Images from the Trunk
After returning to the U.S. in 1946, Joe O’Donnell kept the photos in a trunk, which he never opened until 1989. What made him decide to open it?
Joe O’Donnell (1922-2007) was one of the first foreigners to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki after their destruction by the atomic bombs. He was a 23-year-old Marine sergeant and was assigned to document the effects of the bombings. He spent seven months in Japan, from September 1945 to March 1946, photographing the devastated cities.
After his return to the United States, O’Donnell started a new life as a White House photographer. He had brought photographs from Japan, but he put them in a trunk and placed it in the attic, resolving never to open it. The trunk was left in the attic, locked, but O’Donnell’s memories of Nagasaki and Hiroshima remained with him. In 1989, he realized that he could no longer run away from his feelings. He decided to unlock the trunk. While looking at the photos, he decided that he had to make his own statement on the horrors of nuclear war. He says:
“Please do not misunderstand. I am an American. I love my country; I fought for my country. However, when my country does injustice to another, I must speak up. American veterans do not understand me. I was there. I walked in the ashes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese army did many terrible things in China, Japan, Korea, and elsewhere. But can’t you understand that a small child did nothing? It is for those that I speak. They and their mothers did not deserve to die to win a war. It was not right in 1945. It will not be right in the year 2045. It will never be right. It will never be right. History has a way of repeating itself. It must never be repeated again.”
When O’Donnell was in his 70s, he had a chance to visit Japan to show his photos at an exhibit. The photos were also exhibited in the United States and in Europe. He carried on his mission until he died at the age of 85 on August 9, 2007.
After returning to the U.S. in 1946, Joe O’Donnell kept the photos in a trunk, which he never opened until 1989. What made him decide to open it?
Joe O’Donnell (1922-2007) was one of the first foreigners to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki after their destruction by the atomic bombs. He was a 23-year-old Marine sergeant and was assigned to document the effects of the bombings. He spent seven months in Japan, from September 1945 to March 1946, photographing the devastated cities.
After his return to the United States, O’Donnell started a new life as a White House photographer. He had brought photographs from Japan, but he put them in a trunk and placed it in the attic, resolving never to open it. The trunk was left in the attic, locked, but O’Donnell’s memories of Nagasaki and Hiroshima remained with him. In 1989, he realized that he could no longer run away from his feelings. He decided to unlock the trunk. While looking at the photos, he decided that he had to make his own statement on the horrors of nuclear war. He says:
“Please do not misunderstand. I am an American. I love my country; I fought for my country. However, when my country does injustice to another, I must speak up. American veterans do not understand me. I was there. I walked in the ashes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese army did many terrible things in China, Japan, Korea, and elsewhere. But can’t you understand that a small child did nothing? It is for those that I speak. They and their mothers did not deserve to die to win a war. It was not right in 1945. It will not be right in the year 2045. It will never be right. It will never be right. History has a way of repeating itself. It must never be repeated again.”
When O’Donnell was in his 70s, he had a chance to visit Japan to show his photos at an exhibit. The photos were also exhibited in the United States and in Europe. He carried on his mission until he died at the age of 85 on August 9, 2007.