Just weeks before the US dropped the most powerful weapon mankind has ever known, Nagasaki was not even on a list of target cities for the atomic bomb. In its place was Japan's ancient capital, Kyoto. The list was created by a committee of American Military generals, Army officers and scientists. Kyoto, which is home to more than 2,000 Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, including 17 World Heritage Sites, was at the top of it. But in early June 1945, Secretary of War Henry Stimson ordered Kyoto to be removed from the target list. He argued that it was of cultural importance and that it was not a military target.
Chrome plated Zippo with «MILT, 1945, Kyoto, Japan» engraved on the front side.
