A Twist of Fate vol.1 ~This is my grandfather's story~

This post will be very long and serious. There won't be too much joking going on, therefore if you wish, you're more than welcome to abort, but if you choose to keep reading, I thank you first for giving me this chance to share my story. So, here goes...

I was born in Hiroshima, Japan, where the first ever Atomic bomb was dropped on human soil. My grandfather (my mom's dad) M.K was a photographer for the Army during World War II operating out of his photo studio.

On the morning of August 6, my grandpa opened his photo studio in the Hondori shopping district around 7:00 a.m., just as usual. Then realizing he had ran out of cigarettes he closed the studio and decided to go to the store to pick up a pack or two. This store just happened to be a Japanese Army depot in a underground shelter. When he walked down stairs and began to say hello to the people he knew, suddenly, they heard a very large and very loud noise the ground started shaking.The people in the shelter didn't know what was happening, but everybody knew to stay put because, something terrible had just happened.

After several hours had passed the people in the shelter decided to go outside, and what they saw was indiscribable the total devastation of Hiroshima. Everything was gone. My grandfather decided to go back to his photo studio and once he got there, all he saw was a burned out building he had once called his studio.

Then he realized, he had to do something; to help injured people. People were screaming and crying out for help. It was Hell. After a while, my grandpa heard this tiny voice calling his name. "Mr. K., Mr K..," the girl said. He looked around and started walking towards where the voice was coming from. There, he saw a young lady in the emergency water tank whispering my grandpa's name. He ran up to her, but her face was severely burned.

My grandpa asked, "I'm so sorry, but do I know you?," then the girl replied, "It's me, Mr. K, you took my arrangement marriage photos several months ago...."

My grandfather's heart sunk, then he knew exactly who it was, not many people were getting married due to the war.

The girl begged my grandfather to take her back to her parents house which was many miles away. "I want to see my dad.. I want to see my mom.. Can you please take me back?" the girl asked. My grandfather decided to carry her on his back and started walking. My grandfather told her stories, and told her to hang in there because he'd bring her home to her parents. But soon the girl had died on my grandpa's back. He walked the entire day and arrived to her house late at night.

The girl's parents heard about the news that something horrible happened in the city and they were really concerned about their daughter. They were devastated for the loss of their daughter, but they were truly grateful to my grandfaher for returning her to them even though she had passed. The father of the girl told my grandpa to stay over night and the family fed my grandfather dinner and bunch of 'sake' (Japanese rice wine) to remember her life.

Many people who were in the city of Hiroshima at the time of the bombing or who later came to help the injured developed the symptoms of radiation sickness and many had died or had suffered for a long time. My grandfather was there near the epi-center, trying to help people, but had only minor symptom of diarrhea and loss of hair. It was miracle that he didn't develop luekemia or other type of cancer. He used to say the sake might have cleansed his body or maybe the girl was watching over for him.

My grandmother and mother who was only 6 month old were evacuated to the country side (town called Kake) several month earlier. My grandma heard about the horrible news, but there was no way to communicate with my grandfather or anybody in the city, so she feared the worst. Several days had passed, when my grandfather had showed up at their door, my grandmother was overwhelmed with happiness and joy.

Being a photographer (or Japanese. LOL), my grandfather always carried his favorite camera and he took many photos of the aftermath. Some of which are in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. (I added one photo to this post below.)

Because of my grandfather and what other innocent people had gone through during the WWII, I have strong feelings towards world peace and always want to do my part to spread the message.

Tomorrow, I am going to talk about the second installment of "A Twist of Fate ~And then we meet~".

Domo Arigato "thank you"

This is one of my grandfather's photo

Hiroshima A-bomb Dome; a symbol of Hiroshima