The U.S. military sent Joe O’Donnell to Nagasaki to take this picture of the damage done to Japan by air raids with firebombs and atomic bombs.
He journeyed across Western Japan for the next seven months, starting in September 1945, to document the destruction and show the suffering of the bomb victims, including the dead, the wounded, the homeless, and the orphans. Both his negatives and his heart were full of pictures of people in pain.
The youngster in the picture is standing up straight since he did his duty by taking his dead brother to a cremation place. It was clear that standing at attention was a military thing. It’s heartbreaking to see the youngster who carries his smaller brother on his back and tries so hard to be courageous. He has embodied the spirit of a country that has lost.
Joe O’Donnell talked to a Japanese interviewer about this picture years later:
“I observed a boy who looked to be approximately ten years old stroll past. He had a baby on his back. Back then in Japan, we saw kids a lot playing with their little brothers or sisters on their backs, but this guy was plainly different. I could see that he had come here for a very important reason. He didn’t have any shoes on. His face was tough. The small head was tilted back, as if the baby were sleeping soundly. The boy stayed there for five to 10 minutes.
“The men in white masks walked over to him and quietly started to untie the rope that was holding the baby.” At that point, I realized the baby was already dead. They put the body on the fire and held it by the hands and feet. The boy stood still and erect, observing the fire. He bit his lower lip so hard that it gleamed with blood. The fire burnt low, like the sun going set. The boy turned around and went away without saying a word.
This story is like the 1988 Japanese movie “Grave of the Fireflies.” A sad movie about a little boy and his small sister trying to stay alive in Japan during World War II. I definitely recommend watching this movie since it is quite compelling.
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