Join me as I pay my respects at the Hiroshima Peace Park Memorial and Museum that honors all those who suffered the dropping of “the bomb”…
… at once a deeply moving humanization of the victims, an unvarnished reminder of the horrors of war, and an inspiring invitation to make peace in our daily lives.
I will allow the images to speak for themselves.
*** WARNING: Extremely Disturbing Images Below ***
Table of Contents
Hiroshima Peace Park
A-Bomb Dome
Hiroshima Memorial Museum
The Human Toll
Mother and child in the fire storm…
The Aftermath…
Korean Victims Memorial
Children’s Peace Monument
Origami cranes, children’s prayers for peace…
The Peace Bell
Frank had the honor of ringing it at a whisper three times at dusk.
The Phoenix Tree, one of the few things that survived near ground zero.
Peace Declaration
Please take a moment to read these lessons for us all…
Singing for peace at the dome…
Special Note from Frank: My primary career was as an engineer at Sandia National Laboratories (1985-2011). A significant portion of that career included nuclear weapons component design and nuclear weapons safety engineering. I plan to share my thoughts and feelings about “the bomb” dropped on Hiroshima, the necessity (or not) of the nuclear weapons stockpile today, the doctrine of mutually assured destruction, and how I view my career in retrospect having visited Hiroshima.
Where to next? (Travel Stories)
May we never use those terrible weapons ever again 🙏🙏🙏
Amen, Sue.
Heart wrenching! So important for us to really think about our human nature.
Thanks a bunch for checking in and for sharing your thoughts, Chuckster. It’s good to meet you.
Thank you, Frank, for sharing this post and highlighting the horrors of the A-bombings! Something none of us should ever forget – especially Americans!
Thanks for adding your voice, Anita. Alas, it’s all too easy for us to bury our heads in the sand.
Before the first bomb was dumped, they might have claimed that they didn’t know about the real impact of what they were doing, but the second bomb? They definitely knew by then.
Thank you for sharing that, Stella. Your point is indeed a huge part of deconstructing the insanity of it all.
Thanks for sharing this, and your confession. A man named Cliff was a member of our Unitarian church and active until the end in peace work. He had been a pilot in the plane that bombed Hiroshima. Unless I’m mistaken, a different city was projected, then due to something last minute, that city was chosen. He attempted to make moral amends until his own passing, years later.
Thanks so much for sharing your personal connection, Nan. I would have been honored to meet Cliff and learn form his experience and perspective.
Given the absolutely insane direction this country has taken under trump, a direction that greatly increases the risks of not only conflicts and wars, but also the us of atomic weapons, this is a very timely reminder about the horrific harm and danger of atomic weapons.
Indeed, Bill… and one of the reasons I was compelled to “come out” so to speak.
By the way, I’m slowly catching up on all your posts. Keep ’em comin’, man.
Thanks & Peace.
Nice to know about your background, Frank. Thank you for covering this. One might add the 1942 internment of West Coast Japanese American citizens. Based on current events, it seems difficult to make a persuasive argument that the world has learned anything about our treatment and respect for our fellow man.
Indeed, Gerald. The list of cruelties our species is capable of goes on and on… and continues this very day not just abroad but here at home… and one of the reasons I was compelled to “come out” so to speak. Thanks for being one of the precious human beings out there who still gives a damn.
Wow. I shall look forward to reading your insights into this formidable topic.
Thank you for not shying away from this heavy heavy subject, Jane. I’m still deconstructing my entire life course and how it relates to the topic at hand… and cannot make any predictions as to when I’ll be ready to go public. Anyway, thanks for being one of the special humans out there who gives me reason for hope.