Knee Trousers

Jiro Mitsuda (then, 12), a sixth-year student at a national school (elementary school), was on his way to school when he experienced the atomic bombing. With his face swelling from a large burn and the skin sagging from his body, he was only wearing these shorts. Making his way home crying, he arrived to find his mother, Katsuko (then, 38), collapsed and covered in blood at the entrance. Not caring what happened to himself, he only wanted someone to help his mother. He went to find a neighbor and frantically put out a fire on the second floor of his house by himself. Later, he died in pain on the morning of August 11.

On August 11, Jiro's condition eventually changed. His breathing became shallow and in a raspy voice he asked for money to buy an ice pop. My husband put a 50 sen note into his hand and told him he could get one with that, but he gradually grew silent and around 9:30 in the morning peacefully died surrounded by everyone. Without thinking of his own death, he begged the neighbors to help his mom, carried water up the collapsed steps to the second floor, and put out the fire for us. He did so much and then died.
From Katsuko's account of the atomic bombing

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