I had the same reaction upon approaching the famous port of Nagasaki as when we docked in Hiroshima several days prior.  It is difficult to imagine that Nagasaki was the world’s second nuclear target, August 9, 1944, four days after Hiroshima’s destruction.  Though the nuclear bomb that destroyed Nagasaki was more powerful than the one that destroyed Hiroshima, seventy thousand souls were instantly killed in the initial blast.  The blast destruction was somewhat contained by the hills of Nagasaki, as compared with the flat landscape of Hiroshima.

The building closest to the blast was a prison.  It was a four-story building constructed with reinforced walls.  Nonetheless, the blast was so powerful that the building was vaporized, leaving only the foundation remnants at ground level, which are part of the Peace Park.  Many Korean and Chinese prisoners died in the blast.  Asia’s largest Christian church was destroyed.  One surviving pilar was moved into the Peace Park as part of the reminders of the bomb’s total destructiveness.

The Peace Park contains many statues and sculptures donated by other countries from Europe to Russia to the US.  A large dove-shaped fountain symbolizes the healing power of water, whereas many of the blast victims were severely burned, causing the victims to utter intense cries of thirst prior to their succumbing to their injuries.  Survivors observed that there were so many dead bodies that a precise count was impossible.