Japanese Fire Fighters tell families "We won't be coming home"

[Artina89]

This is really touching. I hope that these brave men will be remembered and honoured for years to come. Theirs is the ultimate sacrifice, to try and ensure the stability and to prevent further disaster that could endanger the lives of others. My heart goes out to them and their families. God speed brave souls. Godspeed.

 

[imperialreign]

Much like the Chernobyl Liquidators, they're giving their all for their fellow man. It's a shame, and let history not forget the selfless sacrifice these brave souls are making.

 

[godofallu]

As I understand it spraying the thing with water is only a very temporary solution. They need to actually fix the thing before it blows, but from what I have been hearing that may not be possible.

If they were going into the plant to fix the problem that would be worth dying for, but spraying the thing with water isn't worth their lives. This has been going on for a while now, how many firefighters need to get hit with radiation before they let the thing blow or fix the problem? Dying in order to save people is noble, throwing your life away in order to buy another few days.. meh. At this point anyone who wanted to get out of the blast radious could have done so. It's tragic to think that they may have to let it blow, but let's be honest, Japan can handle a nuke going off inside it's borders.

 

[Teddy Roosevelt]

As I understand it spraying the thing with water is only a very temporary solution. They need to actually fix the thing before it blows, but from what I have been hearing that may not be possible.

If they were going into the plant to fix the problem that would be worth dying for, but spraying the thing with water isn't worth their lives. This has been going on for a while now, how many firefighters need to get hit with radiation before they let the thing blow or fix the problem? Dying in order to save people is noble, throwing your life away in order to buy another few days.. meh. At this point anyone who wanted to get out of the blast radious could have done so. It's tragic to think that they may have to let it blow, but let's be honest, Japan can handle a nuke going off inside it's borders.

There is far too much wrong with what you just said.

First of all, how dare you sat something so disrespectful about what these men are prepared to do? There is no magic fix to this problem, and it is idiotic to assume that they are ONLY spraying water on the reactor. There is work being done to stop a meltdown and get the cooling systems online, but that cannot happen before a meltdown happens if there is no one to keep the reactor cool.

I am shocked to see someone suggest that these men so bravely sacrificing their lives to hold off a disaster are throwing away their lives uselessly. That is simply false, and, furthermore, you refer to the idea of a nuclear blast in Japan as if it were a joke.

Even so, I close with a nitpicking comment:

Reactor meltdowns are not nuclear explosions. Meltdowns are far too slow to induce a full-scale blast like an actual atomic warhead.

 

[Nouw]

[sub]Even in death, they will still serve[/sub]

Being a bit more mature, is this necessary? If yes, that is really touching. That's the ultimate commitment, not seen since people were forced to join the army. Good comparison?

 

[OldGus]

I will give them the honorable stuff. Definitely honorable. That being said... WHAT?! ok, I understand Western News is designed to sell newspapers, but any title of firefighter they could hold is incidental, as they are nuclear plant technicians who happen to be fighting a fire. Its like if there's a fire on a submarine. Then, EVERYONE is a firefighter.
And "Samurai Warriors" and "Nuclear Ninja"? Let's ignore the part where "Samurai" actually means "warrior", thus I assume that the workers would then just be called Samurai by the press... I actually did a cross check of the Japanese for ninja, nuclear, and the name of the plant (for those of you confused, I mean the Japanese that looks like this. 忍者、原子、福島第一. Incidentally, for those of you who want to try the search using Google translate on whatever page you get, God help you, that's the same search terms I used.) The only mention of those in the same page were not news anything... they were blogs, similar to Yahoo Answers and 4Chan. Even there, ninja and nuclear did not appear together.
On a different note, Interesting to see that the Western media consider 4Chan (or its Japanese equivalents) a reputable news source.


Before people ask, no, I'm not going to go into the Chernobyl part of this article.

P.S. Regardless of what I said, that doesn't change one fact. These people are now, and have been, heroes.

 

[The Diabolical Biz]

Wow...that...well, I'm fighting back tears, which doesn't usually happen when I watch even the most harrowing news.

Best of luck to anyone involved, my heart and mind is with you

 

[CharrHearted]

They call it a suicide mission. Firefighters... PROVE THEM WRONG!

 

[Blemontea]

Holy shit...
I knew Self Sacrifice wasnt new to Japanese culture but this is a whole new level

 

[DSK-]

Those men have testicles the size of Betelgeuse. My thoughts are with them and their families. I wish you all well.

 

[Uncreation]

In short, this thread is a memorial to the brave souls that have volunteered to die to save their country and loved ones.

Not just their country. A nuclear catastrophe could affect the whole world...

 

[death13245]

There is a monument to the dead soldiers of world war 1 and 2 in my town. It has the only line that fits this perfectly.

"They gave their today, for your tomorrow."

 

[VanityGirl]

I can't be over there, but my prayers are out to those brave men and their families.

 

[Magikarp]

Whether they come out of that plant on their feet or in bodybags, these are some of the bravest men the world will ever know. Courage like this is what we all should aspire to.

 

[gigastar]

Strangely if that happened in any other developed country, health and safety would have them in sraight jackets and on horse tranquilisers while they let the reactors meltdown.

Oh well, true patriotism is a willing to die for ones country and those guys are doing it. Respected.

 

[o0BigDave0o]

They will forever be remembered as those who have brought Japan out of one of its darkest hours. I hope that a few, if not all make it, but my thoughts are with them and their families.

 

[Captain Pirate]

This is just... amazing.
Bravery of the highest order.
I hope these men are remembered for years to come.
If I knew anything about rock carving, I would do my best to chip in (No pun intended) and help build a statue/memorial in their honour.
What everyone else said: My thoughts and prayers are with them.

Nothing I ever do in my life will ever compare to the nobility of their sacrifice.

 

[Liiizard]

These individuals are merit to their nation and a testament to the power of the human spirit. I hope Japan builds a memorial to them after they make the final sacrifice.