People in the Rogue Valley are invited to remember the victims of United States’ atomic bombing of two Japanese cities in 1945 on Aug. 6 and 9.
The deployment of the Little Boy bomb on Aug. 6 and the Aug. 9 nuclear targeting of the City of Nagasaki killed nearly 200,000 people. These two events marked the only time that nuclear weapons have been used in combat and the beginning of a legacy of nuclear threats that continue today.
On Aug. 6 people will gather at 8 a.m. at the entrance to Lithia Park in Ashland in an annual vigil to honor and remember the victims of the U.S. nuclear attack on Hiroshima on the same day in 1945. The event will include remarks from Rev. Fred Grewe, Dr. Herbert Rothschild, and Hiroshima survivor Dr. Hideko Tamura Snider, who was 10 years old when the blast exploded over her home in Hiroshima.
The vigil will begin with the lighting of a Memorial Flame and the sounding of a gong, followed by a moment of silence, reflections, and a sacred water ceremony to remember those who died. Japanese musician Masako Cross will perform special music.
“Each year, the Ashland community marks the time and day of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima at 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 6 as a stark reminder of why we must take action to reduce the risk of another devastating nuclear disaster,” said Elizabeth Hallett, Executive Director of Peace House. “Ashland is proud to be a member of International Mayors for Peace, which has more than 8,400 city members worldwide.”
On Aug. 9 Peace House will present Looking at the Doomsday Machine: A Costly Madness and will present the film A Common Insanity: A Conversation with Daniel Ellsberg about Nuclear Weapons in observance of the anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki. Peace House and its partners will host a discussion and honoring of the late Daniel Ellsberg, revered lifetime anti-nuclear activist and whistleblower, who died on June 16, 2023. Refreshments will be offered at 3:30 p.m. just prior to a showing of the film at 4 p.m. Peace House is located at 543 S. Mountain Ave., Ashland. A discussion, moderated by Dr. Michael Niemann, will follow the film showing. Action opportunities will be addressed, too.
“Daniel Ellsberg spent much of his life working to warn the world about the dire consequences of a world with nuclear weapons,” said Estelle Voeller of One Sunny Day Initiatives. “We will memorialize Daniel’s work and stand reminded of the loss of life in Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945.”
The Aug. 6 and 9 events are sponsored by Peace House and Co-Sponsored by:
- Ashland Together
- Ashland Congregational United Church of Christ
- FCNL: Rogue Valley Advocates
- Medford Congregational United Church of Christ
- One Sunny Day Initiatives
- South Mountain Friends Meeting
- Southern Oregon Peace Vets
- Southern Oregon Pachamama Alliance
- Trinity Episcopal Church
Peace House and its partners have sponsored annual Hiroshima-Nagasaki commemorations for the past 38 consecutive years.
See more about the Peace House Clear Action News, including the post Nuclear Weapons Censored: How the Story of Hiroshima Shaped US Views of Nukes.
And, see more about Peace House and One Sunny Day Initiatives.