Tuesday, August 4, 2015

An August like no other

August, 1945, 70 years ago, was a month like no other, for me in particular, and for the world.  Our ship arrived in San Francisco August 3, joining  other ships, the Army and Air Force in preparation for an invasion of Japan.   The next day, August 4, I learned I would not receive a leave.

We were to prepare the ship and take on the Black Hawk division, which we were to land on Japan. The first atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6 and another bomb hit Nagasaki  August 9. Rumors of a possible Japan surrender were flying and became a reality August 12.

In addition to the world spinning, I was 19 years old on my birthday August 21.  Nothing unusual there except  I did not remember it until we were on our way to the Philippines several days later.

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