Group commemorates 62 years since Hiroshima

BANGOR – Under gathering storm clouds, more than 20 people from the Bangor area met in a small city park Monday to commemorate the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima, Japan.

Though it happened 62 years ago in a far away land, the bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945 – followed by the bombing of Nagasaki three days later – remains relevant today.

Not only is the United States in the midst of a war in the Middle East that many believe is unwinnable, tensions are building over nuclear weapons development in Iran and North Korea, said representatives from the Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine.

The center, headquartered on Park Street, organized a brief noontime ceremony at Peirce Park on Harlow Street, next to the Bangor Public Library.

During the ceremony, Bangor City Councilor Frank Farrington, who served with the 4th Marine Regiment in Japan in the mid-1950s, read excerpts from a 1999 speech by Tadatoshi Akiba, former mayor of Hiroshima, which actively advocates the abolition of nuclear weapons.

“Having witnessed the ultimate consequence of animosity, hibakusha [bomb survivors] deliberately envisioned a world beyond war in which the human family learns to cooperate to ensure the well-being of all. In fact, they believed for decades that the human family was evolving slowly but steadily in that direction,” Akiba wrote.

“Now, however, they see the world being forced into a framework of fear and hatred. They see gullible publics being persuaded that only a powerful military backed by nuclear weapons can protect them from their enemies. They see the world diving headlong toward a militarism far too reminiscent of the militaristic fascism that commandeered their nation prior to World War II.

“If we hope to survive the 21st century, we must emphasize that understanding the experience of the A-bomb survivors is among the most important tasks we face,” he said, citing as their achievements a decision to live “not as desperate animals but as decent human beings,” a willingness and determination to tell their story to prevent additional uses of nuclear weapons, and their rejection of revenge and pursuit of peace.

Farrington also read a Bangor City Council resolve proclaiming Aug. 6 “Remember Hiroshima Day.”

The event also included remarks by center members Mike Howard and Eric Olson, and a performance of “We are One” written by Pat Hutchins and sung by Marty Kelly, who was accompanied by Hope Brogunier on the viola.

Howard, University of Maine philosophy professor from Bangor, said the event aimed to remind people of the horrors of war and to compel citizens and political leaders to seek peaceful means for resolving conflicts, an effort in which even Bangor can play a role.

“It could happen again and it could happen to us,” he said.

Olson, a Veazie resident who holds a master’s degree in physics and teaches at Eastern Maine Community College, spoke about nuclear proliferation around the globe – including the United States – where the federal Department of Energy has proposed a major new initiative.

Complex 2030, as it is known, would involve upgrading the entire U.S. nuclear weapons complex while designing and producing a series of new nuclear warheads, which eventually would replace the nation’s entire nuclear arsenal.

Olson criticized the Bush administration for taking an aggressive stance against the development of nuclear weapons in Iran and North Korea, while tolerating the likely possession of such weapons by U.S. allies, including Israel.

“It really sounds like somebody wants a Cold War,” he said.

The battle for peace will take an ongoing effort, as the Peace and Justice Center’s program coordinator sees it.

“All we can do is what we can today,” Ilse Petersons said, as she distributed ballots for an unofficial, though she hopes persuasive, national referendum on the future of nuclear war.

The two-question ballot asked if:

. U.S. citizens want to proceed with the $150 billion Complex 2030 proposal;

. If the U.S. should, “in compliance with its obligation under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” commit to the global elimination of nuclear weapons by 2030 by initiating talks leading to an international treaty to that end.

A similar ceremony featuring world-renowned pianist Masanobu Ikemiya, founder and director emeritus of the Arcady Music Festival, followed Monday night at the Hammond Street Congregational Church.