August 6, 1945 ..."I looked at it, and it was a B-29!"

"I heard a voice shout, "A parachute is coming down..."

"After I noticed the flash, white clouds spread over the blue sky... "
"a blue flash from the window..."
"he said, ``That was a killer beam..."
"it was not really a big flash...."
"blue flash of light just like a spark...."
"made by a train or some short circuit...."
"spark and bang...."
"bluish-white flash like a magnesium flare outside the window..."
"far brighter than one used for a camera..."

"as if a flash had directly entered my eyes..."
"magnesium burning...."
"brighter even than the sun...."
"a stone lantern in the garden became brilliantly lit... "
"could only see people's shadows...
"the world around me turned bright white..."
"the world went white..."
"a tiny, glittering, white object about the size of a grain of rice..."
"tinged with yellow and red..."
"soon grew into a monstrous fireball..."

"garden shadows disappeared..."
"then came the heat wave..."
"i felt hot..."
"my forehead felt hot..."
"the wave steadily approached..."
"just like a white wave head coming toward me while standing on the beach...."
"it was travelling in my direction..."
"it measured 200 meters in diameter..."
"bright red pillar of fire..."
"a whirlpool of fire approached..."

"sheet of fire..."
"a big tornado of fire...
"sometimes it was hollow at the center..."
"an earsplitting roar..."
"I am under the impression that it exploded directly over our house..."
"tremendous noise..."
"houses levitated a little and then crushed down to the ground..."
"things and flames were falling from the sky..."
"ten seconds since the flash of light..."
"when the blow came, I closed my eyes..."

"hundreds of needles were stabbing me..."
"felt weightless as if I were an astronaut... "
"the sensation of floating in the air..."
"now dark and hazy..."
"couldn't see anything in the dark..."
"through swirling dust..."
"it looked like twilight..."
"pitch black swirling smoke..."
"total silence and darkness..."

"then big black drops of rain..."


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50 eye-witness statements from Hiroshima