Peace Alliance to host Hiroshima commemorative gathering

North Bay Peace Alliance
News Release

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The North Bay Peace Alliance will host an event commemorating the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The gathering will be held on the 63rd anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6th, 1945.

The first atomic bomb ever used against humans was dropped on Hiroshima at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945. The population had responded to an earlier airraid siren, but had emerged from the shelters just before the bomb exploded. Approximately 130,000 people were dead by November. On August 9, 1945, a second bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, where many survivors from Hiroshima had fled, thinking that the Christian centre would be safe. The Roman Catholic Cathedral was Ground Zero. Between 60,000 and 70,000 people were killed instantly.

The event will take place on the patio next to the pond in front of North Bay City Hall, between 8 and 9 p.m. The program includes dramatic readings, poem, prayer, a speaker and music. Member of the public are encouraged to bring their own choice of a reading, poem or song for inclusion in the program.

The commemoration service is approximately one hour in length, and concludes with a replication of the traditional Japanese "obon" ceremony, where small wood and paper lanterns are lit and set afloat on the water, with a wish or prayer for peace.

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