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WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN A SINGLE SCIENTIST, SOLDIER OR STATESPERSON ACTS WITHOUT COMPASSION? |
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| HIROSHIMA, JAPAN Peace Memorial Museum 2006 |
NAGASAKI, JAPAN Atomic Bomb Museum 2006 |
SAIGON, VIETNAM War Remnants Museum 2006 |
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 Hiroshima: Peace Memorial Museum  'A dragonfly flitted in front of me and stopped on a fence. I stood up, took my cap in my hands, and was about to catch the dragonfly when . . .'  Hiroshima: In accordance with U.S. President Harry Truman's decision (with concurrence by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill), the first atomic bomb was dropped without warning on humans at 8:15am, August 6, 1945. Was this a terrorist act using a weapon of mass destruction?  Hiroshima: Before the A-bomb  Hiroshima: After the A-bomb  Hiroshima: The intersection of two bridges was the actual target  Hiroshima: A-bomb wasteland  Hiroshima: A-bomb Dome today  Hiroshima: Scientists designed the A-bomb to explode 600 meters above ground to maximize its killing yield  Hiroshima: View from under the A-bomb mushroom cloud. By the end of the year, 140,000 had died by the bomb and its harmful effects  Hiroshima: A-bomb temporary survivors  Hiroshima: A-bomb temporary survivor  Hiroshima: A-bomb temporary survivor  Hiroshima: A-bomb temporary survivor  Hiroshima: A-bomb temporary survivor  Hiroshima: Why drop the A-bomb on Japan, since it had attempted to surrender only a month ago? Was the U.S. desperate to test the bomb on human beings?  Hiroshima: Einstein working on his letter to persuade the President to fund research and development for the atomic bomb, proving that genius does not equal compassion or wisdom. But for this letter, the development of the bomb would have been later in time, or not at all; but the delay might have saved the Japanese from the bomb by giving them time to surrender which they attempted to do the month before. Ronald Clark's Einstein biography says that Einstein wrote that he had 'given up pacifism ... that organized power can be opposed only by organized power' and that 'force is appropriate ... in the face of any enemy unconditionally bent on destroying me and my people.'  Enola Gay bomber and crew that dropped the first atomic bomb. If only one of these crewman had at the last minute refused to fly the mission it might have delayed the flight for a few days (weather and flying conditions were uncertain), and given the Japanese enough time to surrender. 20 years later, George Zabelka, the priest chaplain who blessed this and the Nagasaki atomic bomb mission, realized his actions were wrong and begged forgiveness from the A-bomb survivors. He said that he and others were 'brainwashed' by the church and military to accept the bombings as necessary  Hiroshima: Peace cenotaph with flame of peace and view of the A-bomb Dome  Hiroshima: A-bomb survivor art  Hiroshima: A-bomb survivor drawing of a mother cradling her child  Hiroshima: A-bomb survivor art |  Nagasaki: View to south (train station in center)  Nagasaki: Urakami view to north where the A-bomb exploded  Nagasaki: Before A-bomb photo  Nagasaki: After A-bomb photo
 Nagasaki: August 9, 1945. A-bomb mushroom cloud from U.S. bomber's perspective  Nagasaki: Under the A-bomb mushroom cloud. 80,000 people, mostly civilians, died instantly.  Nagasaki: Wasteland 800 meters south of hypocenter  Nagasaki: Charred remains of two dead victims  Nagasaki: Train station area wasteland  Nagasaki: A-bomb museum - Gen. Eisenhower statement that the bombing of Japan was 'completely unnecessary'. [He also said 'the Japanese were ready to surrender and it wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing … and hated to see our country be the first to use such a weapon.'] Army General MacArthur saw 'no military justification for the dropping of the bomb.' Fleet Admiral Leahy said 'the Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender. Why attack women and children?' American's often say that dropping the atomic bombs 'saved millions of U.S. soldiers,' i.e., the U.S. was justified in killing over 100,000 innocent women and children to save the lives of its soldiers. Question: how were civilian women and children a threat to soldiers?] If the military leaders didn't think the A-bomb should be dropped then who made it happen, President Truman?  Nagasaki: A-bomb museum - Post-war U.S. military report statement that 'in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bomb had not been dropped'  Nagasaki: A-bomb hypocenter beneath the epicenter 500 meters overhead  Nagasaki: Heads of dead mother & child on train platform  Nagasaki: Mother & child victims  Nagasaki: Statue to remember that over 70% of the victims were women, children and senior citizens  Nagasaki: Scupture in Hypocenter Park depicting the suffering of women caused by the A-bomb  Nagasaki: Peace Memorial with names of A-bomb dead  Nagasaki: Peace Statue: right hand pointing to the A-bomb above and left hand pointing to peace
 Drawing by A-bomb survivor Keiji Nakazawa  Drawing by A-bomb survivor Keiji Nakazawa  Drawing by A-bomb survivor Keiji Nakazawa  Drawing by A-bomb survivor Keiji Nakazawa  Drawing by A-bomb survivor Keiji Nakazawa  Drawing by A-bomb survivor Keiji Nakazawa |  Saigon: War Remnants Museum prize-winning photo of family trying to flee American bombs (some dropped by Senator John McCain before his jet was shot down?)  Saigon: Unexploded American artillery. U.S. alleged to have used 14 million tons of bombs and shells  Saigon: U.S. Apache attack helicopter machine gun  Saigon: American plane spraying Agent Orange on Vietnamese people (photo). U.S. alleged to have used more than 70 million liters of toxic chemicals, including 44 million liters of Agent Orange  Saigon: Agent Orange victim  Saigon: Agent Orange victims  Saigon: Agent Orange victims  Saigon: Agent Orange victims  Saigon: Son My massacre by U.S. military (Senator John Kerry's similar massacre responsibility and confession were noted)  Saigon: Viet Cong Cu Chi underground tunnels  Saigon: Viet Cong Cu Chi underground tunnel  Saigon: Viet Cong weapons  Saigon: Viet Cong smokeless tunnel cooking
 Saigon: Thich Quang Duc, the monk who burned himself to death while meditating to non-violently oppose the attacks on Buddhists by the Catholic U.S. backed Diem regime. According to a New York Times reporter, the meditating monk 'never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound' while he burned to death - an amazing feat of separating consciousness from both mind and body. According to Henry Cabot Lodge, the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, the action 'horrified' U.S. President Kennedy and the Diem regime soon came to an end  Saigon: Thich Quang Duc temple portrait  Saigon: The monk's heart would not burn after two cremation attempts and is now held by the government in a bank vault  Saigon: Thich Quang Duc memorial at the burning site in downtown Saigon  Saigon: Thich Quang Duc memorial close-up | |||