than a decade recovering from his physical injuries. His wife and infant son escaped the Nagasaki explosion with minor wounds, but the family was plagued by poor health. His son died of cancer in 2005 at age 59.
Yamaguchi isn't the only person to have survived both blasts, just the first formally recognized. Two of his former coworkers are among the other known double-hibakusha. Yamaguchi has understandably become a vocal proponent of nuclear disarmament.
"The reason that I hate the atomic bomb is because of what it does to the dignity of human beings," he explained to The Times. "Having been granted this miracle, it is my responsibility to pass on the truth."
PHOTO (COLOR): Tsutomu Yamaguchi, right, and Akira Iwanaga, his onetime coworker at Mitsubishi Heavy industries, survived the 1945 atomic bombings of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where they posed for this 2005 photo.