Mr. Ikeda is 89 years old. He saw the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. There was an amazing flash of light and then total darkness. He described it as hell on earth. Everything was pitch black to begin with and then it slowly got lighter. He was holding his 20 day old son at the time - his wife had gone out to get ice for their icebox. He left the house to find his wife and walked through the destruction. There were many fires burning and many people dead. His wife found her way back to the house. Half of her face was burned away. Her clothing was in tatters and there were many areas of raw flesh exposed. Her breasts were exposed and her nipples were blistered. Even so, she immediately took their son from him and started to nurse him. Their house was essentially destroyed, but Mr. Ikeda found some clothes for his wife to wear and they left the house, looking for a way to escape. He, and others he knew, saw many “walking dead.” These people had been completely charred by the blast. One of these people had what looked like black water pouring from his body - it was blood. Another such man was walking around with his entrails hanging out. This man then turned around and walked back into a fire to kill himself. Hearing his descriptions was a very difficult thing to sit through and not cry.

Mr. Ikeda, his wife, and his 20-day old son survived. His wife died of natural causes some years ago. His son married, has children, and lives in the Tokyo area.