How an A-bomb survivor found forgiveness for Hiroshima bombers

Japan Times

6 days ago

Koko Kondo, 80, was only 8 months old when the U.S. bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.
She survived with her parents and went on to live with schoolgirls who developed keloid scars at Nagarekawa Church, 870 meters from ground zero.
Although she was too young to remember the blast, the wounds of other victims reminded her of the bombing.
'One day, one of the girls was brushing my hair. I wanted to see the brush, so I turned my head. The first thing I saw was her fingers holding the brush. All of them were fused together,' Kondo said.
Upon seeing the girl's disfigured hands, Kondo thought to herself, 'When I'm an adult, I'm going to find the people who were on the B-29 Enola Gay –– and I'll punch and bite them.'
Kondo resented the Hiroshima bombers until she met Capt. Robert Lewis, the co-pilot of the Enola Gay, on the NBC show 'This Is Your Life,' on May 11, 1955. She was 10 years old at the time.
The program featured an interview with her father, Kiyoshi Tanimoto, at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. Lewis was one of the surprise guests.
However, going on American television was never part of the plan for Tanimoto, a Japanese Methodist minister, who at the time was accompanying a group of 25 women from Hiroshima so they could undergo treatment for keloid scars in the U.S.
On May 5, he and the women — the 'Hiroshima Maidens' — boarded a U.S. Air Force plane at Iwakuni Airport to fly to Los Angeles, en route to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
As they ascended the plane's boarding ramp, Kondo, her mother and three younger siblings waved at them from the tarmac.
'One of the Hiroshima Maidens later told me that she was really afraid going up the ramp because she saw America as the enemy,' said Kondo.
Kondo, however, wasn't scared for them. She had American friends in Hiroshima, including peace activist Floyd Schmoe, who launched the 'Houses for Hiroshima' project in 1948 to build houses for residents of the ruined city.
Twenty-five survivors of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima at Iwakuni Airport before heading to the U.S. to receive medical treatment, on May 5, 1955 |
CHUGOKU SHIMBUN
After arriving in New York City, Tanimoto was told by Pearl Buck, one of the then-directors of the U.S. Hiroshima Peace Center Association that arranged the treatment program for the Hiroshima Maidens, to return to Los Angeles with two of the women for an interview.
Tanimoto traveled to Hollywood with little information about the interview — or about who he would go on to meet on stage.
Back in Hiroshima, Kondo's mother, Chisa, received a call from the U.S. in which the caller said, 'Tomorrow, get on a plane and come to America with your four children. But don't tell anyone. Especially your husband.'
The family rushed to Tokyo to get their passports issued, but the receptionist said it couldn't be done on such short notice.
Chisa Tanimoto hesitated to tell the receptionist about their 'secret' invitation to the U.S. but eventually gave in.
'Then, the receptionist said 'Hold on,' and disappeared. Someone else came back and said 'Mrs. Tanimoto, we've been waiting for you. Here are your family's passports.' And there were our passports!' Kondo said.
With the prearranged passports in their hands, they headed to Haneda Airport.
'(At the gate,) the airline agent gave my mom a big smile and wished her a safe trip. My mom wondered why. Once we boarded, she checked the passports, which stated, 'Purpose: To appear on television,'' Kondo said.
In Los Angeles, a woman from 'This Is Your Life' welcomed them and took them to a hotel, where they stayed for three days until showtime.
At the El Capitan Theater, Kondo, her mother and three siblings were placed in separate waiting rooms.
Outside the building, a long line of audience members had already formed as Kiyoshi Tanimoto's car arrived.
'Why are so many people lining up to get in?' he asked the driver, who replied, 'Today's show is going to be good.'
On stage, the host, Ralph Edwards, interviewed Tanimoto and introduced one surprise guest after another — beginning with Bertha Starkey, a Methodist missionary who was 'like a parent' to the minister, and Marvin Green, an old classmate from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta.
The next surprise guest was his own wife.
'The second my dad saw my mom, he felt really angry,' Kondo said. 'He said he thought 'How could my wife leave four kids and show up here?''
Of course, the children were waiting in the wings — though they didn't know why.
'As soon as we walked on stage, we saw our dad. My three younger siblings ran to hug him. We were so happy,' Kondo said.
The final surprise guest was Lewis, who shook hands with Tanimoto and described what he saw from the Enola Gay on the day the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.
Tanimoto stood expressionless and never told Kondo how he felt when meeting Lewis.
Kiyoshi and Chisa Tanimoto (sitting on the couch, left to right), Koko Kondo and her three younger siblings (in front of the couch, left to right), on the show 'This Is Your Life,' on May 11, 1955 |
COURTESY OF KOKO KONDO
'But you know, he liked people. He'd always say 'Nice to meet you!' with a big smile, but when you watch him on television, you'll see that he was stiff,' said Kondo, who remembers watching the two men from offstage, just outside the camera's frame — from where she was scowling at Lewis.
To her, the enemy wasn't the U.S. — it was the crew of the Enola Gay.
However, Kondo's anger was replaced with forgiveness when she saw tears fall from Lewis' eyes as he recalled what he wrote in his log after the bombing: 'My God, what have we done?'
'I was glaring at him, watching his eyes. Then, I saw tears fall down. I was really shocked,' said Kondo. 'I realized he was human, just like me. I felt terribly guilty for resenting him for so long. His crying made me cry, too. I sobbed.'
At the end of the show, when all guests on stage huddled to wave goodbye at the audience, Kondo moved next to Lewis and gently touched his hand.
'That was my way of saying, 'I'm sorry. You weren't the one I should resent. What I should resent is the evil inside those who start wars.'
'In those few minutes, I understood that the same evil exists inside me, too. He felt my small hand touch his fingers. Still facing the audience, he held my hand tightly in return,' said Kondo.
While Kiyoshi Tanimoto continued on his work trip, his wife and children took a train to Philadelphia to spend the summer at Buck's guesthouse.
On the train, Kondo was asked by her mother to buy milk at the dining car. There, a waiter recognized her from 'This Is Your Life.'
'I nodded 'Mhm,' like I was showing off,' said Kondo.
In the years that followed, Kiyoshi Tanimoto and Lewis stayed in touch by exchanging letters.
'Let me know if there's anything I can do,' Lewis wrote in one of his letters. 'I would like to stand next to you.'
Kondo said despite the blindsiding setup in which her father met Lewis on 'This Is Your Life,' 'he had no anger toward the television station whatsoever.'
'There were also his old classmate from Emory, and Starkey, who was like a mother to him, so that stage was a place of happiness.'