Chikako Sunasawa was eighteen years old at that time. She entered Hiroshima two day later as a relief squad member, and she thus became an A-bomb victim. As the result of giving aid to A-bomb victims inside the city for a full week, she was troubled by the aftereffects, and after that time, she continued to live and work as a nurse. She still doesn't want to talk about that miserable experience.
【To Hiroshima After the A-bombing】
In those days, I was working as a nurse. I think that it was about 1944, there were various incidents such as the air raids on Tokyo and Osaka. I was recommended and then chosen to part of the group of ten nurses to assist with patient care. Although I was the youngest, I was one of the members to serve in Hiroshima. On the evening of August 6th, we received orders that said, ""The relief squad must make preparations for departure tomorrow."" On August 7th, we departed from Tottori Station heading for Hiroshima. At the time, we did not know where we were being sent to. As we passed through Sunoi, we heard that Hiroshima had been completely destroyed, and so we figured we must be on our way to Hiroshima.
On the way to Hiroshima, at one of the stops and as it was approaching night fall, we were asked to leave the train as they feared that the enemy plans would spot its lights. On the following morning, we boarded the train and set out for Hiroshima. The farther west we progressed, the more broken roofs and fallen walls came into view. When we reached Yaga Station, we were told, the train cannot go any farther so we got off there. From there, all of us tromped toward Hiroshima. It was a very hot summer day. Wearing our work cloths and covering our heads with handkerchiefs and towels we continued to walk. Along the way, we could see that many roofs had been broken or blown away.
【The Horrible Scene After the A-bombing】
The instant that we reached the summit of the pass, we were so shocked by the sight of Hiroshima that we really could not speak a single word. We could see what I believe is currently known as the Atomic Bomb Dome. We all decided to walk that far, and set out walking again. It was a little before noon. Only one bomb burned all of large Hiroshima city. One telephone pole was all burned 1 meter above ground. Around here was sizzling and smoking. The surrounding rivers were full of floating dead bodies. They were being gathered and taken to another location. In retrospect, I think they probably were burned to death by the atomic bomb.
【Relief Activities After the A-Bombing】
It was after 2pm when we reached an elementary school. There were people both alive and dead and those hardly breathing filling the entire gymnasium. We had no idea where to start to nurse them. At that time, there were no medications or anything. I don't even remember whether we had brought alone such things as tweezers. So I think that they must have come from the military. There was a local government office in front of the elementary school where we boiled water in a big cauldron over a fire. We had no other medication, the only sterilizer that we had was cresol. Using tweezers and gauze soaked in cresol, we carefully treated thousands of patients.
This was on the morning of the 8th. In a word, I think the best way to put it is ""Very frightening."" In those days we didn't use the word ""Atomic bomb."" Both adults and children all said, ""The Pikadon is frightening."" ""B29s are frightening."" and ""The power of the Pikadon is amazing, isn't it?""
【The Miserable Condition of the A-bomb Victims】
There were so many of them. But since it was, after all, the third day, to a certain extent, I think, the cremation of the dead, separating from the living had been carried out. We took care of the seriously ill patients, but usually the following day they had died. We did not deal with the dead people as after all, we were just nurses and are here to treat the survivors. There are all sorts of photographs of people whose skin was in shreds. That really is the way it was. The side that was exposed to the flash of the bomb was usually severely burned and therefore we couldn't move them and had to leave them as they were.
Even so, we would change the soiled gauze, and stick on fresh gauze. There was no medication. There was no hope. We couldn't tell the patients that there is nothing else that can be done. All we could do was continue to remove the maggots from their wounds.
Upon our return, most of us were so troubled that we were unable to work for a while, so we just rested. While home on furlough, we heard the broadcast by the Emperor declaring the end of the war. About a week later, one morning when I tried to get up to go to work, I was unable to get out of bed. Although I knew I couldn't be having morning sickness, I felt generally nauseous.
【Concerning Aftereffects】
My second daughter said to me when I was worrying about the children of atomic bomb victims, ""Please do not think about it pessimistically.""
【Discrimination Against A-bomb Survivors】
I heard that there are atomic bomb victims who live very quiet lives. Everybody should speak out, but it seems as though they can't bring themselves to do so. I also, for fifty years, didn't come out and speak clearly about such things at all.
【Never Repeat Again】
In any case, war kills people indiscriminately, that is what war is like. Every mother must have a clear way of thinking on this subject and they must educate their children. Otherwise their own children and grandchildren may be forced to go to war again some day. The strength of each individual is small, but I believe if everyone combined their effort, it would be greater. If everyone unifies their hearts into one, I think that we can form a stronger power.
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