Saturday, August 8, 2009

Peace Activists in Milwaukee Mark Atomic Bombing Anniversary

I was downtown Saturday evening and walked through Pere Marquette Park where the annual observance of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima was taking place.

It's always a touching and bittersweet event: people gather, bring their kids, eat a picnic meal, peruse political and peace literature distributed at groups' tables, listen to music and speeches, launch floating candles on the Milwaukee River and honor the tens of thousands who died on August 6, 1945 when the first of two atomic bombs were exploded over Japanese cities by the US Army Air Force.

Thanks to the indefatigable band of activists who remind us every August that it's unthinkable nuclear weapons could be used again.


at

2 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 9, 2009 at 7:55 PM

    Pathetic.

    Idiots remembering the bombing without considering the context of the moment or the refusal of the emperor to agree to surrender.

    As tragic as Hiroshima and Nagasaki were, we must never forget how it started and the misery inflicted on our troops by their suicidal military.

    We should remember it as a difficult – BUT NECESSARY – moment brought to us by the Japanese themselves, not us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. xoffAugust 10, 2009 at 6:31 PM

    People may disagree about Hiroshima. Can anyone really argue that a second bomb, three days after Hiroshima, was justified and necessary?

    ReplyDelete