A-BOMBS STILL SEND RIPPLES.Byline: Ben Fuchs The Register-Guard Dozens of area residents gathered at Alton Baker Park Alton Baker Park is located in Eugene, Oregon, United States, near Autzen Stadium. It features duck ponds, bicycle trails, and a dog park, and directly touches the Ferry Street Bridge. on Wednesday evening to commemorate the 58th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks during World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States of America under US President Harry S. Truman. , remembering the victims of the attack and offering prayers of peace for the future. The commemoration, which attracted about 170 people, culminated with a Japanese-style candle lantern launch on the park's duck pond A duck pond is a pond for ducks and other water birds. Often such ponds are artificial and ornamental in nature, in public parks for example. Sometimes they may be less ornamental, in a farmyard for example. Some duck ponds are purposefully built for the shooting of duck. at dusk. The event featured a potluck dinner, speeches, poetry readings and peace-themed songs. Many participants saw the occasion as an opportunity to focus on the task of ridding the world of nuclear weapons. "The message we're trying to send is no more Hiroshimas, no more Nagasakis," said Michael Carrigan of Eugene, a former program director for Oregon PeaceWorks. "We must get rid of nuclear weapons now and forever." The commemoration touched 56-year-old Patricia Hoover on a more personal level than most. The Hermiston native is a "downwinder," a moniker (1) A name, title or alias. See alias. (2) A COM object that is used to create instances of other objects. Monikers save programmers time when coding various types of COM-based functions such as linking one document to another (OLE). See COM and OLE. given to the thousands of Eastern Oregon Eastern Oregon is a geographical term that is generally taken to mean the area of the state of Oregon east of the Cascade Range, save the region around The Dalles and sometimes Klamath County. The area around Bend is considered to be Central Oregon rather than Eastern Oregon. , Washington and Idaho residents who lived downwind of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeastern Washington. Hanford is one of several former top-secret sites where the government handled radioactive material radioactive material Radiation A substance that contains unstable–radioactive–atoms that give off radiation as they decay. See Radioactive decay. used in the research and production of atomic bombs during and after World War II. Hoover, who suffers from several health conditions she attributes to radiation from Hanford, is part of a 4,000-plaintiff lawsuit against private contractors hired by the federal government to work on the plant. The plaintiffs, all downwinders Downwinder is a term used to describe people across the United States who were exposed to radioactive fallout from both atmospheric and underground nuclear weapons testing. It has also been used to describe those exposed to radiation through experimentation and uranium mining. , suffer from ailments ranging from diabetes to brain cancer, Hoover said. Many Hanford downwinders have experienced illnesses akin to those seen in the aftermath of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. Hoover, a retired journalist, said her own trials with radiation poisoning Radiation poisoning, also called "radiation sickness", is a form of damage to organ tissue due to excessive exposure to ionizing radiation. The term is generally used to refer to acute problems caused by a large dosage of radiation in a short period. have helped her connect with Japanese victims. "I feel a tremendous kinship with the people who were damaged in Japan," she said. "My being here is to support the downwinders of Japan." CAPTION(S): Candle lanterns are launched on the duck pond at Alton Baker Park on Wednesday night to mark the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II. Several participants used the occasion to press for a ban on all nuclear weapons. |
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