This is Your Life

(Via Hit & Run) In commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing comes this strange story.

On May 11, 1955, before an audience of millions of viewers, a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing was shocked to receive a handshake from the co-pilot who flew the mission to destroy his city. This Is Your Life, the show that engineered this stunt, was an enormously popular “testimonial” program, but one that was frequently criticized for its tendency to go overboard in exploiting the emotional responses of its usually unwitting subjects. The Hiroshima episode is so far off the charts in this regard that—even today—it is unsettling to watch the one clip that is available online.

My only recollection of the show was the Sesame St inspired parody. Apparently they invited (well tricked) a Hiroshima survivor onto the show and gave him quite the surprise. I can't imagine being in his shoes. Or the pilots for that matter. The whole story is well worth reading.