Al Burk’s letter to the editor of Aug. 23 (“Specter of atomic warfare intensifies”), describing what he witnessed as a member of Gen. Jimmy Doolittle’s inspection flight to Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the August 1945 dropping of atomic bombs, caused me to relive memories of the destruction of these cities.
I served with the army of occupation in Japan and visited Nagasaki six months after the bombing, which killed over 73,000 men, women and children. The justification for this horrific act is still debated, but the prevailing view is that the bombings were unnecessary and inherently immoral.
While I walked the barren streets of Nagasaki, the few people I observed were all disfigured in one way or another. I join Mr. Burk in praying to God that this holocaust will never happen again.
Petros Panagakos
Portland
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