Nagasaki at 60: The bombers & the bombed (31min)

Sixty years ago today, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. We hear from a survivor of the bombing and the men who flew the B-29 bomber that dropped the bomb.

A ceremony in Nagasaki today marked the 60th anniversary of the U.S. bombing of that city. The plutonium atomic bomb caused the death of more than 80,000 people in Nagasaki, coming just three days after an equally deadly uranium bomb devastated Hiroshima.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi addressed approximately six thousand people attending the ceremony. He said, "With the firm decision not to ever let the tragedies of Nagasaki and Hiroshima be repeated, we will adhere to a pacifist constitution and uphold the three rules for non-nuclearization. We will also take the lead in non-proliferation in the world and make effort in the abandoning of nuclear weapons."

Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Itoh said at the ceremony, "The United States has 10,000 nuclear weapons, has conducted sub-critical nuclear tests and on top of that is pursuing the development of miniature nuclear weapons. Do the American people really think the policies of their country are going to bring about peace? We know that most of you are actually really seeking the abolition of nuclear weapons. We should all unite to bring peace to the world." Mayor Itoh also addressed citizens of the United States. He said "We understand your anger and anxiety over the memories of the horror of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Yet, is your security enhanced by your government’s policies of maintaining 10,000 nuclear weapons?"