My name is Isao Miura and I was born on October 27th, 1926 in Hiroshima, Japan. I grew up with both parents, and had 3 siblings: one sister and two brothers. My Father worked for a bank, and my Mother stayed home and took care of us children. When I was a kid, I loved animals. My father would often take me to the Zoos in Tokyo or Osaka. I liked to go fishing, and play with my siblings. It was an enjoyable childhood.
Once I got into Junior High School, the climate in our country began to change. Resources were scarce, money was low, and it became harder to get what we needed to survive. I remember in school, my teachers would tell me I had to prepare to serve my country. Even during P.E. class, my teachers told me I had to train myself to become a strong man and win the war. I felt a great deal of pressure from all the adults around me.
Around 1943, I could no longer take my general classes. My curriculum was only Army education. The training was extremely strict. I had to learn how to shoot, condition my body, and many other things that would prepare me for life as a soldier. We once went to the east side of Hiroshima to a gun range. We all got rifles and practiced our aim.
I vividly remember December 4th, 1943 when the breaking news of Leipzig's bombing came in. I heard marching band music outside, and I knew that war was impending.
I knew it would be a difficult fight, but with the guidance of our emperor, I believed we would win this war. I was soon dispatched to factories as a mobilized student, to make equipment for the soldiers. Soon after graduating Junior High school, I got into a medical school in Nagoya, where I was again dispatched to Osaka as a mobilized student. In Osaka, I helped make medicine for the Army.
I remember air raids almost every day, which were terrifying. It was a serious time for me. I couldn't sleep at night. I couldn't focus and study during school. I even saw bombs explode in front of me and kill dozens of people. Many of my friends from school were killed in the air raids. I was constantly in fear of falling under attack next.
During the war, I was in between Nagoya and Osaka. The food was extremely scarce in Nagoya. I had a food ticket which was supposed to get me two meals a day, but often there just wasn't enough food. Sometimes I got to eat rice my classmates would give me, but I would still be hungry. Luckily, the army would give me a decent amount of food when I was at the factory in Osaka.
On August 6th, 1945 I was in Kyoto for a holy day. I soon found out an atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. I couldn't call anyone as I had no phone and there was no service or electricity in Hiroshima anyway. I was worried sick for my family, but a couple days later they sent me a letter telling me they escaped and were safe. Unfortunately, many of my neighbors didn't make it.
Next day I decided to return to Hiroshima by train to see what was going on in my home city. The Hiroshima train station was destroyed, so I had to get off a couple stations before Hiroshima. When I walked into the city, all I saw was smoke and a big empty field. There was a scary silence. The dead bodies made the city smell like rotten fish. I searched for my home, but nothing was there. All I saw was dead bodies, including a neighbor. I didn't see her husband, and I wondered if he had escaped.
I soon noticed that he wrote his location on a wall. Later on when I got there though, I was informed he had died too.
On August 15th, I was in Osaka. My team leader told us there was a very important announcement from the Emperor at 12pm. I couldn't really hear what he was saying, but from the reaction of other people I realized the war was over, that we had surrendered. I also heard that all the POWs were freed. We happily marched through Osaka, as an expression of relief that the war was over.
I was happy the war was over. I thought of the new horizons and possibilities in my life. With the war over, there would be no more air attacks, no more hunger, no more anxiety. I felt a renewed hope. Soon my family came back to Hiroshima and built a new house.
By the fall of 1945, I began studying medicine again in Nagoya. After I graduated, I worked for a Prefectural pharmacy in Hiroshima. There were many people who had suffered radiation from the atomic bomb. We were trying to develop medicine to counteract those negative affects. Many people asked me if we had medicine to treat, but I had no answer as a novice.
Eventually I worked as a pharmacist for the biggest drug store in Hiroshima, before opening my own pharmacy. I got married in 1962, and have two daughters. War is all loss, but since then, I've gained a lot.
