"BOMBS AWAY CURTIS LEMAY"

 In 1987 I headed up a delegation to Japan to gather information for the MWRA Wastewater treatment planned for Deer Island. The first day of our visit we met with the Tokyo mayor and his staff.  He and I traded greetings and other pleasantries through an interpreter. I explained the purpose of our visit and he inquired if any of us had been to Japan before. On the way over from the States, Tony Fletcher a Board member of the MWRA told us he had been stationed in the Sea of Japan as a Navy pilot on an aircraft carrier in the waning days of WW II. After the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima he was asked to fly a reconnaissance mission over the city and report back his findings. Tony told us his report was simple. To his commander he said “There is nothing left of the city” So when the mayor asked the question I looked over to Tony and he nodded a quick no to me. I left it as none had.

Later that same day we met with the Tokyo engineers. They began our meeting by showing us a video depicting the bombing of Tokyo which occurred just months before the devastation caused by the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. General Curtis Lemay had unleashed tons of incendiary bombs on the city. He used the entire fleet of B-29 bombers under his command. The devastation was worse than that caused by the Atomic bombs. 100 thousand souls were lost, 250 thousand buildings destroyed and 16 square miles leveled. Why would they show us this? They pointed out it was an opportunity to rebuild the city anew, a sort of instant “Urban Renewal” project. I couldn't understand how nonchalant they treated such a disaster.