Joe O'Donnell, who took this photo in Nagasaki in 1945, was a photojournalist sent by the U.S. military to document the damage caused by air raids of fire bombs and atomic bombs. Years later, he spoke to a Japanese interviewer about this picture below.
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| CROWN English Communication I |
“I saw a boy about ten years old walking by. He was carrying a baby on his back. In those days in Japan, we often saw children playing with their little brothers or sisters on their backs, but this boy was clearly different. I could see that he had come to this place for a serious reason. He was wearing noshoes. His face was hard. The little head was tipped back as if the baby were fast asleep”.
「10歳ぐらいの少年が歩いてくるのが目にとまりました。赤ん坊を背負っていました。その頃の日本では，弟や妹をおんぶして，子どもたちが遊んでいるのをよく見かけましたが，この少年の様子は明らかに違っていました。私には，なにか深刻な理由でこの場所にやってきたのだとわかりました。表情は硬く，靴も履いていませんでした。背中の赤ん坊はぐっすりと眠っているかのように，小さな頭は後ろに倒れていました。」
“The boy stood there for five or ten minutes. The men in white masks walked over to him and quietly began to take off the rope that was holding the baby. That is when I saw that the baby was already dead. The men held the body by the hands and feet and placed it on the fire”.
「少年はそこに5分か10分たっていました。白いマスクの男たちが少年のところまで歩いてきて，赤ん坊を背負っていたひもを静かにほどき始めました。赤ん坊がすでに死んでいるとわかったのはそのときでした。男たちは遺体の手と足を抱えて，火の上に置きました。」
“The boy stood there straight without moving, watching the flames. He was biting his lower lip so hard that it shone with blood. The flame burned low like the sun going down. The boy turned around and walked silently away".
少年は，炎を見つめ，身じろぎもせずに真っすぐにそこに立っていました。下唇をとても強く噛んでいたので，少年の下唇は血で赤く光っていました。太陽が沈んでいくかのように，炎の勢いが鎮まると，少年は身を翻し，黙って立ち去っていきました。」