When the bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, one man had the misfortune of being in both places during both occurrences. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was getting off a trolley on the morning of August 6th when he saw parachutes coming from an airplane. He was less than two miles away when the bomb detonated, and the shock waves ruptured his ear drums. Yamaguchi lost consciousness but eventually awoke and found several of his colleagues.
Together, Yamaguchi and his colleagues made the nearly 180-mile trip back to their home in Nagasaki. There, he was treated for his injuries and returned to work three days after the explosion. When he explained his experience to his boss and colleagues, they were both amazed and confused. Just as they began to doubt his story—specifically how a single bomb could destroy an entire city—a flash of light filled the room.
It was the second bomb. By some miracle, Yamaguchi, his wife, and his son all survived the explosion. His house, unfortunately, did not. It is said that Yamaguchi is one of 160 people that survived both bombings, but he is the only person recognized by the government as an official “enijuu hibakusha”, which means “double bomb survivor.”