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Prayers for peace: Japanese light hundreds of lanterns to mark the 67th anniversary of those killed in Hiroshima bombings | Mail Online
The whole world will remember when
the Japanese city of Hiroshima was
bombed at the end of the Second
World War. And today thousands of Japanese
people are starting to commemorate
the 140,000 people who lost their
lives.
People across the country have started
to light lanterns of peace and express
their sorrow in preparation for
tomorrow's anniversary.
Others, including Buddhist monks and
children, took part in a parade holding
'lanterns for peace' at the Atomic
Bomb Dome in Hiroshima.
Sixty seven years ago an atomic bomb
was dropped on the city by the United
States by the orders of then President
Harry Truman. The bomb contained the equivalent of
between 12 and 15,000 tons of TNT
and devastated an area of five square
miles and more than 60 per cent of the
buildings in the city were destroyed. More than 140,000 people were killed
out of the city's population of 350,000
including military personell and those
who later died from radiation.
Many have also suffered long-term
sickness and disability. Another atomic
blast in Nagasaki three days later
killed 70,000 more.
The grandson of ex U.S President
Harry Truman has also chosen to take
part in the memorial services and
attended a service for victims. Clifton Truman Daniel visited the
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on
Saturday and laid a wreath to show his
respect.
'I think this cenotaph says it all - to
honor the dead to not forget and to
make sure that we never let this
happen again,' Daniel said after
offering a silent prayer. Daniel, 55, is in Japan to attend
ceremonies next week in Hiroshima
and Nagasaki and his visit is the first
by a member of the Truman family.
Daniel, a former journalist said in a
statement that he decided to visit
Hiroshima and Nagasaki because he
needed to know the consequences of
his grandfather's decision as part of
his own efforts to help achieve a nuclear-free world.
He said he hoped to hear stories from
survivors about how they overcame
their adversity. Daniel will also meet
with the mayors of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki and participate in
discussions with students.
Susumu Miura, a 78-year-old
Hiroshima native, wrote in the
newspaper Tokyo Shimbun that he
was enraged when he learned that
many Americans still support the
decision to drop the atomic bombs.
'But when I heard on the news that
former President Truman's grandson
is visiting Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I
felt as if I lost some weight from my
chest,'
Miura wrote in an op-ed article. The peace group also invited the
grandson of a radar operator who
was on both of the planes that
dropped the atomic bombs.
Ari Beser's grandfather, Jacob Beser,
was only person who directly took
part in both the Hiroshima and
Nagasaki bombings. 'I hope we can bring a true
reconciliation to atomic bombing
survivors, many of them still caught in
animosity toward the United States, as
well as other survivors of war and
their families, and help instill a strong sense of peace among young people,'
Sasaki said in a statement. The U.S. government sent a
representative - the American
ambassador - to the annual
commemoration of the atomic
bombings for the first time two years
ago. Ambassador John Roos also is to attend the Hiroshima ceremony on
Monday.
The whole world will remember when
the Japanese city of Hiroshima was
bombed at the end of the Second
World War. And today thousands of Japanese
people are starting to commemorate
the 140,000 people who lost their
lives.
People across the country have started
to light lanterns of peace and express
their sorrow in preparation for
tomorrow's anniversary.
Others, including Buddhist monks and
children, took part in a parade holding
'lanterns for peace' at the Atomic
Bomb Dome in Hiroshima.
Sixty seven years ago an atomic bomb
was dropped on the city by the United
States by the orders of then President
Harry Truman. The bomb contained the equivalent of
between 12 and 15,000 tons of TNT
and devastated an area of five square
miles and more than 60 per cent of the
buildings in the city were destroyed. More than 140,000 people were killed
out of the city's population of 350,000
including military personell and those
who later died from radiation.
Many have also suffered long-term
sickness and disability. Another atomic
blast in Nagasaki three days later
killed 70,000 more.
The grandson of ex U.S President
Harry Truman has also chosen to take
part in the memorial services and
attended a service for victims. Clifton Truman Daniel visited the
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on
Saturday and laid a wreath to show his
respect.
'I think this cenotaph says it all - to
honor the dead to not forget and to
make sure that we never let this
happen again,' Daniel said after
offering a silent prayer. Daniel, 55, is in Japan to attend
ceremonies next week in Hiroshima
and Nagasaki and his visit is the first
by a member of the Truman family.
Daniel, a former journalist said in a
statement that he decided to visit
Hiroshima and Nagasaki because he
needed to know the consequences of
his grandfather's decision as part of
his own efforts to help achieve a nuclear-free world.
He said he hoped to hear stories from
survivors about how they overcame
their adversity. Daniel will also meet
with the mayors of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki and participate in
discussions with students.
Susumu Miura, a 78-year-old
Hiroshima native, wrote in the
newspaper Tokyo Shimbun that he
was enraged when he learned that
many Americans still support the
decision to drop the atomic bombs.
'But when I heard on the news that
former President Truman's grandson
is visiting Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I
felt as if I lost some weight from my
chest,'
Miura wrote in an op-ed article. The peace group also invited the
grandson of a radar operator who
was on both of the planes that
dropped the atomic bombs.
Ari Beser's grandfather, Jacob Beser,
was only person who directly took
part in both the Hiroshima and
Nagasaki bombings. 'I hope we can bring a true
reconciliation to atomic bombing
survivors, many of them still caught in
animosity toward the United States, as
well as other survivors of war and
their families, and help instill a strong sense of peace among young people,'
Sasaki said in a statement. The U.S. government sent a
representative - the American
ambassador - to the annual
commemoration of the atomic
bombings for the first time two years
ago. Ambassador John Roos also is to attend the Hiroshima ceremony on
Monday.
