Maybe Hiroshima dying." He expressed that he was happy to have a place to go back to. The majority didn't and they just asked for "water, water, water," in the dark. By morning, most of them were dead.

He saw his mother the next morning and she was very happy to see him. She'd been working in a rice patty and saw the mushroom cloud. She just assumed he was dead. I can't even imagine...I don't WANT to imagine...

Matsushima did experience radiation sickness. It was within just a couple of days of the bombing that he gained a high fever and diarrhea. He felt this way for about 7-10 days, then it left. He's convinced the amount of water he drank while walking on such a hot day helped. Not to mention he LEFT the city, where the radiation remained. Rescue workers who came in and stayed for weeks weren't so lucky. Neither were the majority of the people who lived there. Doctors had no idea how to treat the strange symptoms and diseases popping up so soon after the bombing, deeming all of them just "A-Bomb Diseases." A rumor was started to not give the burned survivors water because it would cause them to die. Even the doctors believed this rumor, which we now know to be ridiculous. I can't even begin to wonder the pain these people were feeling, coupled with the dehydration... Eventually people began to drink from the rivers....and drown. That's why we hear stories of the rivers filled with bodies.

He has no idea how many people died that day, but the only figure he's heard is 140,000. That doesn't count those who died later from the cancers, leukemia, and other radiation-related illnesses. I'm sure the number is much higher. He used his sister-in-law's brother as an example. He was burned, but survived. He recovered, grew up, married, and had a son. When the boy was 3-years-old, the same age as my baby boy, he grew sick and died quickly. A-Bomb Disease.

The frequency of cancer in survivors is higher than in other groups. Mental retardation from the radiation also showed up. He told a story of a 94-year-old father who is caring for his 67-year-old son who has suffered from mental retardation since the bombing. The boy was healthy and normal before. He has had some moments of extreme illness, and he's had some cancerous tumors removed (he didn't say where they were, but he did place his hand on his back), but has otherwise been healthy. He knows he's lucky. He knows he's the exception. He says "Thank Buddha." We laughed, but knew exactly what he meant.

He did return about 20 days later and saw nothing but ash when he entered the city. It's an image forever burned into his mind. Because of his experience as a 16-year-old boy who survived the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, he says nuclear weapons "must never be used on any nation again. NEVER again."

I have my own feelings and opinions on nuclear weapons; feelings I won't express here. But I will say that I do agree with him on this. Kind of a shock to hear a Veteran express that view, but it's something I've felt since I was very young.

Asked about North Korea he stated they are "very dangerous neighbor to Japan. We are very afraid of them. I hate it. I don't like it." Can't say I blame him.

So, thank you, Mr. Matsushima, for sharing your story with us. You have left an indelible mark on me....