Today we visited Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. There was so much to see here - so many monuments to the people who died or were otherwise affected by the bombing of Hiroshima on that fateful day, August 6, 1945. It was a very emotional day for us. We visited the hypocenter of the bombing, which is the place where the bomb exploded, kind of like our Ground Zero. There was a small monument there on a street next to a hospital which has been rebuilt on the spot where a hospital formerly stood. Next, we walked to the park and saw the A-Bomb Dome, a building which was left standing as it was after it was bombed as a memorial of what happened. The park is beautiful, and it was a beautiful day today, just like the day the bombimg happened. We passed lots of monuments. Finally, we came to the monument to Sadako. I filled in a dedication form which will be added to Hiroshima's permanent records, and hung the cranes in a small outside room. Thank you so much for folding these wonderful cranes! While I was doing this, a large group of school children came to the monument with cranes to dedicate, and they had a brief ceremony before hanging their cranes. They laid their cranes under the monument, and then two boys made a brief speech. Then, the group sang a beautiful song for peace. I couldn't understand the words, but I certainly felt the feelings. The song was followed by a moment of silent prayer. Can you imagine a large group of 80 or more students being silent together in memory of Sadako? My colleagues and I all had chills. It was a moment I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
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