By Doug La Rocque
A long line of marchers left the Grafton Town Park Saturday evening August 6 in a walk to the Grafton Peace Pagoda, with the desire to forever renounce war and create a nuclear-free world.[private] Many dressed in religious garb and beating ceremonial drums were joined on the 4.3-mile march by others who share the same view. Some carried signs expressing their commitment to peace, and a banner that read “Hiroshima Never Again.” It was on August 6, 1945 that the
United States dropped the first nuclear device ever used in warfare on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The death toll was placed between 90,000 to 146,000. Three days later a similar device was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, and six days later Japan surrendered, bringing the end to World War II. At the time, it was believed it would have cost the lives of more than 100,000 US and Allied servicemen to invade Japan, and President Harry Truman ordered the bombings hoping to avoid such an invasion. The merits of that decision remain a subject of debate today, 71 years later, Work on the Peace Pagoda began in 1985. It was constructed completely from donated labor, funds and materials, and was opened and dedicated in 1993. Peace Pagodas are a symbol of non-violence and date back more than 2000 years. There are 80 such shrines around the world, but Grafton’s is one of just two in the United States. The full history of the Peace Pagoda is available on their website, at www.graftonpeacepagoda.org.[/private]