Death in Life

In 1962 I visited Hiroshima for the first time. I had been a Chaplain at a US Bomber Base. After my discharge, I wanted to see Hiroshima. Returning to America, I witnessed against the Vietnam War. I bought Robert Jay Lifton's book, DEATH IN LIFE in 1968. A few months later, I invited Lifton to speak at our Unitarian Church in Flushing, New York. Lifton gave a name to the anti-war passion which I felt. He called it ANTICIPATED SURVIVOR GUILT. He told of the Survivors of Hiroshima and their feelings of "guilt" that they had survived and others were dead. We went on to say that possiblity of total Atomic War makes all of us potential victims or survivors. Facing either future, love for life and earth calls us to witness against war. Years later as a minister in California, I read his book on the survivors of the Vietnam War. From the text and poems in that book, the church organist and I wrote "REQUIEM FOR VIETNAM." The text is not the traditional words of the mass, but the experience of the war. Robert Lifton came to introduce the first performance. The choir sings ... "Our land became as the face of the moon, defoliated trees and craters of doom ..." The Requiem closes with this choral, "Peace on earth, let it be, Let the mountain come down to the sea. And the joy we will share When there's peace everywhere. Peace on earth, let it be. "Peace on earth, let it be. Let all nations declare the decree. Let us live the belief That will conquer our grief. Peace on earth, let it be." Richard Boeke, for 6 August 2009

On August 6th, 1945 Hiroshima, Japan became the first city to be destroyed by an atomic weapon. Three days later, Nagasaki suffered a second atomic attack. On August 14th, Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced he was planning to surrender. A Japanese delegation signed the instrument of surrender on the deck of the battleship Missouri September 2nd, 1945. These facts are known to almost every school child. What is not known is what happened to the survivors. Author Robert Jay Lifton attempts to explain both the physical and psychological effects in this work. He begins with a description of the physical effects. Survivors, called "hibakusha" meaning, "explosion affected person(s) vividly describe the blast, heat, and radiation effects on themselves and others. However psychologist, Lifton, devotes the majority of this work to the psychological effects that received little attention. Hibakusha, developed several theories to cope with their experience: 1. Why us? We were a small city of limited military importance. 2. We were guinea pigs. The Americans wanted to test their new bomb. We were their lab rats. 3. Racial bias. They only use weapons like that on the colored races. 4. The people responsible will suffer divine retribution for their actions. 5. We, the survivors, have a mission to explain the horrors of nuclear war to the entire world! Once militaristic Japan turned totally pacifistic after the war. However, Japan has never come to terms with its own misdeeds in World War II, which explains the reactions of the survivors. The author also fails to acknowledge Japan has been able to divest itself of military expenditures only due to America's nuclear umbrella. While reading I was struck by the similarity between hibakusha and Vietnam veterans. Both were traumatized by their experience. Both were ostracized by their countrymen after the war. Hibakusha were deemed incapable or unwilling to work due to "A-Bomb Disease." Viet vets were similarly shunned as being "walking time bombs" that might "flash back" at any moment. Pity them both, but hide the women and kids when they are around was/is the theory, thus adding to their difficulties. This work is the first to explore the psychological and sociological aspects of the attack. In a world that is seemingly losing its horror of "weapons of mass destruction" since World War I, it is important to review as terrorists now strive openly to acquire chemical and nuclear weapons. My last criticism is, toward the end, Lifton, is seemingly writing to fellow psychologists, instead of laymen such as myself. Still, it is an important and very informative work. Highly recommended! Harold Y. Grooms