He suffered burns on his face and neck that took four months to heal. 6, 1945, 16-year-old Lee watched the blue summer sky turned yellowish orange. "I ask younger people to never forget us and to understand the tragedy, absurdity and cruelty of the war so that nuclear weapons will be eliminated from the world as soon as possible." The city had a large number of Korean workers, including those forced to work without pay at mines and factories under Japan's 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula.Īt a memorial Wednesday for Korean victims, Lee laid flowers and prayed for those who perished. Some 20,000 ethnic Korean residents of Hiroshima are believed to have died in the nuclear attack. He also wants them to learn about the difficulty that Koreans have faced in Japan. But today Lee, a second-generation Korean born in Japan, is training young people to tell survivors' stories. Lee kept his secret as an atomic bombing survivor for nearly 70 years, not even telling his wife, always fearing people might notice the burn marks on the face. Lee Jong-keun speaks his experience of atomic bombing during an interview with The Associated Press in Hiroshima, western Japan, Tuesday, Aug. "Survivors won't be here 20 years from now, but our stories must be," said Lee, who will meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after Thursday's memorial to demand Japan do more to ban nuclear weapons. Lee kept his secret as an atomic bombing survivor for nearly 70 years, not even telling his wife, always fearing people might notice the burn marks on the face.īut today Lee, a second-generation Korean born in Japan, is training young people to tell survivors' stories. Hiroshima has become a beautiful place, but atomic bombs still exist, she says, and another nuclear attack would destroy the world. Now, Kondo is following in her father's footsteps, busy telling her stories to younger people. One day as an adolescent she was told to undress except for her underwear at a medical conference in an auditorium. Still, she suffered years of humiliation. She said she was grateful she met Lewis because it helped the hate go away. I knew that I should hate the war, not him," Kondo told The Associated Press. "He was not a monster he was just another human being. Kondo saw tears well in Lewis' eyes, and her hatred melted away. "Looking down from thousands of feet over Hiroshima, all I could think of was, 'God, what have we done?'" he said. While Kondo, who survived the bombing as an infant, was wondering if she would act on her fantasy and punch him, the host asked Lewis how he felt after dropping the bomb. Robert Lewis, co-pilot of B-29 bomber Enola Gay that dropped the bomb. Kiyoshi Tanimoto, one of six survivors profiled in John Hersey's book "Hiroshima." Kondo stared in hatred at another guest: Capt.
#Enola gay pilot meets survivor tv
Ten-year-old Kondo appeared on an American TV show called "This is Your Life" that was featuring her father, Rev. Kondo was determined to find the person who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, western Japan, the person that caused the suffering and the terrible facial burns of the girls at her father's church - and then square off and punch them in the face. In this image made from video, Koko Kondo speaks during an video interview from Miki city, western Japan, on July 30, 2020. Robert Lewis, co-pilot of the B-29 bomber Enola Gay that dropped the bomb. Kondo stared in hatred at another guest: Capt.
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Kiyoshi Tanimoto, one of six survivors profiled in John Hersey's book "Hiroshima." She was determined to find the person who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the person that caused the suffering and the terrible burns she saw on the faces of girls at her father's church - and then square off and punch them in the face.
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Koko Kondo had a secret mission as a girl: Revenge. Here are some of the stories of survivors interviewed by The Associated Press. They are desperate to rid the world of nuclear bombs and share with the young the first-hand horror they witnessed on Aug. Some watched as loved ones died, one by one, because of radiation from the bombing, and wondered - Am I next?Īs they grow old - their average age is 83 - many now feel an extreme urgency. Some harbored thoughts of revenge in their hearts. Many in Japan believed radiation sickness is infectious or hereditary. The survivors have also lived for decades with lingering shame, anger and fear.
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HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) - The atomic bomb that exploded over Hiroshima 75 years ago didn't just kill and maim.