Video

Video by Staff Sgt. Kenny Holston

Atomic Exposure

Airman Magazine

Sept. 13, 2016 | 3:28

Russell Gackenbach was a second lieutenant aircraft navigator and photographer who flew into the heart of Japan on Aug. 6, 1945, as Little Boy, a 9,000-pound uranium-235 atomic bomb was dropped onto Hiroshima, Japan. The significance of this event is immeasurable, as it was the first time a nuclear device had been used as a wartime strategy, which ultimately led to Japan agreeing to an unconditional surrender on Aug. 14, 1945, and the end of World War II. (U.S. Air Force video/Kenny Holston)