On August 6, 1945, nuclear weapons were first used. The United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, and after three days Nagasaki was bombed. Since then, every year on August 6, the world recalls this terrible tragedy.
At one time, the tragedy that erupted in Japan shocked the whole world. About two hundred thousand people were found dead or missing. About one hundred and sixty thousand were injured. Until now, the number of patients with leukemia and other cancers in the bombed areas exceeds the national average several times. Every year, events are held all over the world to remind everyone of the non-illusory threat of nuclear war.
Memorial Day is also celebrated in the USA - the culprit of the ensuing tragedy. Hundreds of people across the country take to the streets with posters urging them to stop proliferation and ban nuclear weapons tests. Rallies are held near government offices and just on the streets. Among the demands of the demonstrators are slogans against the war in Iraq, as well as calls for peace throughout the world.
In addition, on August 6, an annual rally “Doctors of the World for Peace” is held. This initiative started in 1980, when a subsidiary branch of Doctors of the World for the Prevention of a Nuclear Threat separated from the famous organization Doctors Without Borders in France. Commemorative events organized by doctors on the day of the Hiroshima tragedy take place in many European countries and in the USA.
Traditionally, the United States apologizes to Japan on this day. In 2012, Daniel Truman, grandson of President Harry Truman, who once ordered the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, arrived in Japan for commemorative events on August 6. At eight-fifteen in the morning, when bells begin to beat across the country, and the Japanese themselves bow their heads in sorrow, the president’s grandson attended the ceremony. According to ordinary Japanese, the presence of a member of the Truman family was very important for them. By his arrival, Daniel made it clear that America was beginning to understand what kind of pain she had caused the Japanese in 1945.
