Read a Schoolboy's Eyewitness Account of Hiroshima

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Lily Rothman

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Lily Rothman

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Rothman is managing editor at TIME.

Aug 6, 2015 11:00 AM CUT

Hiroshima.

An aerial photograph of Hiroshima, Japan, shortly after the "Little Boy" atomic bomb was dropped. Dated 1945

An aerial photograph of Hiroshima, Japan, shortly after the "Little Boy" atomic bomb was dropped. Dated 1945Universal History Archive / Getty Images

Lily Rothman

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Lily Rothman

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Lily Rothman

Lily Rothman

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Rothman is managing editor at TIME.

Aug 6, 2015 11:00 AM CUT

When the Japanese surrendered in World War II, the historic news was all but eclipsed by the world-altering event that led up to it: the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, which happened 70 years ago Thursday.

“The greatest and most terrible of wars ended, this week, in the echoes of an enormous event—an event so much more enormous that, relative to it, the war itself shrank to minor significance,” read TIME’s first sentence of the first story that ran the first week after. “The knowledge of victory was as charged with sorrow and doubt as with joy and gratitude. More fearful responsibilities, more crucial liabilities rested on the victors even than on the vanquished.”

It was clear to all then that a great force had been unleashed, and those who had survived the awful war would be left to try to harness it. In 1985, on the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, TIME looked back at the legacy of the Atomic Age. As part of that special issue, Yoshitaka Kawamoto, the director of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, shared his memories of that day in 1945.

Kawamoto was a 13-year-old student at a middle school only about a half-mile from the site of the explosion. In the moment of impact, most of his classmates were instantly killed. Those left alive cried out, or sang to try to attract the attention of anyone who might help. The horror, however, had only just begun:

“”

Read the rest of Kawamoto’s story, here in the TIME Vault: A Fire in the Sky

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Photos From the Ruins

Urakami Cathedral (Roman Catholic), Nagasaki, September, 1945.

Not published in LIFE. Urakami Cathedral (Roman Catholic), Nagasaki, September, 1945. Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Nagasaki, September, 1945.

Not published in LIFE. Nagasaki, September, 1945. Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Hiroshima streetcar, September, 1945.

Not published in LIFE. Hiroshima streetcar, September, 1945. J. R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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Nagasaki, Japan, September 1945.

Not published in LIFE. Nagasaki, Japan, September 1945. Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

A photo album, pieces of pottery, a pair of scissors - shards of life strewn on the ground in Nagasaki, 1945.

Not published in LIFE. A photo album, pieces of pottery, a pair of scissors - shards of life strewn on the ground in Nagasaki, 1945. Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

From notes by LIFE's Bernard Hoffman to the magazine's long-time picture editor, Wilson Hicks, in New York, September 1945.

From notes by LIFE's Bernard Hoffman to the magazine's long-time picture editor, Wilson Hicks, in New York, September 1945. Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

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Hiroshima, 1945.

Not published in LIFE. Hiroshima, 1945. Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Nagasaki, 1945, a few months after an American B-29 dropped an atomic bomb, codenamed "Fat Man," on the city.

Not published in LIFE. Nagasaki, 1945, a few months after an American B-29 dropped an atomic bomb, codenamed "Fat Man," on the city. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

The landscape around Urakami Cathedral, Nagasaki, September, 1945.

Not published in LIFE. The landscape around Urakami Cathedral, Nagasaki, September, 1945. Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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From notes by LIFE's Bernard Hoffman to the magazine's long-time picture editor, Wilson Hicks, in New York, September 1945.

From notes by LIFE's Bernard Hoffman to the magazine's long-time picture editor, Wilson Hicks, in New York, September 1945. Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Neighborhood reduced to rubble by atomic bomb blast, Hiroshima, 1945.

Not published in LIFE. Neighborhood reduced to rubble by atomic bomb blast, Hiroshima, 1945. Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Bust in front of destroyed cathedral two miles from the atomic bomb detonation site, Nagasaki, Japan, 1945.

Bust in front of destroyed cathedral two miles from the atomic bomb detonation site, Nagasaki, Japan, 1945. Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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Hiroshima, 1945, two months after the August 6 bombing.

Not published in LIFE. Hiroshima, 1945, two months after the August 6 bombing. Bernard Hoffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Nagasaki, 1945.

Not published in LIFE. Nagasaki, 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Two women pay respects at a ruined cemetery, Nagasaki, 1945.

Not published in LIFE. Two women pay respects at a ruined cemetery, Nagasaki, 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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Hiroshima, September, 1945.

Not published in LIFE. Hiroshima, September, 1945. J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images