Hiroshima Trip August 14-18, 2009

This August, my daughter Grace and I joined 4 other members of the Camp Zama Girl Scouts on a trip to Hiroshima, Japan. The trip was sponsored by Kanagawa Troop 14 of Japanese Girl Scouts.

To prepare for the trip, the Camp Zama Girl Scout leaders taught the summer troop about Hiroshima and the atomic bomb dropped there on August 6, 1945. We shared the story of Sadako and the 1000 cranes. The girls made origami cranes and we strung them together and brought them on the trip. In addition, we discovered chains of cranes made by previous Camp Zama Girl Scouts in the storage shed and added them to the new cranes. What a sense of history! When we arrived, all of the girls made additional cranes together. One of the most touching moments was watching our girls stand side-by-side with the Japanese girls to hang those cranes at the Sadako Peace Memorial in the Hiroshima Peace Park.

During the trip through Hiroshima, we visited the museum, a rebuilt school, the Peace Park and heard the testimony of one survivor about the horrors of nuclear war. After his presentation, our girls gave him a Girl Scout pin with both the Japanese and American flags- symbolizing our friendship with Japan. He was touched by the gesture and he seemed pleased to see the two troops together, having fun and learning. While the memorials in the park and museum opened up my eyes, the citizens of Japan opened up my heart. I have never met anyone as kind, peaceful, and forgiving as these wonderful people. My daughter Grace is only 7 years old, but she was deeply affected by the experience. She spoke to me of the importance of peace and love and has a greater interest in history as a result. As a group, we learned that the impact of the atom bomb on Hiroshima was incredible in its physical and human toll; and its effects are still felt to this day. These stories must be kept alive in order to remember these events and to sensitize ourselves to the harsh reality of nuclear weapons. The unfortunate and innocent victims in Hiroshima are deserving of historical memory and stand as a reminder of the preciousness of life.

 

Theresa Pedersen

Camp Zama Girl Scouts