~ Dr.Shirabe's Story, Doctor and Father in Nagasaki~"75 Years Atomic Bomb"Dr.SOKO DAY4/50

Dr.Raisuke Shirabe was a professor of surgery in Nagasaki medical university. He also was a father of 5 children, and a patient of radiation syndrome. This is about his story.

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Dr.Shirabe had two sons who were studying medicine to be a doctor, and a daughter who was in high school, and two daughters who were in primary school. They lived 4km away from Nagasaki ground zero. In the morning of August 8th, Dr.Shirabe went hospital together with his second son who commuted to Nagasaki medical university. On that day, Dr.Shirabe said his second son to stay home because he had fever. But, his son said  "I do not want to be late for study", after all, they left home together. On August 8th, Dr Shirabe stayed in hospital on night duty.

In the morning of 11:02am, August 9th, 1945, Dr.Shirabe was in a room on the second floor in Nagasaki Medical University, 700m away from ground zero. Glass of windows in his room were all shattered 8days ago due bombing. So he did not get injured by glass. At the moment of atomic bomb explosion, he did not see the flash directly, but because he felt flash, he sat down under a sink. Then he worried that tremendous shakes would clash its concrete building.

He went out of his room, then saw students and people.

The pathetic scene that nobody can describe...students's cloths were tattered..Hair was burnt and torn...Bodies were down. A body did not move, just hanging on the handrail. Maybe it was dead. there were dead bodies around. （"Doctor's testimony, The experience of Nagasaki"　Raisuke Shirabe/Yasuo Yoshizawa）

Dr.Shirabe rushed to the out-patient building of a hospital.

"I have to go to see patients injured!"

When he came to in front of the entrance of a hospital, he was overwhelmed. Everybody, nurses, doctors, and patients, all the people were trying to come out of a hospital building. Everybody got injured.They evacuated onto a hill in hospital ground. 

Dr Shirabe treated people on the hill all throught August 9th, There were no treatment for colleagues and patients but still he had to do something to people wounded . Some people died. Over the night, the hospital was burnt. People on the hill saw flames going up from a library room. Dr.Shirabe tried hard to search his second son on the hill, but he was not able to find. He asked someone for looking for his son, but after all nobody knew his son's information. Dr.Shirabe slept a little on the hill that night.

 The next day of August 10th,  he found a nurse passed away in a field of sweet potato. Dr.Shirabe had to watch his colleagues dead like that nurse. Right after that, he had to go to find a building for patients. It was obvious that the open-space on the hill was not good enough to treat patients. He  found a proper place as a temporary clinic in Nameshi.

Dr.Shirabe came back home on that day.

His family was pleased so much to see him. Then, Dr.Shirabe knew his first son had a terribly severe burn. At that moment, rays of the atomic bomb entered from the factory window straightly onto his whole back. He passed way on August 16th.

One of neighbors asked to Dr.Shirabe, "Would I look for your son?"  He　appreciated that offer, but gently refused. "If my son is alive, he will return by himself. So it is okay. Thank you." 

Dr.Shirabe kept working for patients, everyday.

Later, he answered like the followings to a question about his second son. ("Doctor's testimony, The experience of Nagasaki"　Raisuke Shirabe/Yasuo Yoshizawa）

"Yes, he was dead with burn. I heard he was taking a class in a stair lecture  room. I went to see the room with my wife and daughters, but there was no stairs in a lecture room, because all stairs disappeared with burn. It was on August 28th, 3 weeks passed from the explosion of atomic bomb. So maybe some families came in the room, there were four or five piles of bones. "("Doctor's testimony, The experience of Nagasaki"　Raisuke Shirabe, Yasuo Yoshizawa）

Dr.Shirabe and family was talking to go back home taking any bones there. 

"Mom! there is something here!"

There was a metal door fell down at the entrance of the lecture room. On the door, a piece of trousers cloth was stuck. On the back of the cloth, there was a name tag written "Yamamoto".

He wore his cousin's trousers. His cousin went to Rabaul as an army surgeon. His name was "Yamamoto".

"At that time, students usually wore yellow national uniform. But the color of his trousers was navy blue. So, it was my son's, we knew. Beside of the door, there was a dead body carbonized.("Doctor's testimony, The experience of Nagasaki"　Raisuke Shirabe, Yasuo Yoshizawa）

Dr.Shirabe and his family lost two sons. 

How much of pain he felt... He wanted to treat but could not do for his sons, even if they were close there, even if he was a doctor, even if he was a father.

When his neighbor tried to give a help to search his second son, Dr. Shirabe refused. But it is no doubt that he wanted to take any offers if his son could find. What did Dr.Shirabe think and feel about his sons, when he was seeing patients, when he was looking for a good place to see patients, when he worked as a doctor. 

I cannot help my heart shaking when I read Dr.Shirabe's story.