Ever since that destructive morning nearly 70 years ago, debate has continued about whether the bombs really ended the war. from a land invasion that would likely have cost many American lives. Van Kirk has said the weapon brought him “a sense of relief” because it spelled an end to the war, thus sparing the U.S.
You could see some fires burning on the edge of the city.” I describe it looking like a pot of black, boiling tar. “The entire city was covered with smoke and dust and dirt. On the 50th anniversary of the bombing, Van Kirk said: “The plane jumped and made a sound like sheet metal snapping” after the explosion, and shortly after the second wave, we turned to where we could look out and see the cloud, where the city of Hiroshima had been,” he said.
