At the same time, the warnings were appreciated by many Japanese as gestures of consideration and sympathy. A woman in Nagaoka credited the leaflets with saving her life. Her own government had refused to pass on the vital news that the city had been listed as a target, she said—but “I believed the Americans were honest and good people in letting us know in advance of impending raids.” She fled, and three days later Nagaoka was firebombed. A factory worker in Akita shared the sentiment. “They were not barbarians,” he said of the men flying the great silver bombers overhead. “They gave us
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