Journal 7 Zach Smith

Part One: My biggest takeaways from reading Hiroshima are, the amount of destruction and aftereffects that the atomic bomb can cause. Also, the impact and scarring it has left on the city of Hiroshima and the generation during and after the atomic bomb. What really helped me take away just the amount of destruction and suffering the atomic bomb caused where the very detailed conditions of the people who had survived the blast. Things like " He reached down and took a woman by the hands, but her skin slipped off in huge glovelike pieces." This really showed me in a graphic way that just how devastating to the people of Hiroshima the atomic bomb was. What really showed me the continuing effect that the bomb has had on the people of Hiroshima of current and past where the aftereffects. The diseases like cancer and other health effects that were caused by dropping the bomb really show's the continuing effects of the atomic bomb. What shows me the effects it had on the city and continues to have are the letters you showed us in class from the mayor of Hiroshima. This really showed me the lasting effects that this has had on the city of Hiroshima and also shows that it will continue to affect the people of Hiroshima even if they weren't alive during the dropping of the atomic bomb.

Part Two: When Dan Carlin was talking about his stepfather in his podcast, that definitely was the part where he was talking about his stepfather. This really impacted me when he talked about when his stepfather realized that every day he lived after his 18th birthday was thanks to the atomic bomb. His stepfather thought this because he was sure he would have died with what he was doing in the navy if we hadn't dropped the atomic bomb on Japan. This really shows the impacted the bomb had on the military personnel in the United States.

Part Three: I think the most important thing we can do in moving forward is to not allow ourselves to forget the past. We need to realize as a world that these weapons cause more damage then what is seen right after the blast. They continue to affect the people and the environment after the bomb is dropped. We all need to come together and realize that total war isn't acceptable anymore and should never again be allowed. Remembering what happened in the past will allow us as a society to prevent it from ever happening again.