At 8:15 a.m. Aug. 6, 1945, in a flash of light, about 70,000 people were instantly killed as the first atomic bomb to be used as a weapon was dropped on Hiroshima. Three days later, tens of thousands more would perish as a second nuclear weapon exploded over Nagasaki. The community is invited to commemorate those who died and those who continue to suffer at 8 a.m. Friday, Aug. 6, at Fresno State’s Peace Garden. Speakers for the event will include Marisol Baca, Judge Dale Ikeda, the Rev. Akiko Miyake-Stoner, Rinban Kakei Nakagawa and President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval.
The commemoration also marks the beginning of a three-day fast for peace, ending with a gathering at 11 a.m. Aug. 9, at Woodward Park’s Shinzen Friendship Garden in recognition of Nagasaki’s atomic bombing. It is up to each participant to define how they will fast during this commemoration. Last year, three seedlings taken from a tree that survived the Hiroshima bombing were planted in Fresno State’s Peace Garden.
