Watch George Takei visit Hiroshima, where a US atomic bomb killed his grandmother and aunt

[octoberlib]

As one can imagine, the bomb fundamentally reshaped Hiroshima's culture. Since 1968, all Hiroshima mayors have written protest letters to countries that possess nuclear weapons.


Hiroshima's commitment to peace is so extensive, Takei explains, that the city is one of the few places outside the United States that celebrates Martin Luther King's birthday. "I marched with Dr. King," Takei says, "and his words resonate here: 'We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.'"

Hiroshima isn't Takei's only personal connection to World War 2. His family was also held at a US internment camp, alongside thousands of other Japanese Americans. Despite the harm the US inflicted on his family during the war, his love for America remains strong.

http://www.vox.com/xpress/2014/8/6/5975041/george-takei-hiroshima-atomic-nuclear-bomb-anniversary?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=voxdotcom&utm_content=wednesday

[countryjake]

1. I waited all evening for something of this nature to appear today...

thank you so much for posting that!

Peace to George Takei and also to all the people of Hiroshima.

140,000

[yuiyoshida]

2. I knew about his time in the internment camps...

This is the first time I have learned of his family involvement in this particular piece of history. It seems major events have touched his life.. which is amazing enough. To be on Star Trek itself is historic! I hope some day he has a biography written of his life. It would be a fascinating read.

[merrily]

3. Wow, his family got the worst of both locations, not to mention

two huge stains on U.S. history (though not the only two). Yet, he is such a great guy. More credit to him.

[Uncle Joe]

4. This is new information to me, I didn't know about his grandmother and aunt.

Thanks for the thread, octoberlib.

[Hissyspit]

5. It also killed 12 or more U.S. POWs:

http://www.thenation.com/blog/162596-hidden-history-american-pows-were-killed-hiroshima

http://m.thenation.com/blog/162596-hidden-history-american-pows-were-killed-hiroshima

Hidden History: American POWS Were Killed in Hiroshima

Greg Mitchell on August 5, 2011 - 2:14PM ET

- snip -

At least twenty-three US servicemen were in Hiroshima when the bomb fell. They were prisoners of war, former aviators, held at several locations in downtown Hiroshima. It's likely we would have never learned of this if a B-29 had not ditched off Japan two days after the Hiroshima attack, on August 8, 1945. Picked up by a fishing boat, the crew ended up on a drill field in devastated Hiroshima, bound by rope and blindfolded.

A Japanese police captain saved them from a mob by taking them to the suburb of Ujina. En route he stopped at the Hiroshima train station, removed their blindfolds, and according to Matin Zapf, one of the Americans who would survive), shouted, "Look what you have done! One bomb!"

- snip -

Along the way they came across two more American prisoners: a navy aviator and an Air Force sergeant. They were suffering from nausea, with green liquid dripping from their mouths and ears. Held in Hiroshima when the bomb hit, they had survived by jumping into a cesspool. Clearly, they were suffering from radiation disease, but no one at the time knew anything about it.

That night, as the pair screamed in pain in their cells—asking to be put out of their misery—the other Americans asked the Japanese doctors to do something. "Do something?" one of the doctors replied. "You tell me what to do. You caused this." The two men died later that night.

- snip -

Three days after the Hiroshima blast, perhaps as many as a dozen Dutch POWs were killed in the bombing of Nagasaki. One American soldier there, a Navajo from New Mexico, survived in his cell.

[countryjake]

7. Hissy, that link only takes me to The Nation...

says "page not found". So I just typed American POWs killed Hiroshima into their search bar and found the piece that way.

Thanks for posting that, the deep dark secret that I'm sure many still do not know.

The Japanese policeman just kept yelling, "One bomb! One bomb!" as they made their way thru the devastation.

I cannot imagine.

[octoberlib]

8. Wow. Thanks for posting.

[madokie]

6. This man is living proof that love conquers all

"I marched with Dr. King," Takei says, "and his words resonate here: 'We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.'"

What a wonderful way for me to start my day, reading this and listening to the words of a good man

thanks