A Time to Live

By Bob Kaku 

During the waning days of World War II, there lived a young girl in Kokura, a city on the island of Kyushu in southwestern Japan.  B-29s rumbled overhead, dropping bombs in her neighborhood.  In one particular raid, explosives ripped holes into the street right in front of her house.  Little did she know that Kokura was singled out for an even more horrific weapon.  It was the primary target for the world’s second atomic bomb because of a large ammunition arsenal located there.

When the B-29 Bock's Car approached Kokura, thick haze and smoke prevented the crew from seeing the arsenal.  Just one day earlier, a large squadron of B-29s dropped incendiary bombs on the neighboring city of Yahata.  A cluster of wooden houses near a large steel mill burst into flames, sending thick, billowing smoke over Kokura. Explicit orders were given to the crew members to only drop the atomic bomb if the target could be seen.  After three unsuccessful passes, the plane turned southwest toward its backup target.

The bomb killed an estimated 70,000 people in Nagasaki and ultimately caused Japan to surrender.

Several years after the war, the young girl grew up and married a Japanese American living in Japan.  A couple of years after that, they had a baby boy.  That young girl who survived was my mother, and I was that baby.

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.  (Psalm 139:13)

An excerpt from the book Popcorn Miracles® by Bob & Gail Kaku.  Reprinted by permission.