Hiroshima

The third chapter covers a longer period of time, from late in the day of the bombing, August 6, to August 15. A young theological student had been sent to get help from others at the Novitiate outside the city. He arrived there late in the afternoon. A group of Jesuits made two litters with which to carry the wounded priests before setting out for Asano Park. Once there, they debated how best to carry two fathers out; the park was crowded and uneven, and they feared it would be too bumpy for the men. Father Kleinsorge remembered Rev. Tanimoto ferrying people across the river that afternoon. He called out for Tanimoto at the riverbank and soon made contact. The priests were loaded into the boat and taken upstream to look for a smoother path out. When they reached the Novitiate, the rector cleaned and dressed the men’s wounds and put them to bed.

During the night, Tanimoto ferried more people, at one point finding a group on a sandbar. They were too weak to climb aboard by themselves. He reached out to help one of the woman, grasping her hands, but her skin was so burned it came off.