What it means to survive an atomic bomb

Michiko was only four months old on 6 August 1945. On that day, 79 years ago, the US B-29 fighter plane dropped the atomic bomb, known as “Little Boy,” over her home town of Hiroshima. It was 8:15 in the morning and Michiko and her parents were at Hiroshima station, where her mother had just placed her on a wooden bench to change her nappy. Shortly after, just 2km away and 2,000 feet in the air, the A-bomb “Little Boy” was detonated. 80,000 people died instantly. The heat from the explosion reached the station, and although her parents suffered severe burns, Michiko got lucky on her wooden bench — the backboard shielded her from the heat and she was left unscathed. 1.6km south, back at their house, her grandmother was widowed. Having been only four months old at the time, Michiko has no recollection of the event, but she does know what ...