Man Who Survived Two Atomic Bombs Dies in Old Age
Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only person officially recognized as surviving both U.S. atomic bomb attacks on Japan, died earlier this month of stomach cancer. He was 93.
On August 6, 1945, Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a business trip when the first bomb dropped. After an overnight stay in the city, he returned to his hometown of Nagaski shortly before the second bomb was dropped on August 9. Ironically, Yamaguchi said he was retelling the story of the first bomb dropping to his supervisor when the second bomb dropped.
Despite suffering adverse effects from each blast, Yamaguchi managed to live a long life telling the story of his survival. Upon Yamaguchi’s death, the BBC reports that the mayor of Nagasaki said, “A precious storyteller has been lost.”
Additionally, Yamaguchi was an outspoken critic against nuclear weapons, citing what the weapons did with the dignity of humans. After the two atomic bombs dropped in Japan, Yamaguchi lost all his hair and suffered radiation poisoning.
The number of innocent lives lost in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki totaled well over 200,000.
[photo: Justin McCurry]
Tags: atomic bomb, Hiroshima, Japan, Nagasaki, stomach cancer, Tsutomu Yamaguchi
