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Hiroshima, located in south Japan,. was chosen by the United States to be the target of the first ever atomic bombing.. The bomb was nicknamed
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1. The Bombing of Hiroshima August 6, 1945
3. was chosen by the United States to be the target of the first ever atomic bombing.
4. The bomb was nicknamed little boy.
5. On the morning of August 6, 1945, little boy was loaded onto the Enola Gay, the plane that was to drop the bomb.
6. At approximately 8:15 am, the bomb was dropped over Hiroshima.
7. "A blast occurred, followed by darkness. I flew through the air and crashed onto some stones." (university student)
8. Looking at these people, I could hardly imagine how I must have looked. My hands were red with blood, with skin hanging down. In my wounded flesh I saw black, red, and white things appearing. I was alarmed and tried to remove my handkerchief from my pocket. But there was no handkerchief and pocket. The clothes below my waist were burned away." (a university student)
9. Four or five trucks in the square suddenly burst into flame. Telegraph poles were burning, and the wooden walls too. I felt uneasy. Am I alive or am I in a different world..." (witness age 16)
10. "Three of us - Grandpa, Grandma, and I - ran away together. On the way we came across a soldier seriously burned, with a face red like the devil's, moaning with pain." (witness age 11)
11. Hiroshima was the primary target of the first atomic bomb mission. In every detail, the attack was carried out exactly as planned, and the bomb performed exactly as expected. The Japanese early warning radar net had detected the approach of some American aircraft headed for the southern part of Japan. The alert had been given and radio broadcasting stopped in many cities, among them Hiroshima. 8:00 A.M., the radar operator in Hiroshima determined that the number of planes coming in was very small and the air raid alert was lifted. No raid was expected beyond some sort of reconnaissance.
12. At 8:15 A.M., the bomb exploded with a blinding flash in the sky, and a great rush of air and a loud rumble of noise extended for many miles around the city; the first blast was soon followed by the sounds of falling buildings and of growing fires, and a great cloud of dust and smoke began to cast a pall of darkness over the city.
13. Diorama:Hiroshima before bombing
14. Diorama:Hiroshima after bombing
15. Three days later on August 9th, the city of Nagasaki was bombed.
16. The effects of the atomic bomb were equally as devastating in Nagasaki as they were in Hiroshima.
17. Why Hiroshima? Why Nagasaki?It has been said that these two cities were chosen in order to produce the greatest military effect on the Japanese people and thereby most effectively shorten the war.
18. These two cities were also chosen because they met other requirements:They contained large percentages of closely-built frame buildings and other construction that would be most susceptible to damage by blast and fire. They contained densely built-up areas of the right size and population. They had high military strategic value and neither city had been struck by military forces before.
19. These were requirements because the US government wanted to make sure the bombs damaged as much as possible.This also meant the bombs would be dropped in places where there were dense populations of people as well as structures.
20. But was the decision to drop the atomic bomb in Japan essential to shorten the war?There has been speculation that there was really no need to drop the bombs in these cities because Japan would have surrendered either way, and that this was a vengeful act on the part of the United States, a payback for Pearl Harbor.
21. The United States government maintains that the bombings were necessary in order to force Japan's surrender as quickly as possible to minimize American casualties. In addition, the United States needed to use the atomic bomb against Japan before the Soviet Union entered the war to establish US dominance after the war. Further, the Americans wanted to use the world's first atomic bomb for an actual attack and observe its effect.
22. Whatever the reasons, this event was a horrible tragedy for the Japanese people and the world. It is a devastating event that will live on in history forever.
23. References:http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/peacesite/English/Stage1/S1-4E.htmlhttp://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/abomb/mp05.htmhttp://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/abomb/mp07.htm http://www.lclark.edu/~history/HIROSHIMA/
24. Picture References:Slides 2, 6, 13, 14 http://www.lclark.edu/~history/HIROSHIMA/ Slides 7, 8, 9, 10http://www.hiroshima-is.ac.jp/Hiroshima/photogallary.htm Slides 1, 5http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=atomic+bomb+enola+gay/v=2/SID=e/l=IVR/SIG=11vsufi1p/EXP=1111507757/*-http%3A//www.acepilots.com/usaaf_tibbets.htmlSlides 3,4http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=atomic+bomb+enola+gay/v=2/SID=e/l=IVR/SIG=12hfp0p8g/EXP=1111507854/*-http%3A//www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/truman/psources/ps_einstein.htmlSlides 15, 16, 19http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/ Slide 22http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=hiroshima+memorial/v=2/SID=e/l=IVR/SIG=139asob8m/EXP=1111518758/*-http%3A//www.kathar.com/japan/20030327/Hiroshima%20-%20memorial%20in%20Peace%20Park.htm