Today is the 62nd anniversary of the day that the US dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
On a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum several years ago, Russ Couprie took a picture of this twisted bicycle and posted it on his website. The bicycle was found 2 kilometers from the ground zero.
At this year's commemoration, thousands of elderly survivors, children and dignitaries laid wreaths and flowers at Peace Memorial Park. They bowed in a moment of silence at 8:15 a.m., the time that the Enola Gay B29 bomber dropped the bomb.
“Even to those who managed to survive, it was hell where they envied the dead,” Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba told the crowd, describing scenes from the bombing such as charred faces and torn clothes.
In a speech followed by the release of 1,000 white doves into the sky, Akiba singled out the United States for failing to halt nuclear proliferation.
“The Japanese government, which has the duty to work for the abolition of nuclear weapons through international law, should protect its pacifist constitution, which it should be proud of, and clearly say 'no' to antiquated and wrong U.S. policies.”
It has been estimated that 250,000 people ultimately died from the bombing.
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