Joe O'Donnell Photo Exhibit (Nagarekawa Church流川教会 2025May)

Joe O'Donnell is an American Photograher(1922/5-2007/8/9).

He  entered into surrendered Japanese lands in 1945 Sep, with his camera and films from US that is the country which won.

(So discribed in History textbook)

As an occupation army photographer, He entered Japan from Sasebo(佐世保）in Kyusyu, 

And  entered in Nagasaki, then Hiroshima, and  been  all around Japanese cities for 7 monthes where US air force B29s heavily attacked, damaged, and burnt like everything had become into all blacken.

Defeated or won, whichever, 

the truth is, when he went back to US,

 firstly what he  tried, was to forget what he had seen and experienced in Japan then.

Perhaps it was as too much as for him, he coldn't see those photoes taken in Japan.

He become a famous photographer in US later who worked with very famous people including US presidents in his country.

Eventhough Joe put his  photoes taken by his hands in Japan into  his private bag and couldn't see them for decades,

When he opened his bag again was 1989, becoming bad body condition and found out

it was developping radiation affter effects ... 

        

　　　　　　　　　　【A Boy Standing at Crimation Site in Nagasaki】

　　(Joe wrote,)

I found particularly tragic among all the losses of life, property, and means of livelyhood, the countless children who lost all relatives. This older boy brought his dead btother to the cremation site where I had been photographing that morning.

The small boy had died during the night. As they removed the little body from his back,and placed it on the hot bed of ashes, - his funeral pyre- the older brother stood at attention, his chin stern, and only the biting of his lower lip betraying his emotion. He never glanced down at the cremation process. I wanted to share his griefs and put my arms around him, but I could not get involeved. Afterwards he quietely turned and walked away. I never saw him again.

長崎の焼き場にて

　この少年が死んでしまった弟をつれて焼き場にやってきたとき、私は初めて軍隊の影響がこんな幼い子供にまで及んでいることを知った。アメリカの少年はとてもこんなことはできないだろう。直立不動の姿勢で、何の表情も見せず、涙も見せなかった。そばに行って慰めてやりたいと思ったが、それもできなかった。もし私がそうすれば、彼の苦痛と悲しみを必死でこらえている力を崩してしまうだろう。私はなすすべもなく立ち尽くしていた。

           

In exhibits, there was a photo of H.S. Truman, and he wrote he had a chance to directly talk and ask about " Hiroshima & Nagasaki" in 1950 on the Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean, 

The president answered to Joe personerly, "years go by, the judge of using A-bombings at that time become more & more doughtful, and more & more significant matter of judging right or wrong in my mind." he answered to him.

Joe lost words at that time, but later felt the President is also humanbeing and relieved a bit.

ホワイトハウス専属カメラマンとして、トルーマン大統領と話をする思いがけない機会がやってきた。1950年、太平洋ウエーㇰ島での昼食後、一緒に散歩をしないかと誘われた。

私は勇気を出して、大統領に「原爆を使用されたことに迷いはありませんでしたか」と尋ねてみた。

トルーマン大統領は、

「もちろん、その決定が正しかったか大いに疑わしかったし、その思いは強くさえなっている」と答えられた。

私は言葉がなく、話はそれで終わったが、私はこの質問ができたこと、そしてトルーマン大統領も人間であったことがわかり嬉しかった。

Using A-bombings, actually it can't be decided by only just one person.

Rather than that, a huge mood of the whole world on the earth caused chain reactions from micro inside even one nuclear to macro of huge human societies of this Planet the Earth.

後にトルーマン大統領が、原爆投下の全責任を取ったことを知った。

しかし「原爆投下」という自体は、一人の人間が決定したというよりも、大きな社会状況が人を動かした、動かされたとも考えられる。

Later, I was let to know that Truman took total responsibility of A-bombing.

However I really hope  this kind of things never happen to any US presidents and any leaders of other countries of this planet the Earth from bottm of my heart.

このようなことが、再びどのアメリカの大統領にも、また、地球上のどの指導者にも起こらないことを願う。