Tsutomu Yamaguchi survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing atrocities.
Yamaguchi lived in Nagasaki but had gone for a business related trip to Hiroshima. On August 6, 1945 as he was returning home with colleagues when he had forgotten a stamp required for travelling. After collecting it as he was returning the bomber Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy”. Yamaguchi was in a 3 kilometer radius of the bombing site. The explosion impaired his hearing ability and temporarily blinded him. He suffered burns which were treated on his return to Nagasaki. Despite of this he still went to work on August 9.
Ironically, as Yamaguchi was describing the bombing to his supervisor at work bomber plane Bockscar dropped the “Fat Man”. This time, again, Yamaguchi was within a 3 kilometer radius of the explosion but again survived with minimal damage.
Yamaguchi died at the age of 93 in January, 2010 of stomach cancer.
He was a legend. The way destiny took him from one bomb site to another and still made him a survivor is hard to believe, yet it’s true.
Source: Quora
Vocabulary Help
- atrocity – atrocidade
- bomber – bombardeiro
- burns – queimaduras
- business related trip – viagem de negócios
- drop – deixar cair, soltar
- forget (forget, forgot, forgotten) – esquecer
- hard to believe – difícil de acreditar
- hearing ability – audição
- impair – prejudicar, danificar
- minimal damage – com danos mínimos
- stamp – selo
- survivor – sobrevivente
- temporarily blinded him – cegou-o temporariamente
- yet it’s true – ainda assim é verdade