This photo of Hiroshima was taken in March 1946, nearly half a year after the atomic bomb was dropped on Aug. 6, 1945, and shows the extensive destruction caused by the blast. REUTERS | REUTERS
By William Lambers
Contributing writer
Aug 5, 2026
At 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 6, 1945, the morning rush had begun in Hiroshima. Streetcars rattled through the city, office workers settled at their desks and children prepared for another day of school. Then, in an instant, a blinding flash brighter than the sun engulfed the city.
A U.S. B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, had dropped the world’s first atomic bomb used in war. Tens of thousands died within moments as a mushroom cloud climbed into the sky. By the end of 1945, an estimated 140,000 people had died from the blast, burns and radiation.
Among those who witnessed the bombing was Tameto Uemori, a member of a suburban guard unit sent the following day to help victims at the center of the devastation. In his 40s at the time, Uemori witnessed the detonation from miles away, but the next day began searching through the ruins for members of his family. Along the way, he tried desperately to help the wounded. Everywhere he looked were scenes almost beyond imagination: people burned beyond recognition, victims crying out for water and entire neighborhoods reduced to ashes.
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