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On August 6, two men who had been mobilized at the Hiroshima Post Office in Hiroshima’s Saiku-machi (now part of Ote-machi 1-chome, Naka Ward, and the district right beneath where the atomic bomb exploded), and believed to be dead, reunited for the first time in 55 years. They met in front of the memorial monument engraved with their names and confirmed that they are alive and well. Both men have lived their lives since “that day,” when their family members were killed by the atomic bomb. Now, they have reached the days they can talk to their grandchildren about the preciousness of peace, which they have learned firsthand.

Masayoshi Akezaki, 68, of Nihominami 1-chome in Minami Ward, and Takashige Saito, 68, of Kuchitaminami 9-chome in Asakita Ward, visited the Tamonin Temple in Hijiyama-cho, Minami Ward, where the memorial monument to the employees of the Hiroshima Post Office with the 288 names of workers and students who died in the atomic bombing engraved, stands. At that time, they were 13-year-old second-year students in the advanced course at Honkawa National School (now Honkawa Elementary School). They were mobilized to work at the post office near their school in the early spring of 1945―the year the atomic bomb was dropped.

“We used to work very hard for the country, even though we were hungry,” Mr. Akezaki said. Mr. Saito continued: “I was small, but I carried a big bag over my shoulder and pulled a red, two-wheeled cart laden with parcels.” The homes of the two students were located just 500 meters from the hypocenter.

Mr. Akezaki was reassigned to the second engine depot for the Hiroshima Railway Bureau, where he was exposed to the atomic bombing while attending a morning assembly. He lost his father, older brother, and grandmother, who were living in Honkawa-cho 2-chome in Naka Ward, in the bombing. “I frequently went to the ruins of the post office, hoping to find someone I knew, but to no avail.”

On that day, Mr. Saito happened to be in the city of Iwakuni with his uncle, visiting an acquaintance. Four members of his family, including his aunt, who raised him as if she were his mother, and his older sister, were at home in the former Zaimoku-cho area, which is now part of the Peace Memorial Park. “The next day, I headed to the remains of my home, feeling weak at the knees because of the bodies floating on the surface of the river.”

After the bombing, they gave up their studies to live. They did not know until this spring, when the Chugoku Shimbun contacted them for an interview, that their names were on the Hiroshima Post Office’s list of employees who died in the atomic bombing. “I have no complaints about the monument, which stands, enduring and resisting the elements,” Mr. Akezaki said. After the reunion, Mr. Saito dabbed his eyes with his handkerchief and said: “Our names on the monument are proof that we have lived various lives in various times.”

Both Mr. Akezaki and Mr. Saito have retired from their place of work and now live with their children and grandchildren. Next time, they plan to visit the monument with their grandchildren and share with them the history of Hiroshima inscribed in it.

(Originally published on August 7, 2000)