His Memory of August 6, 1945

Nisei Parents His family Traveled to Japan in 1940 His Memory of August 6, 1945 Immediately after the bombing Escape from Hiroshima Other family members not as lucky Returning to Hiroshima in ruins His parents had little hope that he had survived the atomic bomb Reuniting with parents in America Adjustment to American life The moment he realized he identified as an American Overcoming trauma and speaking about his A-Bomb experience On telling his wife he had radiation sickness and his son’s cancer His views on nuclear weapons

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It was Monday morning, a bright sunny day, probably a beautiful day as I recall. And we got ready for school. In Japan, there was no summer vacation in those days. We had school in August. So my brother Kenny and I, we got dressed and started towards school when we saw quite a number of kids coming back from school, towards us, and they told us that there has been enemy aircraft warningin the neighborhood—vicinity of Hiroshima. So the school was canceled that day. Happily, we ran home, changed into our play clothes and just about that time was about eight o’clock in the morning or maybe thereafter, and then the air raid siren sounded again.

Kenny and I, when we heard the siren, we climbed up onto the roof of our house, watching the vapor trail in the distance coming over. The B-29 always had nice, beautiful vapor trail[s]. And it was such a clear day you could see it clearly. During that time my grandmother came out of the kitchen extremely mad, and she told us to get off the roof. So we grudgingly came off the roof.

Then my brother Kenny went towards the front, [where there] was a side gate, like a mon. And he went through there. My grandmother, seeing that we came off the roof, went back to the kitchen and presumably she continued doing the dishes. I myself went into a separate structure which we had next to the kitchen or next to the house that housed the bath house, ofuro. And I went underneath that structure when the bomb exploded. Exploded or detonated.

Now in the outskirts of Japan, people will say that there was a huge flash, and then several seconds later there would be a huge boom and cloud of dust coming towards them at tremendous speed. Well I was only three quarter or one kilometer from ground zero*, which is 3300 feet, which is relatively close. The flash and the boom were probably less than a second apart.

*Note: Howard was actually 1.3 kilometer (about 4300 feet) from ground zero.

Date: September 3, 2019
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Masako Miki
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

a-bomb atomic bomb hibakusha hiroshima World War II