ブックタイトルeigo13

概要

eigo13

Radiation Exposure（被爆）(198)Tadashi Abe（阿部 正）We were suffering extremely from a shortage of food supplies in 1945.We were often attacked by enemy fighter planes and lived in dark housesalmost every night because there were black-outs all over Hiroshima.Sometimes we even held our breath in an air-raid shelter at school. Studentswho lived near school, or who were members of the “School Defense Force,”sometimes hurried to school in the dark under air-raid warnings.The morning of August 6 was as hot as usual. I left my home located inMinamitakeya-cho to go to Hiroshima City Office. It was the meeting placefor eighth-grade students who worked to demolish buildings that day. Forsome reason, on the way there, I felt sick so I returned home and lay down inmy room. Who was to know that that decided my fate?Suddenly I saw a dazzling flash in our yard to the west of my house. Iinstinctively threw myself face down. At the same time my house suddenlycollapsed and I felt a strong pressure pushing down on me. Feeling more andmore pressure, I thought I must have been hit directly by a bomb. Strangelyenough, at that moment I thought that I was ready to die. Fortunately myhouse was only half-destroyed. When I looked around me, all the houses hadbeen destroyed. I heard voices crying “Help me!” from all over the place.There were so many fires here and there and the heart of the city looked likeone big fire. The scene in the streets, filled with debris, was like a picture ofHell. Ragged and half-naked people staggered to the south. Their skins wereburned hideously. There were even people with skins hanging down fromtheir fingertips. A boy could be identified as a middle-school student onlybecause his school cap had been burned and only that part of his hair wasleft. People were black all over due to the burns and dust. Then one of themspoke to my mother, “Oh, Mrs. Abe!” “Who are you?” said my mother. “I’mNakanishi. I’m going home.” My mother was shocked to realize that he wasmy classmate who lived near us. All she could do was to say, “Please takecare.”All of my family, except my eldest sister and I, were injured or burnt andevacuated. My eldest sister and I evacuated after we rescued our uncle whohad been buried alive under the building next door. There were many peoplecollapsing near Miyuki Bridge. Lots of injured people were lying on thesidewalk of the bridge. This scene still appears clearly in my mind, even now.