Lessons from Hiroshima

Geography

President's Statement 1945

Mayor of Hiroshima 2004

Above: “Atomic Field was the ironic name given the U.S. Marine airstrip in Nagasaki. At the time no one knew how much radiation was in the area, nor what kind of hidden death lurked there. Hundreds of apparently healthy Japanese people died mysteriously months after the bombing, and strange ailments afflict survivors today, both Japanese and American veterans who served in and around Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

from Japan 1945, A U.S. Marine’s Photographs from Ground Zero by Joe O’Donnell

Geography

Japan, located in Eastern Asia, is a mountainous island chain between the North
Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula. It is 377,835 square kilometers--slightly smaller than the state of California.

Atomic Bomb Damage of Hiroshima

Distance from Ground Zero (km)	Killed	Injured	Population
0 -1.0	86%	10%	31,020
1.0 - 2.5	27%	37%	144,800
2.5 - 5.0	2%	25%	80,300
Total	27%	30%	256,300

Atomic Bomb Damage of Nagasaki

Distance from Ground Zero (km)	Killed	Injured	Population
0 -1.0	88%	6%	30,900
1.0 - 2.5	34%	29%	144,800
2.5 - 5.0	11%	10%	15,200
Total	22%	12%	173,800