The late Mr.Terao's memoir "A Personal Record of Hiroshima A-bomb Survival" (Part 5) re-post

I am, by myself, astonished by the unexpected size of the responses.

But I now feel relieved by posting my memoir, because many people have learned even a bit of the fact.
At he same time, I am ashamed myself of the lack of courage for 46 years.

I have been to Hiroshima many times, but I don't know why I did not pay a visit to Peace Memorial Park, Atomic Bomb Museum, or the Atomic Bomb Dome.I just watched them on TV. I hate to remember IT.

I lost many friends to the A-Bombing.
Two years ago, I lost another friend because of leukemia. I often hear of the second and third generations of Hibakusha.
I undergo a periodical medical checkup twice a year as a Hibakusha.
But I can't erase vague uncertainty from my mind. This will remain until I die.

But it is useless to think only of the matter. I must look at the reality that I live, allowed to live. I will look forward to pursue a dream, drawing an ideal, and making efforts to be useful for the people and for the society.

Thank you for all who responded to my posting, the members of Watarase Net, and others who read it in earnest.

Now, I appeal again: NEVER AGAIN SUCH A THING.

Thank you for your reading.

Terao

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum 30th.June 1996

Good evening, Mr.Matsumura.

I greatly appreciate the late Mr. Terao and you who are making enormous efforts to understand Japan in the day when Mr.Terao and I were young.
Please kindly convey "My War" to Mr.Hoya of Watarase Net as well.

A half century has passed since then. I can not but help to realize again that we have come a long way until now. God made me survive so long in a peaceful times. As I am getting older, what I recall now is of those people who lost their lives in the tragedy.

I can by all means believe that "peace of today" is a precious present from the victims.

Augst 8, Masako Uratsuka

"As your grandpa was a little bid short in height, he was happy not to be drafted as a soldier."
My grandma repeatedly tells me like this whenever I ask her on the war.

She ponders on something for a while and then talks to me in a way I can understand.
The word "death" never comes out of her mouth.

Just saying "He was happy not becoming a soldier... A family that could not offer a soldier had also many hard times.
I don't know how to express my sentiment.

The war told by my grandma is always chilly and painful..... I want the warmth of human.

The "Peace Lesson" was over without any problems and only a few students noticed the siren for the prayer in silence.

I never forget tears in my grandma's eyes.

Aki Goto

@response Machiko Hotani�i WAN) 91/08/09 11:42

Dear Mr.Matsumura, thank you for the transmission of the memoir. Don't worry anything about disturbance of communication. It is the basic feature of a PC communication to talk over between here in Kiryu and remote Oita. It never disturbs anything else. On the contrary, as this site has a huge amount of posting, I rather worry about if the Memoir could be lost in this flood of information.

I have once been a resident of Oita, as I mentioned before. It is doubtful whether I had had a chance to read the memoir even had I stayed in Oita. I might have spent my life without getting acquainted with the late Mr. Terao, Mrs. Uratsuka, and Mr. Matsumura, and other people. What ironical the life is to realize that even in the same community, we couldn't encounter but living in a remote district we can exchange our hearts.

Thank you Mr.Matsumura for your kindness of transmitting Mrs.Uratsuka's message to me. Her word "Please convey my war." What a beautiful but sad phrase it is! But I by myself hope to post the memoir to our net to be read by as many people as possible. Our district suffered a relatively small damage of the war. Most people here don't know about the tragedy of Hiroshima and haven't visited remote Hiroshima. I have heard that in your district, you have many opportunities of "experience" by school trip or by "Peace Lesson." If you agree, I ask you again, for fear not to be lost in the tons of messages, to post the memoir to our "discussion room" for us who have few chances to learn. It is a good timing to post it now because the "discussion room" has few posting recently. What is going on at your site? The previous topic was nuclear power plant , not so distant from the new theme, Atomic Bomb. What do you think about my suggestion?

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park 30th.June 1996

A response from Kimiko Kaneginu a student of Toyama university(CASE NET)

I am a young student who knows nothing about war and atomic bomb at all. I think Mr.Terao's memoir has a strong power to give fear to readers. This means, in turn, the environment around us has a possibility of the repeat. If the memoir had no relation with the today's situation at all, it would not have appealed so strong to the readers.

Man is always selfish. Those people who experienced or are experiencing the terror of nuclear appeal the danger of it. But for those who live in a remote area from it cannot understand the terror.

Just a few days ago, I saw on TV a live-like vivid report of the Gulf War. I wondered if Japanese young people living in a peaceful land could learn the tragedy of the war from the film. I think they couldn't learn it in a remote place from the battle field. Some of them might have learned a little but whole society didn't budge. I dare say the film was not so useful.

The best way to understand the tragedy of a war is to be involved in it. But this requires too big a sacrifice. The memoir is, therefore the second best way to understand it.

Mr.Terao has said he wrote to the limit, but is this all that he has actually experienced and wanted to say? If so, we young people must appreciate the Memoir repeatedly to learn something from it, mustn't we?

I am just a young woman who knows nothing about the tragedy of a war or the terror of nuclear bombs. I am eager to hear much more stories.

Thank you for your patience for reading my message. Now I'll quit mine.

Kimiko Kaneginu

@respons Makoto Takakusagi �iWAN�j91/08/13 00:05

We have just a few days until the memorial day of the-end-of-the-world-war2. At this time, there are opinions from many people to preserve the records of the war.
To respond to this, I have copied some postings by COARA members such as those of Mr.Terao, Mrs.Uratsuka, and Mr.Matsumura to our Discussion Room.
Not limited to the form of discussion, I hope many people will join the section and talk about the record on which the Japanese should not forget forever and preserve it for our children in the form of a digital record.

Postings from children who do not know the war are also welcomed.

Now, let us try what we can record in cooperation with COARA and WAN.

Discussion Room: SIG operator Makoto takakusagi