The closer the Allies got to Japan, the more savage the fighting. Tiny islands like Peleliu and Iwo Jima were carpeted with corpses. The Americans slaughtered wounded Japanese; both sides looted and mutilated the dead.
Desperate and starving, the Japanese turned to cannibalism - but would not surrender. The atomic bomb seemed a godsend to the Allies poised to invade mainland Japan; it would also deter the Soviet Union.
The Hiroshima pilot and a survivor recall the moment that changed the world. Then came the joy of going home - and the pain of having to live with the memories of hell. Powerful, emotional interviews and striking, rare archive film showing combat and victims may be distressing to some viewers.
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