Christmas tree survives war, Hiroshima bomb

Tree survives Hiroshima blast
Japan surrendered in August 1945, and Iwatake returned home in December.

"I used to think of those joyous days in Hawaii at Christmas, when we had food and treats," he said. "On Chichijima, we were starving."

But Hiroshima was even worse.

"Everything was bad, nothing was left," he said. "I couldn't even think of the joys of what I experienced in Hawaii."

Iwatake's younger brother Takashi had been in the center of the city attending school. His body, like their father's, was never found.

The Iwatake home was in the eastern part of the city, behind a small hill that provided a buffer from the blast. The front end was crushed and burned, but the back stood largely intact.

And that was where the tree was.

"Japan had surrendered, there was no food, nothing to celebrate," he said. "Everybody was in shock and a sad state, but we put it up. My mother put it up."

Each year, tree becomes more poignant
After the war, Iwatake became an interpreter for the U.S. government. He moved to Tokyo, and from 1950 he took responsibility for the family tree.

At first, putting it up was more of a simple tradition than anything else.

His family was once again spreading out. At one stage, four brothers worked for the Occupation Forces as interpreters and translators, including Iwatake. He eventually went back to Tokyo, while his brothers returned to Hawaii. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, three brothers volunteered, and one served in Korea.

The Iwatake family remains scattered.

One brother lives in Chicago, another on Maui. Another died of cancer, possibly the result of radiation from the atomic bomb.

But each year, the tree has gone up. For those not in Tokyo to see it, including Vaughn's cousins in Childress, Texas, Iwatake, now 84, sends photos. And each year, it becomes more poignant.

"Gradually, Christmas has become more meaningful again," he said. "Peace, good will toward your fellow man, you know? After the war, there was no such thing."

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