August 19, 2025 • 17 mins
Marking the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombing, Atomic Echoes: Untold Stories of World War II, a new documentary from Blue Chalk Media, will air on public television stations nationwide beginning the week of August 1. The film includes rarely seen archival footage and interviews with 100-year-old American veterans who were eyewitnesses to the devastation in the immediate aftermath of nuclear warfare.Atomic Echoes follows Karin Tanabe and Victoria Kelly, two friends whose families were on opposite sides of the war, as they embark on an emotional journey to uncover their family legacies. Through their exploration, the film sheds light on the enduring scars of the "hibakusha"-the estimated 650,000 Japanese survivors of the bombings and the "atomic veterans"-the estimated 200,000 American soldiers who responded in the immediate aftermath of the bombings.Karin Tanabe and Victoria Kelly bring deeply personal connections to this project. Karin is a bestselling historical fiction novelist and former Politico reporter whose great-great-uncle was the first president of Hiroshima University and dedicated his life to peace-building after the bomb. Victoria is an award-winning author and poet whose grandfather, an American atomic veteran who served in Nagasaki, died young, haunted by his experiences.Directed and produced by Beatrice Becette, and executive produced by Greg Moyer, Atomic Echoes was filmed in both Japan and the United States, combining deeply personal storytelling with interviews from historians and the last remaining survivors. The film presents a fresh perspective on the nuclear age and its enduring consequences, urging reflection and peace as this pivotal anniversary approaches."With Atomic Echoes, we're preserving the voices of those who have experienced one of history's most significant and devastating events," said Greg Moyer. "This story and its lessons are vital, and we're honored by the trust placed in us by Karin, Victoria, and the survivors who have bravely shared with us."As the remaining survivors enter their later years, Atomic Echoes stands as a powerful testament to their experiences, and a reminder of the human cost of nuclear warfare. The film invites viewers to listen, reflect, and reckon with a past that continues to shape our present.Here's the trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=4iUpvDhoPOw
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm so proud of the two of you. And the
reason why is because my father was in World War
Two and not too many people speak of my father's journey,
and it's like, I need to know what happened to
these men and women that sacrifice their lives, especially in
a period like you're going to talk about today when
it comes to the atomic bomb.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Well, thank you to your father for a service and
for listening to our story and talking to us. We
very much agree with you and we're excited for this conversation.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
How did you get people to open up? Because I mean,
I have a channel that's dedicated one hundred percent to
our US men and women, and the thing is though,
getting them to share their story, because sometimes when you
walk up to them and thank them, they're going, I'm sorry, man,
I don't take a thank you, and it's like what
and so how did you get people to open up
and share their stories with you?
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Well? I think it helped, you know, our personal connections
to the war. My grandfather was a medic in Nagasaki
after the atomic bomb dropped, So when we were approaching
these veterans, you know, we're coming from a place of
a personal interest in it, which I think helped a lot.
(01:10):
And also, you know, and my my husband's a veteran
as well, so I've spent many years telling veterans stories,
and you know, and I think the second part of
it is no one's really asked them, you know, They've
been waiting for someone to ask about this part of
their service. And I think it was a really big
(01:31):
honor for them to be able to be recognized for
their service, not just during the war, but what they
did after the war, which you know, haunted them for
the rest of their lives. So, you know, so I
think they were they were waiting to talk about it.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
You know, the tears that I have cried in listening
to it are not tears of sadness, but rather tears
of openness that you, you, the two of you have
created this path for all of us to step into
a world to get a better understanding of where we
are today.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Well, we really appreciate you watching it, and we're so
glad you felt that emotion. There's many hours of footage
of Victoria and I crying that you make the final cut.
These veterans stories were just so incredibly inspirational and heartbreaking
at the same time. You know, Victoria talked about the
(02:22):
fact that they had never been asked. They were also
not allowed.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
To talk thout it. That's right for.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Over like forty years, so imagine when things are declassified
forty years later, no one's really asking them to share
their stories. That said, we did approach a few veterans,
and there's not many left of these atomic veterans from
World War Two, probably about ten. We approach some who
just did not want to talk about it again, and
(02:48):
of course we respected that, but even with our own families,
it was hard to get our families to open up.
So I think it's very difficult to revisit the most
difficult period.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Of your life.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
You're speaking the truth on that because my father he
did not start sharing the stories until he knew that
he was only a couple of days away from transition,
and that's when he really started opening up. And it's
one of those moments where you're going, why why did
it take so long? But I think you nailed it
because they weren't supposed to.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Yeah, I mean, we have to remember too, Like you know,
the end of the war came and most of the
soldiers went home to celebrations and you know, parades, and
these these soldiers who were left behind in Japan didn't
get home till nineteen forty six, and like the whole
country had moved on, so they kind of were just like, oh, hey,
you know, welcome back. You know, also, most of the
(03:42):
jobs are now taken, you know, by the other soldiers,
and they really had a much harder transition time, I
think because they kind of missed that period of time
and then on top of that not being able to
discuss what they had seen. I think it was just
really hard for them.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
You touch on something here that that's very very c
and that is to uncover a family's legacy. I mean,
you don't have to be a superstar in baseball or
the NFL you're talking about. All you have to be
is a member of a family, and your family has
a legacy, It's time to share the stories.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Absolutely. I'm Victoria and I are just you know, normal
regular old Americans here, and we happen to have this
family connection that we think is pretty incredible that both
our families have ties to World War Two into the
atomic bombs. And we think the film is even more
powerful because it's not celebrities, it's these incredible people who
(04:37):
witnessed something so honestly horrific that they are the best
messengers of never again for atomic warfare. And when you
look at the veterans in the movie of Archie and
MICUs and Larry are atomic veterans, you might say, oh,
that looks like my father, my grandfather, my great grandfather,
(04:58):
and maybe their message will speak closer to your heart.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
The importance of this is is so valuable in the
way of getting into the hearts of Generation Z and
those that are even younger. The reason why is because
I stand with these people at another job and I
will sit there and ask them about the current conditions
of the world, and I'll say things like the nuclear
bomb and stuff, and they go, eh, I'm going to
you what that was your answer? Eh No? And so
I swear if they watch this documentary, they're going to
(05:25):
open up their eyes and they'll get a better view
of this really was a tragic moment in history.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yeah, I think, you know, I think American students today
are under educated when it comes to the topic of
nuclear war. And you know what happened, you know, after
you know, during the end of World War two and
afterward and the effects of that, and that's one of
the things we're trying to do is really, you know,
when you see a real person behind it, and you're
(05:54):
not just seeing an image of a mushroom cloud or
you know, a destroyed landscape, you're seeing like real people
who have lived with these memories for eighty years. It
just changes the way you think about, you know, think
about nuclear weapons. You know, you start to see yourself
and you know, you start to see your family behind it,
(06:15):
and then all of a sudden, it just becomes something
totally different.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
You speak of that mushroom cloud. There's something so haunting
inside that mushroom cloud. In fact, you guys question it
inside this film, and that is why have we never
seen anything beneath the mushroom It's always from a distance.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Absolutely. That was really our guiding force as we made
this film was that even the both of us who
have these personal ties the atomic bomb, had seen very
little of what happened beneath the mushroom cloud, even though
you know, our families were there just a few days later.
(06:52):
So it was something we really wanted to do. We
want to show the people, We wanted to show children
who were suffering from leukemia. We wanted to show these
terrible burns that people suffered, and some of it's very
difficult to see, but that's those are the images we
need to prevent it from happening again.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Why is it that it came to me as a
shock that the United States instantly sent two hundred thousand
men and women over there after we dropped the bomb.
I mean when I first heard that, I'm going I
didn't know that. Why didn't mister Hall teach me this
in history?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:26):
I mean, I think in any war, you don't really
hear about the people who were there after right to
pick up the pieces. I mean, there was an entire
occupation for US in Japan for years after the bomb.
Only a small number that sixty seven thousand assigned to Hroshima, Nagasaki,
which is just a tiny fraction of the people of
folloing World War two, doing completely classified work there, and
(07:51):
you don't hear about it because you know, afterward the
country didn't want anyone to know. They didn't want him
to know exactly what had happened there. It took many
years for the stories to start coming out.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
You put focus on the veterans who actually were eyewitnesses.
I can't imagine what they feel on the inside and
carry even today, or is it something they've they've you know,
you know, put in a compartment and said I'll get
to you later sometime down the path.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
I think that they, the men we spoke to, had
put this in a compartment, really, and I think that's
why we see so much emotion from them. You know,
for them to be wearing probably wearing parts of their
military uniforms and crying about what they saw. I mean,
it was it was really tough for us to sort
(08:40):
of be like, tell us more, Please tell us more
of this story. That's extremely difficult for you to speak about.
But when we asked, when we were like, your story
is valuable, your service was so valuable, they really did
speak the truth and it was We're so thankful for that.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Please do not move. There's more with Karen Tannaby and
Victoria Kelly coming up next. The name of the documentary
on PBS Atomic Echoes. Let's get back into that conversation
with Karen and Victoria. One of my heroes in life
is doctor Ronald Mack, who went on to become a
big doctor at Wake Forest University and the thing is
that he always used to tell me because he was
at those testings, he died of cancer. He died of cancer,
(09:22):
and I can't imagine how many other people died of
cancer because they sacrificed their life in just the testing
of the bombs.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Yeah, and that's something I mean, we're working on another
project now about the testing and the radiation you know,
affected everyone. They had no idea walking into those cities
that the radiation was going to have the effect that
it had. And you know, all the veterans were in
the film, they've had cancer, survived it. I mean, others
(09:52):
weren't so lucky obviously to live, you know, such long lives.
And I think that that's something want to bring awareness to,
like the on Japan, the Japanese side as well. The
victims were not just the people who died in the bomb.
The victims were also the people who suffered tremendously for
(10:13):
years afterward from those bombs. And that's a story. That's
a story that needs to be told.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
More so, did you meet anybody that that is going
through the why me syndrome? Because that is a real thing.
If you're not one of the ones that was chosen
to transition. Why me, Why did I get to stay?
Speaker 2 (10:32):
So? I think on the American side, the men we
spoke to were like a little bit surprised that they
were still living in their in their late nineties. One
of our veterans, Archie, when we talked to him, was
one hundred. He said, I have cancers popping up all
over my body. H but you know I'm still here.
I think they are a little bit like, why do
(10:54):
I live into old age when so many of the
men I served with were not able to. I think
that's another reason that they were willing to share their
stories is they know there's so few of their voices left.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
The flag, the Japanese flag that has the family's entire
history on it, what are they going to do with
that as we continue to grow as a generation into
other generations, because that's the kind of stuff that's got
to be passed forward and preserved and protected.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Yeah. One, I mean, one of the things a lot
of people don't know is that many of the American
soldiers during World War Two would take these flags from
Japanese soldiers from their bodies, you know, as kind of
like a souvenir. It was something that you know, thousands
of Americans did brought them back to the US and
(11:43):
one of our missions is really to help return these
flags to the Japanese families that they belonged to. And
you know, and most soldiers are on board with that.
I mean, one of our veterans from the film you Know,
had a flag. We just found out about it. After
he saw the film. He said, I want to return this,
and so we're working on, you know, bringing that back
(12:04):
to Japan.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Yeah, that is so interesting you bring that up because
my father brought back things as well from Germany. And
the thing is, though, is that we would go in
and try to get into it, to hold it and
stuff that would piss him off so fast because he goes,
that is not yours, to even understand it is mine.
It is something that I am holding on to.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Well, that's really interesting. I think with the job in
these flags, I think a lot of the US soldiers,
you know, it was something you took, It was very
normalized then. They didn't have a great understanding of what
they were taking. And now that the US and Japan
are such strong allies, we have such a great relationship
between our two countries, they feel like the right thing
(12:45):
to do is to give that flag back to the
families if they can, So that is something we're trying
to facilitate going forward.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
When did you know the production was ready for the
rest of the planet. And the reason why I asked
that is because creative people are never satisfied. We always
want to change this, that, move this direction. When did
you know it was time to relinquish it?
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Oh, we could show you some documents of being like
change this, change that. Well, we really wanted to get
this film out for the eightieth anniversary of the dropping
of the atomic bombs. You know, it's so important that
people care about nuclear piece all the time. But of
course you know this as as someone in media. When
(13:25):
you have a date, a cause, a something that might
help you get more attention, you say that it's good
in time for that. So we're really really pleased with
the final product that. Of course, we wish we'd had
the time to find five more veterans to add even
more stories. There's always the more you want to do.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
And once again, the importance of this documentary being released
right here on the eightieth anniversary is because I mean,
the look at the current state of the world is
unbelievably reckless. And then you tie that up into the
Salt Treaty that we have with with Russia that ends
at the end of this year. We see a movie
like that creates conversation, it creates action, reaction, and you
get things done. We need to have something like this
(14:05):
to remind us, hey, we can't do it again.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Yeah, it's just I mean, it's the same with the Holocauster.
I think of how powerful a lot of those books
that came out from survivors have been, you know, throughout
history since then. And you know, we need more of
that with the atomic bombs, which is you know, one
of the things we're trying to do, you know with
this film, it's just start restart the conversation that a
(14:31):
lot of people have forgotten.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Like you said, it's a wake up call. And right now,
the folks that are experts in this, the heads of
the Bolton of Atomic Scientists, they're saying, this is a
uniquely dangerous moment. Look at the headlines right now, like
you're saying with Russia, the time is now to further
educate the US on this topic.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
You really hit on a subject here that that gets
inside your mind, body and soul. If you have never
seen the damage of an atomic bomb, you'll never understand it.
Oh my god, that that hits you so hard in
the heart.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Yeah, I'd be awful.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Quote.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
I love and your you, you know your passion for
it when you say it is like what we need
everyone to feel, right, Like, we need everyone to to
think about this as if you were living eighty years
ago and saw it yourself, right, I mean, because that's it.
You know, emotion and interest tends to dull over the years,
and the reality is like there's people still living who
(15:32):
have these first hand memories, and you know, we want
to preserve those. I mean, this is this is not
just part of our history and our past. This is
absolutely part of our future too.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
One of the things that I've struggled with with a
lot of the Old Time history is the fact that
it was a black and white world. As the creators
of this movie, did you did you think about that
about everything that you were researching was a black and
white world? And how did you colorize it so that
the rest of us can sit there and say, oh,
oh man, that feels like it's happening now.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
Well, you know, we spent hours in the National Archives
watching footage from nineteen forty five, which actually was in color.
The original film was in color, but it's very deep
in the National Archives and probably hasn't been checked out
in decades. So a lot of the footage in the
film is from the archives never seen. I mean, you
(16:24):
can't find it on YouTube. You can't find it. It's
publicly available, but it's hard to get and I think
seeing it in color changes it completely for people because
a lot of what they're seeing is that black and
white news coverage.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Yeah, where can people go to find out more about
your project and other things you're going to be doing,
because if you're sitting around waiting for the next one,
I don't believe that, because you guys are too good
at what you're doing.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Thank you now. We very much want to make another film.
There's a lot more voices. We'd like to include more
atomic veterans from Moorld War two, as well as those
who were involved with testing like you touched on. Our
website is Atomic echoesfilm dot com and for watching Atomic Echoes.
It's available on the PBS app for two months and
(17:13):
is on your local PBS station.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Please come back to this show anytime in the future.
This door is always going to be open for you.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Le twice Sarah, We're coming back.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Will you guys be brilliant today?
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Okay, thanks so much for helping us share this story.
I'm so proud of the two of you. And the
reason why is because my father was in World War
Two and not too many people speak of my father's journey,
and it's like, I need to know what happened to
these men and women that sacrifice their lives, especially in
a period like you're going to talk about today when
it comes to the atomic bomb.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Well, thank you to your father for a service and
for listening to our story and talking to us. We
very much agree with you and we're excited for this conversation.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
How did you get people to open up? Because I mean,
I have a channel that's dedicated one hundred percent to
our US men and women, and the thing is though,
getting them to share their story, because sometimes when you
walk up to them and thank them, they're going, I'm sorry, man,
I don't take a thank you, and it's like what
and so how did you get people to open up
and share their stories with you?
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Well? I think it helped, you know, our personal connections
to the war. My grandfather was a medic in Nagasaki
after the atomic bomb dropped, So when we were approaching
these veterans, you know, we're coming from a place of
a personal interest in it, which I think helped a lot.
(01:10):
And also, you know, and my my husband's a veteran
as well, so I've spent many years telling veterans stories,
and you know, and I think the second part of
it is no one's really asked them, you know, They've
been waiting for someone to ask about this part of
their service. And I think it was a really big
(01:31):
honor for them to be able to be recognized for
their service, not just during the war, but what they
did after the war, which you know, haunted them for
the rest of their lives. So, you know, so I
think they were they were waiting to talk about it.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
You know, the tears that I have cried in listening
to it are not tears of sadness, but rather tears
of openness that you, you, the two of you have
created this path for all of us to step into
a world to get a better understanding of where we
are today.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Well, we really appreciate you watching it, and we're so
glad you felt that emotion. There's many hours of footage
of Victoria and I crying that you make the final cut.
These veterans stories were just so incredibly inspirational and heartbreaking
at the same time. You know, Victoria talked about the
(02:22):
fact that they had never been asked. They were also
not allowed.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
To talk thout it. That's right for.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Over like forty years, so imagine when things are declassified
forty years later, no one's really asking them to share
their stories. That said, we did approach a few veterans,
and there's not many left of these atomic veterans from
World War Two, probably about ten. We approach some who
just did not want to talk about it again, and
(02:48):
of course we respected that, but even with our own families,
it was hard to get our families to open up.
So I think it's very difficult to revisit the most
difficult period.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Of your life.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
You're speaking the truth on that because my father he
did not start sharing the stories until he knew that
he was only a couple of days away from transition,
and that's when he really started opening up. And it's
one of those moments where you're going, why why did
it take so long? But I think you nailed it
because they weren't supposed to.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Yeah, I mean, we have to remember too, Like you know,
the end of the war came and most of the
soldiers went home to celebrations and you know, parades, and
these these soldiers who were left behind in Japan didn't
get home till nineteen forty six, and like the whole
country had moved on, so they kind of were just like, oh, hey,
you know, welcome back. You know, also, most of the
(03:42):
jobs are now taken, you know, by the other soldiers,
and they really had a much harder transition time, I
think because they kind of missed that period of time
and then on top of that not being able to
discuss what they had seen. I think it was just
really hard for them.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
You touch on something here that that's very very c
and that is to uncover a family's legacy. I mean,
you don't have to be a superstar in baseball or
the NFL you're talking about. All you have to be
is a member of a family, and your family has
a legacy, It's time to share the stories.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Absolutely. I'm Victoria and I are just you know, normal
regular old Americans here, and we happen to have this
family connection that we think is pretty incredible that both
our families have ties to World War Two into the
atomic bombs. And we think the film is even more
powerful because it's not celebrities, it's these incredible people who
(04:37):
witnessed something so honestly horrific that they are the best
messengers of never again for atomic warfare. And when you
look at the veterans in the movie of Archie and
MICUs and Larry are atomic veterans, you might say, oh,
that looks like my father, my grandfather, my great grandfather,
(04:58):
and maybe their message will speak closer to your heart.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
The importance of this is is so valuable in the
way of getting into the hearts of Generation Z and
those that are even younger. The reason why is because
I stand with these people at another job and I
will sit there and ask them about the current conditions
of the world, and I'll say things like the nuclear
bomb and stuff, and they go, eh, I'm going to
you what that was your answer? Eh No? And so
I swear if they watch this documentary, they're going to
(05:25):
open up their eyes and they'll get a better view
of this really was a tragic moment in history.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yeah, I think, you know, I think American students today
are under educated when it comes to the topic of
nuclear war. And you know what happened, you know, after
you know, during the end of World War two and
afterward and the effects of that, and that's one of
the things we're trying to do is really, you know,
when you see a real person behind it, and you're
(05:54):
not just seeing an image of a mushroom cloud or
you know, a destroyed landscape, you're seeing like real people
who have lived with these memories for eighty years. It
just changes the way you think about, you know, think
about nuclear weapons. You know, you start to see yourself
and you know, you start to see your family behind it,
(06:15):
and then all of a sudden, it just becomes something
totally different.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
You speak of that mushroom cloud. There's something so haunting
inside that mushroom cloud. In fact, you guys question it
inside this film, and that is why have we never
seen anything beneath the mushroom It's always from a distance.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Absolutely. That was really our guiding force as we made
this film was that even the both of us who
have these personal ties the atomic bomb, had seen very
little of what happened beneath the mushroom cloud, even though
you know, our families were there just a few days later.
(06:52):
So it was something we really wanted to do. We
want to show the people, We wanted to show children
who were suffering from leukemia. We wanted to show these
terrible burns that people suffered, and some of it's very
difficult to see, but that's those are the images we
need to prevent it from happening again.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Why is it that it came to me as a
shock that the United States instantly sent two hundred thousand
men and women over there after we dropped the bomb.
I mean when I first heard that, I'm going I
didn't know that. Why didn't mister Hall teach me this
in history?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:26):
I mean, I think in any war, you don't really
hear about the people who were there after right to
pick up the pieces. I mean, there was an entire
occupation for US in Japan for years after the bomb.
Only a small number that sixty seven thousand assigned to Hroshima, Nagasaki,
which is just a tiny fraction of the people of
folloing World War two, doing completely classified work there, and
(07:51):
you don't hear about it because you know, afterward the
country didn't want anyone to know. They didn't want him
to know exactly what had happened there. It took many
years for the stories to start coming out.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
You put focus on the veterans who actually were eyewitnesses.
I can't imagine what they feel on the inside and
carry even today, or is it something they've they've you know,
you know, put in a compartment and said I'll get
to you later sometime down the path.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
I think that they, the men we spoke to, had
put this in a compartment, really, and I think that's
why we see so much emotion from them. You know,
for them to be wearing probably wearing parts of their
military uniforms and crying about what they saw. I mean,
it was it was really tough for us to sort
(08:40):
of be like, tell us more, Please tell us more
of this story. That's extremely difficult for you to speak about.
But when we asked, when we were like, your story
is valuable, your service was so valuable, they really did
speak the truth and it was We're so thankful for that.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Please do not move. There's more with Karen Tannaby and
Victoria Kelly coming up next. The name of the documentary
on PBS Atomic Echoes. Let's get back into that conversation
with Karen and Victoria. One of my heroes in life
is doctor Ronald Mack, who went on to become a
big doctor at Wake Forest University and the thing is
that he always used to tell me because he was
at those testings, he died of cancer. He died of cancer,
(09:22):
and I can't imagine how many other people died of
cancer because they sacrificed their life in just the testing
of the bombs.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Yeah, and that's something I mean, we're working on another
project now about the testing and the radiation you know,
affected everyone. They had no idea walking into those cities
that the radiation was going to have the effect that
it had. And you know, all the veterans were in
the film, they've had cancer, survived it. I mean, others
(09:52):
weren't so lucky obviously to live, you know, such long lives.
And I think that that's something want to bring awareness to,
like the on Japan, the Japanese side as well. The
victims were not just the people who died in the bomb.
The victims were also the people who suffered tremendously for
(10:13):
years afterward from those bombs. And that's a story. That's
a story that needs to be told.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
More so, did you meet anybody that that is going
through the why me syndrome? Because that is a real thing.
If you're not one of the ones that was chosen
to transition. Why me, Why did I get to stay?
Speaker 2 (10:32):
So? I think on the American side, the men we
spoke to were like a little bit surprised that they
were still living in their in their late nineties. One
of our veterans, Archie, when we talked to him, was
one hundred. He said, I have cancers popping up all
over my body. H but you know I'm still here.
I think they are a little bit like, why do
(10:54):
I live into old age when so many of the
men I served with were not able to. I think
that's another reason that they were willing to share their
stories is they know there's so few of their voices left.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
The flag, the Japanese flag that has the family's entire
history on it, what are they going to do with
that as we continue to grow as a generation into
other generations, because that's the kind of stuff that's got
to be passed forward and preserved and protected.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Yeah. One, I mean, one of the things a lot
of people don't know is that many of the American
soldiers during World War Two would take these flags from
Japanese soldiers from their bodies, you know, as kind of
like a souvenir. It was something that you know, thousands
of Americans did brought them back to the US and
(11:43):
one of our missions is really to help return these
flags to the Japanese families that they belonged to. And
you know, and most soldiers are on board with that.
I mean, one of our veterans from the film you Know,
had a flag. We just found out about it. After
he saw the film. He said, I want to return this,
and so we're working on, you know, bringing that back
(12:04):
to Japan.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Yeah, that is so interesting you bring that up because
my father brought back things as well from Germany. And
the thing is, though, is that we would go in
and try to get into it, to hold it and
stuff that would piss him off so fast because he goes,
that is not yours, to even understand it is mine.
It is something that I am holding on to.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Well, that's really interesting. I think with the job in
these flags, I think a lot of the US soldiers,
you know, it was something you took, It was very
normalized then. They didn't have a great understanding of what
they were taking. And now that the US and Japan
are such strong allies, we have such a great relationship
between our two countries, they feel like the right thing
(12:45):
to do is to give that flag back to the
families if they can, So that is something we're trying
to facilitate going forward.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
When did you know the production was ready for the
rest of the planet. And the reason why I asked
that is because creative people are never satisfied. We always
want to change this, that, move this direction. When did
you know it was time to relinquish it?
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Oh, we could show you some documents of being like
change this, change that. Well, we really wanted to get
this film out for the eightieth anniversary of the dropping
of the atomic bombs. You know, it's so important that
people care about nuclear piece all the time. But of
course you know this as as someone in media. When
(13:25):
you have a date, a cause, a something that might
help you get more attention, you say that it's good
in time for that. So we're really really pleased with
the final product that. Of course, we wish we'd had
the time to find five more veterans to add even
more stories. There's always the more you want to do.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
And once again, the importance of this documentary being released
right here on the eightieth anniversary is because I mean,
the look at the current state of the world is
unbelievably reckless. And then you tie that up into the
Salt Treaty that we have with with Russia that ends
at the end of this year. We see a movie
like that creates conversation, it creates action, reaction, and you
get things done. We need to have something like this
(14:05):
to remind us, hey, we can't do it again.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
Yeah, it's just I mean, it's the same with the Holocauster.
I think of how powerful a lot of those books
that came out from survivors have been, you know, throughout
history since then. And you know, we need more of
that with the atomic bombs, which is you know, one
of the things we're trying to do, you know with
this film, it's just start restart the conversation that a
(14:31):
lot of people have forgotten.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Like you said, it's a wake up call. And right now,
the folks that are experts in this, the heads of
the Bolton of Atomic Scientists, they're saying, this is a
uniquely dangerous moment. Look at the headlines right now, like
you're saying with Russia, the time is now to further
educate the US on this topic.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
You really hit on a subject here that that gets
inside your mind, body and soul. If you have never
seen the damage of an atomic bomb, you'll never understand it.
Oh my god, that that hits you so hard in
the heart.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Yeah, I'd be awful.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Quote.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
I love and your you, you know your passion for
it when you say it is like what we need
everyone to feel, right, Like, we need everyone to to
think about this as if you were living eighty years
ago and saw it yourself, right, I mean, because that's it.
You know, emotion and interest tends to dull over the years,
and the reality is like there's people still living who
(15:32):
have these first hand memories, and you know, we want
to preserve those. I mean, this is this is not
just part of our history and our past. This is
absolutely part of our future too.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
One of the things that I've struggled with with a
lot of the Old Time history is the fact that
it was a black and white world. As the creators
of this movie, did you did you think about that
about everything that you were researching was a black and
white world? And how did you colorize it so that
the rest of us can sit there and say, oh,
oh man, that feels like it's happening now.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
Well, you know, we spent hours in the National Archives
watching footage from nineteen forty five, which actually was in color.
The original film was in color, but it's very deep
in the National Archives and probably hasn't been checked out
in decades. So a lot of the footage in the
film is from the archives never seen. I mean, you
(16:24):
can't find it on YouTube. You can't find it. It's
publicly available, but it's hard to get and I think
seeing it in color changes it completely for people because
a lot of what they're seeing is that black and
white news coverage.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Yeah, where can people go to find out more about
your project and other things you're going to be doing,
because if you're sitting around waiting for the next one,
I don't believe that, because you guys are too good
at what you're doing.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Thank you now. We very much want to make another film.
There's a lot more voices. We'd like to include more
atomic veterans from Moorld War two, as well as those
who were involved with testing like you touched on. Our
website is Atomic echoesfilm dot com and for watching Atomic Echoes.
It's available on the PBS app for two months and
(17:13):
is on your local PBS station.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Please come back to this show anytime in the future.
This door is always going to be open for you.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Le twice Sarah, We're coming back.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Will you guys be brilliant today?
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Okay, thanks so much for helping us share this story.
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