Essay on The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb

The two bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II were the only atomic bombs ever to be used in warfare. The United States are the only country to have ever made an atomic bomb and use it. Each bomb alone weighed around ten thousand pounds. Little Boy was the code name for the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th 1945. Three days after the first bomb was dropped the U.S dropped Fat Man on Nagasaki. Sixty six thousand people died in the first few seconds after Little Boy detonated. Sixty nine thousand suffered from different types of injuries. Around forty thousand people died instantly when Fat Man was dropped just three days later and thousands later died from other injuries. Altogether and estimated one hundred and thirty thousand people died from both bombs. Even one hour after the bombings what remained of Hiroshima was still burning. A majority of the city was completely flattened. Ninetythree percent of all the nurses and over ninety percent of the doctors were either killed or injured. Since most of them were stationed in the downtown area of the city which received most of the damage. All the hospitals were either completely destroyed or suffered great damages which prevented them from any aid to survivors in need of medical care. Not till ten years after the bombings did the long term effect in the survivors become apparent. The increased risk of cancer in survivors was first noted in 1956. Not long after this did tumors

Many people ended up being injured and the cities were leveled. Radiation was produced from the bombs which caused more deaths to come. After five years the average amount of deaths equaled up to 275,000 total people from the impact, injuries or radiation sickness.

On August 6, 1945, after failing to earn an unconditional surrender from the Japanese armed forces, the United States dropped an atomic bomb Hiroshima. The decimation was horrific. Approximately 146,000 people were killed in Hiroshima; it is estimated that only half of the victims died on the day of the bombing. The effects of the nuclear bomb were long-lasting, leading to deaths both by radiation poisoning and leukemia. And then, only three days later, the United States dropped another atomic bomb on Japan, this time in Nagasaki. Approximately 80,000 people were killed by the second atomic bomb; half of their deaths, too, were a result of the acute effects of the radiation. Nearly all of the victims of the United States’ atomic bombs were

The aUnited States Department of Energy has estimated that after five years there were perhaps 200,000 or more fatalities as a result of the bombing, while the city of Hiroshima has estimated that 240,000 people were killed directly by the effects of the bomb, including burns, radiation sickness, and even

Within the first few months after the bombing, it is estimated, by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, that between 90,000 and 166,000 people died in Hiroshima, plus another 60,000 to 80,000 in Nagasaki. Even though these are just estimates, they represent the destruction of nuclear weapons. However, as many survivors pass away, there is hope because the diseases have not spread to their children, allowing the cities to once again prosper. If the bombs were not to explode so far above the surface, the deaths, destruction, condemnation, and radiation would be immeasurably worse. Due to this, the cities have not become wastelands and hope has survived (Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The Long Term Health

The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The second was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Roughly 110,000 people died immediately, leaving another 100,00 people injured in both cities. Approximately 200,000 more died from illness or injury related to the bombings. Only 150 of the 74,000 people in Nagasaki that died were military personell. Thousands were forced to endure life-long issues due to the exposure of radiation and impact related complications. The United States showed Japan they were ready to use atomic technology to finish World War II. Prompted by not only the bombings, but by the Soviet Union’s decision to join to Allies, Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945. Thousands of victims died from the bombings, while survivors and their relatives faced serious injury and health issues. The most common health issues occurring were purple spots found on bodies, hair loss, high fevers, infections, and swollen and bleeding gums. Sunao Tsuboi, a survivor of the Hiroshima bombings, was on his way of university classes when the bomb fell. According to Gale Global Issues in Context, “His body was burned from head to toe.The pain was so severe that Mr. Tsuboi was certain he would die” (Survivors recount horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1). Saved by a classmate, Mr. Tsuboi was taken to a military hospital. It took him a year to walk again. Mr. Tanaka, a survivor of the Nagasaki bombings, was playing under a tree when the bomb fell. As stated in Gale Global Issues in Context, “He heard a huge thunderclap and the sky went completely white. All the windows in his family's home were blown out. His mother went to work at a local elementary school where survivors were taken for medical treatment. There, Mr. Tanaka heard moans and smelled the stench of burning flesh” (Survivors recount horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1). His parents

Father Tanimoto, Hatsuyo Nakamura, and Father Kleinsorge all suffered from radiation sickness. The sickness had three phases: First, the affected those in close proximity to the bomb which civilians experiences headaches, fever, vomiting, and fatigue. The second phase included hair falling out, extreme fever, abdominal pain, and white-blood and red-blood cell count were affected which appeared came 10 to 30 days after. The third and final stage occurred as a result of the body attempting to offset the previous illnesses. The flood also occurred after the bomb, which destroyed all the buildings and bridges that had survived the bomb. After the flood, Dr. Fujii had set up his own little medical practice to help nearby civilians. Dr. Sasaki fundamentally lived in the Emergency Room, one of his patients came to be Toshiko Sasaki who still suffered from injuries. While at Dr. Sasaki’s hospital, Toshiko Sasaki became severely depressed, but overcame her sadness through her consultations with Father Kleinsorge. These personal experiences illustrate the damage done during and after the bomb was dropped. Despite the casualties, some Japanese people do not hold any hatred for Americans for it was war, and there is only victory or defeat in war - no rules.

When Hiroshima, Japan is ever mentioned, almost everyone feels a deep down feeling of sadness. The bomb that the United States created called “Little Boy” was dropped on August 6th, 1945. This was done to help end the war that North America and their allies were ready to end. Therefore when this bomb was dropped, it was concluded as a war ending step for America but came with a big life altering cost for Hiroshima. The aftermath left many people killed, injured, or missing but also left a few survivors which are extremely lucky. These survivors however are paying the price that many of the one killed had already experienced to this day. Acute Radiation Syndrome also known

After dropping 43 seconds in the air, a controlled explosion fired a subcritical mass a Uranium 235 bullet down a barrel into a second subcritical mass of Uranium 235 target. Together, they triggered a nuclear fission chain reaction, in which solid matter became apart, releasing untold quantities of energy. This was the beginning of one of the worst catastrophic events created by mankind. The bomb’s massive pressure waves and winds of cyclonic velocity obliterated anything in its path. The blazing inferno rapidly consumed the city leaving nothing but chaos and confusion. By the end of 1945, 90,000 to 120,000 civilians were killed in Hiroshima and about 60,000 to 80,000 more in Nagasaki as a result of exposure to the intense heat, physical force, and ionizing radiation (Douple, Evan B., et al). The conventional wisdom outside Japan is that the destruction of the city was a necessary evil that ended the war. However, while the dropping of the bombs may have ended the war, the gruesome effects of radiation on human body left

It is estimated that within the first few months after the bombing, it is estimated between 90,000 & 166,000 people died in Hiroshima, while another 60,000 to 80,000 died in Nagasaki (K1project.org/explore-health/Hiroshima-and-Nagasaki). Those deaths are associated with any impact from the bombing as well as exposure to long-term radiation.

Even though Nagasaki was devastating Hiroshima had an even more powerful bomb dropped on them. For example, in Hiroshima, 150,000 people died

For the survivors, it was documented that they suffered burns, infection, injuries, trauma, and loss of food and clean water. Lots of medical facilities were destroyed and thus cannot treat enough patients at the time causing more chaos. On October 2, 1945, after Japan surrendered, the USA formed a “Joint Commission for the Investigating of the Effects of the Atomic Bomb in Japan” to study the effects of radiation exposure from the survivors. It was President Harry Truman that approved a long-term study to the National Research Council to study the effects of the atomic bomb, which then led to the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) and restructured to the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF). This journal review will consist of the research from the ABCC/RERF.

The brightness of the atomic weapons was very similar to the sun and the intense heat was very comparable to the interior of the sun. The bombs relayed light energy that was considered to be thermal radiation that burned cities and bodies instantly. In Hiroshima, sixty-six thousand people were killed and over sixty-nine thousand were critically injured In Nagasaki, thirty-nine thousand people were killed and around twenty-five thousand were injured. At the end, the final number of casualties was between a quarter to two-thirds of the population. The manner in which the people died varied, some were killed by the radiation given off by the bombs, others died from the burns from the severe heat, people also died by the blunt force or trauma of the debris, and some died from a mixture of everything. For those who managed to survive, they were diagnosed with cancer from the strong amounts of radiation that was emitted. The babies, of the pregnant women, were born with birth defects and suffered from brain damage. It is estimated that around seventy-thousand newborns were examined in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Included in that number, five to eight hundred of them were examined inside of the home. During that time, there was no detection of genetic injuries. As recent as 2008, there have been new studies performed on survivors of the bombings and their ancestors that now reveal undeniable evidence to changes in DNA, abnormality, and

The nuclear bombs code named “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” were detonated over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the summer of August 1945 by the United States of America in an attempt to end World War II. The immediate death toll was extremely high with an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 people killed upon impact of the bombs due to the extreme heat, flying shrapnel, and the pressure of the blast wave. The overall death toll is now estimated to be about 192,020 dead due to long term health effects such as radiation poisoning and burns. These bombs also caused a multitude of long term medical and social problems for surviving victims such as in utero mutations in future generations of children and a large percentage of homeless citizens after the war. As a result of these bombs the Japanese emperor Hirohito accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration ending World War II. These bombings remain the single most horrific acts of warfare ever carried out on another country.

The effects of the Hiroshima bombing on Japan were life shattering. Death counts rose as high as 80,000, just after the bomb was dropped, and 50,000 more later died of injuries, radiation contact, sicknesses, and long-term effects such as cancer and birth deficiencies("Counting Deaths"). This totaled 130,000 dead. (“The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”) “The plane dropped the bomb--known as "Little Boy"--by parachute at 8:15 in the morning, and it exploded 2,000 feet above Hiroshima in a blast equal to 12-15,000 tons of TNT, destroying five square miles of the city” (“The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”). This was the power of just one bomb, the first atomic bomb ever dropped in history. The city of Hiroshima was left in ruins, with nothing left but rubble and bodies. Although the Japanese were affected tremendously, other areas were not as traumatized by the results, but they were still stunned.