Living Family Archive

Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima, Japan

Stories set here

Gathered Around the Radio: Music and Wartime NewsIris recalls the constantly playing radio and the Moline Daily Dispatch as the family's main news sources, including news that might affect Uncle Lloyd in New Guinea. The family mourned President Roosevelt around the radio, but also enjoyed singing and dancing to popular songs and big bands. She recounts Bill's description of overseas propaganda broadcasts mixing favorite music with frightening, specific military information; she attributes that information to spies within the U.S. government. She remembers divided reactions to the August 6, 1945 bombing of Hiroshima, her father's approval, and Harry Truman's presidency.

Events here

August 6, 1945
Bombing of Hiroshima and reactions at home
Iris recalls the USA dropping the A-bomb and the resulting debate at home. She says many opposed the devastation, while the majority and those fighting the Japanese supported it. She remembers Dad agreeing. Harry Truman was president.

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