Shuji Kajiyama-AP
The Hiroshima bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy,” released a mix of shockwaves, heat rays and radiation, killing thousands instantly.
By the end of 1945, the death toll had risen to some 140,000 out of an estimated population of 350,000. Thousands more died of illness and injuries later.
Three days after the Hiroshima attack, on August 9, 1945, the United States dropped a second nuclear bomb on the city of Nagasaki in southern Japan. Japan surrendered six days later, ending the military aggression that brought it into World War Two.
The United States, recently involved in a row with Tokyo over the relocation of a U.S. air base on the southern Japan island of Okinawa, sent a representative to the ceremony for the first time, reflecting President Barack Obama’s push to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
No sitting Japanese prime minister has ever been to Pearl Harbor; and no sitting American president has ever been to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Will President Obama be the first?
And if so, why or why not?
I don’t believe we have anything to apologize for; but this does not mean we cannot express compassion for those who were victims of what was necessary at the time to win and shorten the war; and extend compassion to the family members who mourn their loss.
“PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH”
Folded by wordsmith
Label reads:
Traditionally in Japan, the crane is a symbol of honor, peace, and loyalty. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the dragon and the tortoise), and is said to live for a thousand years. In Asia, it is commonly said that folding 1000 paper origami cranes makes a person’s wish come true. This makes them popular gifts for special friends and family.
Due to the legend of Sadako Sasaki, who died of luekemia sickness as a result of the dropping of the A-Bomb, the folding of a thousand paper cranes has not only come to symbolize long life and health, but also of world peace. But there can be no permanent peace in the absence of a strong military dedicated to its preservation. Using a 12 x 12″ square of “kami”-flage paper to fold the traditional tsuru, the military peace crane represents one of the ironies and paradoxes of war and peace inherent in the human condition.
-Compiled and written (pillaged and plagiarized) by wordsmith, with hat tip to Wikipedia and Operation Peace Crane
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.