The term “Bucket List” is commonly used to refer to things people hope to do before they die. It is understood that the ‘bucket’ reference is a euphemism for dying. Christa wanted to see the Eifel Tower from the time she was in grammar school. I was fortunate to be able to send Christa to Europe through the “People to People” program when she was in high school. She not only saw the Eifel Tower, but got to go up in it as well.
Even though I do not have a ‘bucket list,’ I have gone where one is expected to go and seen what one is expected to see when traveling the world. Like Christa, I visited the Eifel Tower. I have also visited Stonehenge, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Certainly, for me, a major reason for traveling is to see the sights.
I have also visited “Ground Zero” in New York City, The “Survivors’ Tree in Oklahoma City, the book depository in Dallas, Texas, and the concentration camp in Dachau, Germany. I do not think that many people put the places I just mentioned on their ‘bucket lists’ but personally I have felt these were important for me to see. When I saw that Nagasaki was on the itinerary, I recognized that city’s name as the destination of the second atomic bomb we dropped on Japan. I felt I must visit the site where terrible death and destruction brought an end to World War II. This was not something I would fly half-way around the world just to see, but since our cruise ship was stopping at Nagasaki, the Peace Park was my first priority. It was listed as a shore excursion but I felt like I was going on a pilgrimage.
I was born almost precisely two years after we had harnessed the power of the atom to create the most destructive weapon man had yet known. I grew up during the period called ‘the cold war.’ Every Monday at noon in my Point Loma neighborhood, air raid sirens would sound. If we were in our classrooms, we would jump out of seats and hide under our desks. If we were eating lunch outside, we would dive under the picnic tables.
I recently organized a class reunion for my grammar school classmates. We graduated in1961. St. Agnes School has long-since closed but the building still exists and is currently used as a parish center. Being back in our actual school building, rather than a local restaurant, brought us interesting memories. One of my classmates commented on the lack of effectiveness hiding under our desks would have been in the event of a nuclear attack. “We would have instantly been turned into butter” he asserted. I am not sure just when the air raid drills ended but I do know I spent my childhood believing the communists would march up my street and give me a choice of my life or my Catholic faith. Of course, I would choose my faith and be shot on the spot.
Our tour bus took us to what would be considered ‘ground zero.’ Actually, the bomb exploded in the air. Nagasaki was not the chosen destination for the second atomic attack but the other city was clouded over. This twist of fate reminded me of the people, who for one reason or another, missed the PSA flight that crashed in North Park.
I read that we dropped leaflets from airplanes over the Japanese cities warning citizens about what would happen if they did not get their leaders to surrender. I wonder if Nagasaki residents had gotten any of these leaflets.
Leaflet dropped by Americans to warn citizens’prior to dropping of bomb
Nagasaki is surrounded by hills. This geographical feature was said to confine the destruction of the blast. It is my understanding from the tour guide, that in addition to the thousands who died immediately, the deaths due to the consequences of the exposure to atomic radiation are counted at about 3000 per year. At the start of our tour, we were informed there was no residual radiation for us to worry about. The tour guide also said that plants began growing again much sooner than had been anticipated
The first place we assembled, after we came up from the underground parking garage, was in front of a large statue of a man symbolizing peace. He has one hand pointing heavenward to indicate the threat of an atomic bomb. He is seated on the ground. There is more about the meaning of his pose but that is what I recall as I write this.
On either side of the statue were small triangular structures with what appeared to be colorful pieces of cloth hanging inside them. I learned that these were strands of origami cranes which are symbols of peace. These were sent from all over the world.
We next walked to a section of ground where the destructive effects of the bomb were evident. The remains of a block wall with twisted rebar sticking out from it protruded from the ground. We were told that his had been the site of a prison. I reflected on how it would have been to be a prisoner one moment and thrust into eternity the next. At that moment of the bomb blast, it did not matter the gravity of your crime, the possibility that you were innocent or even the possibility that you had completed your sentence and were about to be released. The goings-on of that prison all ended in an instant.
remains of Urakami prison Nagasaki Peace Park Japan
We continued on our tour. There were statues symbolizing wishes for peace lining the walkway between the Peace Statue and a large fountain located about a block away at the opposite end of the park. The statues were of mothers with babies. Many countries sent messages of their hopes for peace for the children of the future. The tour guide pointed out the fact that some of the countries, which contributed the statues for this park which opened in 1950, no longer exist.
At one point along the way, our group encountered a man who was standing by a statue and telling his story in Japanese about how he survived the blast at the age of 14. I got the impression the tour guide wanted us to keep moving.
The fountain at the end of the park opposite the Peace Statue was similar to the one in Balboa Park located between the Natural History Museum and the Science Center. When our tour group gathered at the fountain, some of the people opted to follow the leader down a flight of stairs to more statues while others opted to turn back the way we just came and visit the gift shop. I found myself alone at the beautiful fountain.
Fountain of peace
I have been reading a book on this trip. I picked it up a few years ago at my church and was finally taking the time to read it. The title of the book is Sing and Change the World. I seized the moment. Here is what I sang.
“Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with meLet there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to beWith God as our Father, siblings all are weLet me walk with my sibling in perfect harmonyLet there be peace on earth let this be the moment nowLet there be peace on earth let this be my solemn vowTo take each moment and live each moment in peace eternallyLet there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”
As I concluded my song of peace, people once again began gathering in the fountain area. That one special moment, I had the whole place to myself and the opportunity to make my contribution toward world peace. The fountain appeared to respond to my peace song but in all honesty, I think it was running on an automatic program.