From Ashes to Third-Generation Friendships
Committed to the Allied Cause
Lt. Jacob “Jake” Beser was twenty years old when he joined the US Army after studying mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins. He was Jewish-American and was particularly invested in the Allied cause. His mother had helped around thirty Jewish foster children from Germany—all sent to the United States by their parents for their safety—find new homes. Originally, Jacob wanted to fight in Europe and help save Jews from the Holocaust.
Abroad Both Crews
In 1944, after several years of service, Jacob was selected for the 509th Composite Group. He ultimately helped drop bombs on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only crew member to serve on both missions. Jacob was the radar specialist, making sure the atomic bombs exploded mid-air to cause maximum damage.
An American Pilot and a Hibakusha
Jacob Beser recounted "I want everyone to know that I was in complete agreement in 1945 and will be until the day I die that President Truman made the correct decision to use the atomic bombs on Japan". He also acknowledged the devastating impact of the bombings, stating, "I never saw the intact City of Hiroshima," and describing the scene as a "boiling muddy mess with fires continuing to break out". Beser reflected on the need for humanity to find a way to coexist, given the destructive power of nuclear weapons, saying, "We have to find a way to get along, because we now have the wherewithal to destroy everything".
He died of cancer in 1992 at the age of seventy-one. Jacob most likely developed cancer from radiation exposure, just like many of the hibakusha—atomic bomb survivors—of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Third-Generation Friendships
Jacob Beser’s grandson, Ari Beser, grew up knowing about both sides of Hiroshima. While his paternal grandfather had dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, his maternal grandfather was friends with a Hiroshima survivor. Jacob travelled to Japan for research in 2011, just after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and his book, The Nuclear Family (2015), weaves together stories from both nuclear tragedies.
His book offers The Nuclear Family offers insight - Part personal memoir, part history text, it weaves multiple story lines into a rich, multifaceted look at the price we’ve paid—and will continue to pay—to live with nuclear technology.
To purhcase a copy click here
Championing through Building Bridges
Ari has produced several TED Talks: