Hiroshima Bombing Effects

At approximately 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945 a US B-29 Bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, instantly killing around 80,000 men, women, and children. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, causing the deaths of 40,000 more. The dropping of the bombs, which was given by order of the President, Harry Truman, remains the only nuclear attack in history. In the months following the attack, approximately 100,000 more people died slow and atrocious deaths due to the radiation poisoning from the bombs. In 1942, over 100,000 scientists were working on the development of the bomb, called the Manhattan Project. It was the most secret wartime project in history. The lead scientist on the Manhattan
Japan was defeated as well, but would not surrender. The US was contemplating an invasion of Japan. Army leaders figured that anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million US and Allied soldiers would die in an invasion. President Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb instead. The first bomb dropped on Hiroshima, later called Little Boy, was made from uranium. The bomb was dropped by a plane named the Enola Gay which was piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbetts. The bomb itself was over 10 feet long and weighed around 10,000 pounds. A small parachute was on the bomb in order to slow its drop and allow the plane time to fly away from the blast zone. Despite witnessing the terrible destruction of the bomb on Hiroshima, Emperor Hirohito and Japan still refused to surrender. Three days later another atomic bomb made out of plutonium, nicknamed Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki,
Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced his country’s unconditional surrender in World War II in a radio address on August 15, because of the devastating power of “a new and most cruel bomb.” It was the first time most Japanese had heard his voice. After World War II, most of Hiroshima would be rebuilt, though one destroyed section was set aside as a reminder of the effects of the atomic bomb. Each August 6, thousands of people gather at Peace Memorial Park to join in interfaith religious services commemorating the anniversary of the