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The Kamikaze Special Attack Corps began operations on October 29, 1944. This meant that the Japanese forces were ready to start attacking back.
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Gen's father opposes the war since he thinks that it is useless. Since then, the Nakaoka family are referred to as traitors.
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Gen's dad got arrested because he disrespected the chairman's family. During the arrest, he gets treated terribly. Because Gen's dad is the only one in the family that works, The Nakaoka family suffers.
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Gen's father finally got released from the jail. This is an important event because the Nakaoka family were struggling. After the arrest, the family don't struggle as much since the father can now work so they can earn money for food.
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In Eiko's school, money was missing. Everyone blamed Eiko, since her father opposes the war, to be the one who took the money. She gets taken to the principals office and gets abused.
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Koji feels that the only way that he'll stop getting called a traitor is by joining the Navy. His father disagrees and gets mad at him because he feels as if war is useless.
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The wheat field that the Nakaoka family have been working on for a long time was ruined by Ryucichi. This affected the family since the wheat was supposed to be used for food.
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The Nakaoka family were outside their house where they suddenly hear bombs. They notice that the Americans were bombing the factories in Iwakuni. The bombings made they aware of what can happen to them.
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A group of scientists were working on an atomic bomb for over three years. They planned to use the bomb in Niigata, Hiroshima, Kokura, and Kyoto.
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On April 1, 1945, American forces landed to the island of Okinawa. Okinawa was the place where Japan's last line of defense was, so they needed more troops. Japan forced College students to join the Special Attack Corps.
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In May, 1945, the Japanese mainland, Honshu, was bombed by B-29 bombers. The bombing caused a lot of damage and cost a lot of people's lives.
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In June 23, 1945, there was a battle in Okinawa where everything was going wrong. Students were drafted and forced to block American tanks.
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Gen's mother, Kimie, gets sick from malnutrition and overworking. There's nothing for her to eat, so she suffers. Gen and his brother Shinji go out on the streets to beg for money so they can buy medicine for their mother.
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The atomic bomb began and released plutonium within the power of 20,000 tons. The bomb guaranteed war for the United States since the Japanese were not expecting an atomic bomb.
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In July 16, 1945, the countdown had started at 5:30 a.m.. The Americans were ready to bomb Japan.
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In July 26, 1945, the United States, Great Britain and China issued the Potsdam Declaration, which indicated that Japan had to surrender from the war.
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Mr. Horikawa had many debts to pay. It was hard for him to get the money since he only has one leg. Mr. Horikawa works as a glass replacer. Gen decided to break the windows of some houses so Mr. Horikawa could make some money if he repaired him.
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Seven B-89 bombers were taking off to bomb Japan. The scheduled time for the bomb was 9:15 A.M. on August 6.
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The Atomic bomb reached Hiroshima. The reaction was rapid, so there was no chance to hide.
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As the bomb reached Hiroshima, Gen passed out. When he wakes up, he finds out that the bomb had killed many people. He tries to look for his family. He also tries to help the people who were burning to death.
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While looking for his family, he encounters the Chairman and Ryukichi. They're both stuck under their destroyed house. Gen helps them out, but then finds his family is stuck too. He asks if they could help, but instead run away.
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Gen's mother, Kimie, is the only one who was able to get out of the destroyed house. Eiko, Shinji, and their father are all trapped. Kimie can't do anything to help, since she is pregnant. Her husband tells her and Gen to leave them behind and to run away.
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The fire got close to Gen's house, so the only choice is for him and his mother to run away. As they leave them behind, Kimie starts laughing as if the death of her family gives her satisfaction.
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As they run away, they find a river where they think it's best if they jump. Meanwhile, Kimie begins to feel pain and she realizes that she is giving birth. Gen does everything he could to help.
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As they are about to jump in the water, Kimie decides to talk to her baby that the war has taken away her family.