The Act of Remembering

From last year ...

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"Even to those who managed to survive, it was hell where they envied the dead," Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba told the crowd of thousands gathered at Peace Memorial Park to remember the 62nd anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the UnitedStates, which ultimately killed more than 250,00 people. Mayor Akiba went on to describe the horrific scenes etched into the bodies and memories of those who survived. After his speech, 1,000 white doves were released into the sky above Hiroshima.

"The Japanese government, which has the duty to work for the abolition of nuclear weapons through international law," Mr. Akiba admonished, "should protect its pacifist constitution which it should be proud of, and clearly say 'no' to antiquated and wrong U.S. policies."

The crowd of survivors and mourners bowed their heads for a moment of silence when two children rang the Peace Bell at 8:15 in the morning, the exact time the Enola Gay B-29 bomber dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.

Six days later, it was the southern city of Nagasaki that was sacrificed for the cause of freedom.

Today, it is the men, women, and children of Iraq.