“Because my parents were American missionaries who sent me to public schools in rural Japan, I had to confront Hiroshima as a child. I was in the fourth grade - the only American in my class - when our teacher wrote the words "America" and "Atomic Bomb" in white chalk on the blackboard. All forty Japanese children turned around to stare at me. My country had done something unforgivable and I had to take responsibility for it, all by myself. I desperately wanted to dig a hole under my desk, to escape my classmates' mute disbelief and never have to face them again.” ChildrenCountryDoneWantedSchoolAmericaFacesParentWhiteResponsibilityClassTeacherHolesStaringBombsGradesJapanFortyFourthDesksTaking ResponsibilityPublic SchoolDisbeliefMuteAtomic BombHiroshimaClassmatesChalkUnforgivableFourth GradeBlackboard Author:Linda Hoaglund
