Park to mark 75th anniversary of end of World War II
Manhattan Project National Historical Park will observe the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Japan in the waning days of World War II in 1945.
As a result of COVID-19, the park has tailored the commemoration events to provide virtual activities to honor these significant events in world history and reflect on the many wartime sacrifices and losses.
The following online activities and events are scheduled:
Messages of Peace (nps.gov/mapr/learn/historyculture/messages-of-peace.htm ).
The park is soliciting origami cranes with messages of peace from the public.
This project provides an opportunity to amplify the voices for peace and will collect and share messages of peace from people around the world.
The messages of peace will be shared on social media and will be archived in a time capsule to be opened on the 100th anniversary of the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
The 75th Commemoration Webpage (nps.gov/mapr/learn/historyculture/75th-commemoration.htm ) The park has developed a webpage with content commemorating events.
It will include articles about the Manhattan Project and related 75th-anniversary topics; a timeline of key events leading up to the Trinity Test and the bombings; an opportunity to virtually ring the International Peace Bell in Oak Ridge (exploreoakridge.com/international-friendship-bell), and a pre-recorded ranger program about Sadako and the symbolism of the origami crane.
The park will also share stories about the events of 1945 on its social media platforms for those who want to learn more.
The scientific research and wartime actions of the Manhattan Project have profoundly shaped the past 75 years of human history.
The National Park Service asks people to join in remembering these world-changing events and sharing personal messages of peace.
The uranium fueled atomic bomb “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945, at 8:16 a.m. local time in Japan, resulting in the death of tens of thousands of people.
It is one of only two times an atomic weapon was intentionally used on a human population.
A second atomic weapon was dropped over Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 9, 1945, also killing tens of thousands.
World War II came to an end less than a week later with the surrender of Japan on Aug. 15, 1945.
The surrender became official on Sept. 2, 1945, six years and a day after World War II began when Germany invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939.