A Small Mound in Hiroshima

My latest piece at The Nation recounts my visit inside the Memorial Mound in Hiroshima, perhaps the most telling site in the entire city, where the ashes of 70,000 are kept for eternity--mixed together in pine boxes and in tiny canisters on shelves, still unidentified to this day.  Killed in a flash, the first high-tech massacre.  Another post here and more tomorrow.

Yesterday,  Harry Truman's grandson, Clifton Truman Daniel,  became the first kin of the president (son of his daughter) to step foot in one of the two cities he ordered destroyed, killing over 200,000, the vast majority civilians.  He toured the city and exhibits in the Peace Museum yesterday and met with survivors who seemed pleased, to a point, pointing out they still held his granddad in low esteem.  Daniel said he did not second-guess Truman's decision, offering the usual bromides about no-good-decisions in war.  But some no-good decisions are worse than others.

Also see my recent book Atomic Cover-up, my piece at The Nation on that, and my popular brief video below.