Reflections on Nagasaki by a Nez Perce Elder > Comments > "Review of Reflections on Nagasaki by a Nez Perce Elder"
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- David Swatling
- Username: swatling
- Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Joined PRX: Jan 22, 2004
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- "Reflections on Nagasaki by a Nez Perce Elder"
- Summary: Nez Perce elder Horace Axtell reflects on witnessing the devasation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
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Review of Reflections on Nagasaki by a Nez Perce Elder
David Swatling
Posted on August 04, 2005 at 01:50 AM
This short first person narrative is ideal for stations which might not have time for the longer format programs commemorating the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nez Perce tribal elder Horace Axtell's descriptions of arriving at Nagasaki just after the devastation are simple but compelling. A tree stripped of its branches, a smell which takes away his appetite, witness to an act of violence... and then a touching moment of human kindness amid the rubble. The understated connection to the wars of his ancestors, and his soft-spoken condemnation of war in general connect the past to the present perfectly. In the best oral history tradition, this piece is highly recommended!