He's not heavy. He's my brother...

The standing boy of Nagasaki [1] is a historic photograph taken in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, shortly after the atomic bombing of that city on 9th August 1945. The photograph is of a boy of about 10 with his dead baby brother strapped to his back, waiting for his turn at the crematorium. 

A soldier noticed him and asked him to keep this dead child down so that he would not get tired. He replied: He's not heavy, he's my brother! The soldier understood. Since then, this image has become a symbol of unity in Japan. Let this be our motto: 

 

"He's not heavy. He's my brother... She's my sister." 

 

If he falls, raise him. Even if you get tired, help him. And if his support is weak, and if he makes a mistake, forgive him because he is not heavy he is your brother... And if the world abandons him, carry him on your back. Friendship and family means carrying each other through; no matter whatever happens.

The photograph was taken by Joe O'Donnell [2], then working for the United States Marine Corps. Joe O'Donnell made personal copies of his Nagasaki photographs and kept them hidden in a trunk until 1989, when he put together a traveling exhibit and a book. O'Donnell's Japan 1945, Images From the Trunk was published in Japan in 1995 and read widely.

Joe O'Donnel in his book writes as below, 

I saw a boy about ten years old walking by. He was carrying a baby on his back. In those days in Japan, we often saw children playing with their little brothers or sisters on their backs, but this boy was clearly different. I could see that he had come to this place for a serious reason. He was wearing no shoes. His face was hard. The little head was tipped back as if the baby were fast asleep. The boy stood there for five or ten minutes.

The men in white masks walked over to him and quietly began to take off the rope that was holding the baby. That is when I saw that the baby was already dead. The men held the body by the hands and feet and placed it on the fire. The boy stood there straight without moving, watching the flames. He was biting his lower lip so hard that it shone with blood. The flame burned low like the sun going down. The boy turned around and walked silently away.

 

Reference

 

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_Standing_by_the_Crematory

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_O%27Donnell_(photojournalist)