Hiroshima Day: Poignant Quotes To Commemorate The Fateful Moment In History

Hiroshima Day, observed on Aug. 6 annually, marks the day when the American B-29 Bomber Enola Gay dropped a uranium gun-type bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945.

It's a reminder of the moment in history when many lives were lost due to the usage of a nuclear weapon during an armed conflict between nations, and of the importance of anti-war and anti-nuclear discussions.

On that fateful day, the weapon, dubbed "Little Boy," detonated some 1,900 feet over Hiroshima, killing more than 80,000 people instantly. Just days later, the first symptoms of radiation sickness were observed among the survivors, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of History and Heritage. The death toll soon climbed as the survivors succumbed to the illness.

Three days after the attack on Hiroshima, a second bomb – Fat Man – was dropped on Nagasaki, killing 40,000 people.

Hiroshima Day reminds us of these infamous bombings during World War II and the many lives that were lost on that day. On this day, people can research deeper about the significant impacts brought about by the bombings and see why it remains a significant topic even today.

They can also attend a memorial to pay respects to the victims or even partake in efforts to promote peace and have important anti-nuclear discussions.

Let's look at some poignant quotes to commemorate Hiroshima Day. (Courtesy: AZQuotes and Brainy Quote)

• "Nagasaki and Hiroshima remind us to put peace first every day; to work on conflict prevention and resolution, reconciliation, and dialogue; and to tackle the roots of conflict and violence." - Antonio Guterres
• "We are still living in the aftershock of Hiroshima, people are still the scars of history." - Edward Bond
• "In Hiroshima, bombed Aug. 6, 1945, no warning was given of the air attack, and thus no escape was possible for the mostly women, children and old people who fell victim." - Lydia Millet
• "Japan learned from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that the tragedy wrought by nuclear weapons must never be repeated and that humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist." - Daisaku Ikeda
• "What has kept the world safe from the bomb since 1945 has not been deterrence, in the sense of fear of specific weapons, so much as it's been memory. The memory of what happened at Hiroshima." - John Hershey
• "Hiroshima has become a metaphor not just for nuclear war but for war and destruction and violence toward civilians. It's not just the idea we should not use nuclear arms. We should not start another war because it's madness." - Max von Sydow
• "The lethal possibilities of atomic warfare in the future are frightening. My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children." - William D. Leahy
• "We cannot and must not allow ourselves to have the message of Hiroshima and Nagasaki fade completely from our minds, and we cannot allow our vision or ideals to fade, either. For if we do, we have but one course left for us. And that flash of light will not only rob us of our vision, but it will rob us of our lives, our progeny, and our very existence." - Tadatoshi Akiba