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The Man Who Survived Both Atomic Bombings
A man who survived two atomic bombs in three days.
In August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two Japanese cities devastated by the attacks.
Among those caught in the tragedy was Tsutomu Yamaguchi, a 29-year-old engineer who was in Hiroshima on a business trip. He was preparing to return home to his wife and young son when a blinding flash lit up the sky.
An atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima. The explosion knocked Yamaguchi to the ground, singed his upper body and caused temporary hearing loss. The structures collapsed, fires erupted, and thousands of people were killed.
Somehow, he survived.
Yamaguchi spent the night in a shelter before beginning the journey back to Nagasaki. On August 8, he arrived home injured and exhausted, but grateful to be reunited with his family
He had escaped one of the worst attacks in history. He probably hoped things would improve.
He was wrong.
Three days later, it happened again.
Yamaguchi went to his office in Nagasaki on the morning of the 9th of August. Despite his injuries, he tried to explain to his colleagues what he had witnessed in Hiroshima.
