On Saturday, people from across the globe will gather at Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima in recognition of the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of that now bustling and beautiful city of 1.2 million souls.
They will reflect on the more than 140,000 men, women and children who died in that horrific, world-changing instant, and in the hours, weeks, months and years that followed.
As a journalist who attended the 50th anniversary, I had hoped to be among those in attendance two years ago, on the 75th anniversary. Sadly, the pandemic — as I’m sure it did for countless others — shattered those plans.