Hiroshima Atomic Bomb 65th Anniversary: US Joins Memorial For First Time

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Hiroshima Atomic Bomb 65th Anniversary: US Joins Memorial For First Time
First Posted: 08- 6-10 01:43 PM | Updated: 08- 6-10 01:43 PM

Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Hiroshima 65th Anniversary, Hiroshima Atomic Bomb, Hiroshima Memorial, Slidepollajax, World News (AP) HIROSHIMA, Japan -- A U.S. representative participated for the first time Friday in Japan's annual commemoration of the American atomic bombing of Hiroshima, in a 65th anniversary event that organizers hope will bolster global efforts toward nuclear disarmament.

The site of the world's first A-bomb attack echoed with the choirs of schoolchildren and the solemn ringing of bells Friday as Hiroshima marked its biggest memorial yet. At 8:15 a.m. - the time the bomb dropped, incinerating most of the city - a moment of silence was observed.

Hiroshima's mayor welcomed Washington's decision to send U.S. Ambassador John Roos to Friday's commemoration, which began with an offering of water to the 140,000 who died in the first of two nuclear bombings that prompted Japan's surrender in World War II.

Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba is also hoping that President Barack Obama will visit Hiroshima, an idea that Obama has said he would like to consider but that would be highly controversial and unprecedented for a sitting U.S. president.

"We need to communicate to every corner of the globe the intense yearning of the survivors for the abolition of nuclear weapons," Akiba told the 55,000 people at the ceremony.

PHOTOS from the 65th anniversary.



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