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I had three wire reels exactly like the one the guy in picture 66 is carrying on my Bradley in Iraq. Great Slideshow.
Imagine if digital cameras were made during this time, these photo's will cost a million bucks! I am really amazed with these pics including the history intertwined with it. Good thing it was over now.
For me it's too hard to watch such pictures. Pics 100-105 are undiscussable. I'm firmly against wars.The one I liked (though it's quite a famous one) is 106. And 107. Because they show ecstasy of happiness, love and hope, that there will be no more wars.
Not to sound too idealistic, I want to add, that I understand that it's not that simple at all.I just feel great fear and grief thinking of all the tragedy, pain and despair wars already brought and God forbid may bring. I am really afraid of that.
For me it's too hard to watch such pictures. Pics 100-105 are undiscussable. I'm firmly against wars.The one I liked (though it's quite a famous one) is 106. And 107. Because they show ecstasy of happiness, love and hope, that there will be no more wars.
Those are the pics of Japan being nuked. What would you have had as an alternative? I guarantee you that if the US had invaded Japan, the death and destruction suffered by the Japanese would have been much greater. It would have been the devastation of Okinawa writ large. Yes, war is terrible, but at times, the alternative is eve more horrible. Pacifists only exists because non-pacifists are willing to protect them.
I'm guessing that #104 was not taken on August 10, 1945 (as it says in the caption)? I believe that the bombs detonate before hitting the ground (I assume this was true for the bombing of Nagasaki), but I can't imagine that all those plants or power lines would remain standing at ground zero. ???
The bombs were set to detonate at about 1,000 feet both to mitigate the creation of fallout and increase the size of the immediate blast zone. Blast and pressure are the great killers, in a nuclear explosion. That is why fewer died a Nagasaki, it has many more hills than did Hiroshima. Anybody with a hill between tham and the explosion were in the blast shadow and the effects of the bomb were greatly attenuated.
Those are the pics of Japan being nuked. What would you have had as an alternative? I guarantee you that if the US had invaded Japan, the death and destruction suffered by the Japanese would have been much greater. It would have been the devastation of Okinawa writ large. Yes, war is terrible, but at times, the alternative is eve more horrible. Pacifists only exists because non-pacifists are willing to protect them.I was not speaking about Japanese or Americans, but about people in general. Pain and misery of people is awful. All this sounds useless and I understand that there's no point just speaking about it. I'm too young and too "girlish". Pacifists only exists because non-pacifists are willing to protect them.Interesting, I like this idea)
All I can say is Lord, save the world from the misguided that think peace is the norm. The violent and tyrannical will always have the better of them. Ideals are all well and good until they get smashed by reality. There will always be people willing to use force to get what they want, there may not always be people willing to use force to stop them.Any serious student of history will quickly realize that what defines relations between people and nations is war and violence. Security is only maintained through the threat of violence. We keep our enemies at bay by making them fear the consequences of attacking us. It does not always work, but no other way has been proven to work at all. One of my favorite quotes about diplomacy is from Teddy Roosevelt, "speak softly, but carry a big stick."
Interesting exhibition about photos taken in Hiroshima and recently released (International Center of Photography, NY 10036)"After the United States detonated an atomic bomb at Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the U.S. government restricted the circulation of images of the bomb's deadly effect."http://www.icp.org/museum/exhibitions/hiroshima-ground-zero-1945
I read recently that excavations began earlier this year near the “medical school” associated with the infamous Unit 731. Although the Japanese government has never officially acknowledged the atrocities committed by Unit 731, although in recent years a Tokyo court has acknowledged that Unit 731 did exist, and did conducted “germ warfare” in occupied China.Plenty of eyewitness testimony (and confessions from nurses and others) but very little photographic evidence.Anytime that there is a photo display of the aftermath of the Hiroshima or Nagasaki bombings I think that there ought to be concurrent displays of photos from the Japanese occupation of Nanking (1937-38) and of Unit 731.
