Nez Perce tribal elder and veteran Horace Axtell talks about driving a truck in Nagasaki just after the atomic bomb fell. He describes scenes from the beach, inside the city, and how Japanese civilians were treated by some of the U-S soldiers. Axtell also describes how he briefly adopted a young orphaned boy into his care, and ends by comparing the devastation of Nagasaki to accounts of the Nez Perce War of 1877, where a band of natives fought soldiers while trying to escape to Canada.
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Piece Description
Nez Perce tribal elder and veteran Horace Axtell talks about driving a truck in Nagasaki just after the atomic bomb fell. He describes scenes from the beach, inside the city, and how Japanese civilians were treated by some of the U-S soldiers. Axtell also describes how he briefly adopted a young orphaned boy into his care, and ends by comparing the devastation of Nagasaki to accounts of the Nez Perce War of 1877, where a band of natives fought soldiers while trying to escape to Canada.
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Review of Reflections on Nagasaki by a Nez Perce ElderThis short first person narrative is ideal for stations which might not have time for the longer format programs commemorating the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nez Perce tribal elder Horace Axtell's descriptions of arriving at Nagasaki just after the devastation are simple but compelling. A tree stripped of its branches, a smell which takes away his appetite, witness to an act of violence... and then a touching moment of human kindness amid the rubble. The understated connection to the wars of his ancestors, and his soft-spoken condemnation of war in general connect the past to the present perfectly. In the best oral history tradition, this piece is highly recommended! |
Broadcast History
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Transcript
Horace Axtell, Nez Perce Elder, on Nagasaki devastation (5:53)
We landed right there in Nagasaki Bay. And in first going in there, we was going in with LST boats, because we were supposed to have invaded Japan Proper, but the atomic bomb I guess kind of helped us out so we didn’t have to have battles. But as we were going in we saw some bodies floating around out in the bay, and we also see a ship sticking out of the water. And when we got to the shore, we could see where the Mitsubishi plant was, it was just a mass of destruction. A mass of rubble. And we found us a place to build our headquarters up on a hillside. And we had our motor pool up there, and a big playground…and we set up camp there near a big old schoolhouse that was there, up on a hill, that didn’t seem to be bothered by the atomic bomb, but…….
It was strange. Some of the homes were standing, and some of them...
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Timing and Cues
60 years ago (today/this week,/Aug. 6th-9th), the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima...and then Nagasaki. The devastating effects of the explosions signalled the end of World War II, as Japan surrendered a few days later.
Among those who witnessed the aftermath was Horace Axtell, a Nez Perce Indian who lives in Lewiston, Idaho. He served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Nagasaki right after the blast. Axtell recalls how the carnage made him reflect on how his own people suffered during the Nez Perce War of 1877. In this recollection, Axtell begins with his unit's arrival outside Nagasaki.........
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Emon Hassan
Posted on August 05, 2005 at 07:27 AM | Permalink
Review of Reflections on Nagasaki by a Nez Perce Elder
It is one thing to read accounts of the past, but to actually hear someone's voice while he remembers vivid details about Nagasaki is another. This piece is a great example of talking history. It is about a first person experience of the sight, sound and smell of a city as it lay dying.