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PDF versionHiroshima Day marked by Kansas City activist sentencing
Aug. 06, 2010
Jane Stoever talks with Kansas City, Mo. radio host Tom Klammer on the steps of the Charles Evans Whittaker U.S. Courthouse in Kansas City, Mo. August 6.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Offering the U.S. magistrate judge hearing her case a tiny box from Japan carrying a tightly folded peace crane, a Catholic activist here was sentenced to eight hours of community service for having blocked the entrance to a local nuclear weapons manufacturing facility.
The civil disobedience sentence in federal court came on the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
Jane Stoever, a local peace activist, had pleaded no contest to the disorderly conduct charges stemming from an action with three others June 18. The others agreed to pay fines and were not called before the judge.
Stoever, who was represented by her husband, attorney Henry Stoever, had asked for community service in lieu of a fine.
In her statement to Judge John T. Maughmer, Stoever called attention to a speech given by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kan. May 8.
In that speech Gates noted that the last decade has seen an explosion of defense spending almost like a ‘gusher’ and promised that “the gusher has been turned off, and will stay off for a good period of time.”
Stoever disagreed. “We’ve still got the gusher in Kansas City,” she said, referring to the city’s approval last February of a new $673 million nuclear weapons manufacturing facility known as the Kansas City Plant.
Currently a part of the Bannister Federal Complex, located about 13 miles south of the city’s downtown area, the plant is responsible for the production and assembly of approximately 85 percent of the non-nuclear components of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. It is due to be relocated to a new, more modern facility beginning in 2012.
Stoever was arrested at the Bannister plant as part of a local campaign of nonviolent resistance aimed at bringing attention to the construction of the new nuclear facility. 
Jane Stoever with supporters on the steps of the Charles Evans Whittaker U.S. Courthouse in Kansas City, Mo. August 6.
NCR: February 3-16, 2012
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With two dozen supporters in the courtroom, Stoever read a statement telling the story of Yoshiko Kajimoto, a survivor of the Hiroshima attack who was a 14-year-old schoolgirl when the bomb leveled that city.
Recalling how she met Kajimoto two years ago when the survivor came to Kansas City to talk with Americans about her story, Stoever said Kajimoto implored her to “have the United States unmake its nuclear bombs and lead the world in dismantling nuclear weapons.”
Meanwhile, in other Hiroshima related events, the Associated Press reported that for the first time the United States sent a U.S. ambassador to the Hiroshima, Japan commemorations.
Hiroshima's mayor Tadatoshi Akiba welcomed Washington's decision to send U.S. Ambassador John Roos to Friday's commemoration, which began with a symbolic offering of water to the 140,000 who died in the first of two nuclear bombings on Japan.
Hiroshima was the site of the world's first Atomic bomb blast on a civilian target. The ceremony involved choirs of schoolchildren and the solemn ringing of bells. At precisely 8:15 a.m., the time the bomb was dropped, incinerating most of the city, a moment of silence was observed.
In his annual ‘Peace Declaration,’ Akiba implored the global community to heed the warnings of Hiroshima and actively work for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Speaking to the international dignitaries gathered at the event about the pain suffered by the ‘hibakusha’ — the term in Japanese for those that survived the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki — Akiba said:
“Clearly, the urgency of nuclear weapons abolition is permeating our global conscience; the voice of the vast majority is becoming the pre-eminent force for change in the international community.
“To seize this unprecedented opportunity and actually achieve a world without nuclear weapons, we need above all to communicate to every corner of our planet the intense yearning of the hibakusha, thereby narrowing the gap between their passion and the rest of the world.”
[Joshua J. McElwee is an NCR staff writer. His e-mail address is jmcelwee@ncronline.org.]
To me VJ Day is a valid day
To me VJ Day is a valid day of celebration, but does the bombing of Hiroshima merit this status? I hardly think so--and I didn't realize this bombing was celebrated anywhere.
not celebreated,
not celebreated, jansie,lamented most profoundly, and repented sincerely
The bombing of Hiroshima is
The bombing of Hiroshima is not Celebrated anywhere. The deaths of hundreds of thousands are Commemorated. We have Memorial day to commemorate our Military dead, they have Hiroshima day to commemorate their Civilian dead.
Thank you for clarifying this
Thank you for clarifying this for me.
I am so in awe of Jane
I am so in awe of Jane Stoever and her willingness to put herself on the line for her beliefs. I share her convictions but lack her courage. Hopefully I will become more motivated to stand up publicly for what I believe, as she does. She has my admiration and my gratitude.
My father,a combat engineer
My father,a combat engineer officer with the Americal Division was one of the first Army personnel to land on the mainland of Japan in August 1945. He told me,after his return to the States from 4 years of war, that at the time of the invasion, Japan was beaten. They were hauling artilery around by "ox-cart".
Why then did the Administration insist that 2 atomic bombs should be dropped on defenseless civilian populations in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, killing or maiming hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians and justifying this
slaughter by claiming that the imminent invasion would cause 1 million American casualties? This question has never adequately been answered.
A Maryknoll Catholic bishop remained with his congregation in Japan during the entire war. He contacted ships at sea and pleaded with them to recognize that Japan was defeated.. He received no reply......Jim Lovejoy
The horrors of Aug. 6th and
The horrors of Aug. 6th and Augs.9th, will always haunt us. I believe the U.S. contnued to drop the bombs because they wanted revenge for what the Japanese did at Pearl Harbor.
A professor once told me that
A professor once told me that the U.S. bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki (spelling?) because the U.S. wanted revenge on Pearl Harbor. I think somewhere in the Old Testament, Yahweh says:"Revenge is mine."...meaning people were not to do things because of revenge.
There's a school of thought
There's a school of thought among historians that the bombings were done more as a demonstration to the Soviet Union, an attempt to impress them and make them more tractable. If anything - a sleazier motive than revenge.
Over 400,000 women were taken
Over 400,000 women were taken from their homes in Korea,China,Viet-Nam, Phillippines, and other places to be used for years as concubines by the Japanese. The murder and rape of 250,000 Chinese by the Japanese should also be remembered,Nanking. Camp 731 in Manchuria murdered hundreds of thousands of Chinese and others in biological, chemical, radiological, and shrapnel tests. If these victims had the press and money to share their stories today it would contribute to the dialog about actions taken in 1945. For those of us who are here today because our fathers weren't killed in the planned invasion of Japan, these people seem to pick and choose responsibility against the men who defended them. Ignorance is no excuse, selective blame rewrites history. Japan was in fact racing against the Germans and America to make a nuclear weapon to use on all their conquered nations as well as America, and they WOULD have used it. 1,000,000 people were starved to death in Viet-Nam by the Japanese in WW2, what has Japan done for Viet-Nam to compensate the Viet-Namese? Keep your diatribes to yourselves, lay your guilt where it belongs.
" Men cry:'Peace, Peace', but
" Men cry:'Peace, Peace', but there is No Peace..." Said by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux ( think) hundreds of years ago!
Merton spoke out with All the Protestors during the Vietnam era!
What will it take for the majority of the World to not only Listen but influence their governments by choosing well who will make their choice for them!
When they are able to make choices!
5) General Dwight Eisenhower,
5) General Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, told President Harry S. Truman that he was opposed to the dropping of the atom bomb on Japan.
I voiced to him my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of "face".
other quotes at http://www.doug-long.com/quotes.htm
I do bellieve that the bombs
I do bellieve that the bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved millions of lives if the U. S. had to invade Japan. Take a look at the numbers of deceased on both sides of the Okinawa invasion.
Dear Bill, the belief you
Dear Bill, the belief you mention is held by many. It's part of the myth that the 40's propaganda mill put out. Because of the intensity of that theater of the war it was easy to accept at the time in spite of the horror of knowing that the country of our allegiance deliberately incinerated hundreds of thousands immediately and caused the cancer deaths (as well as genetic damage)to many, many more human beings. Now that facts of the desperate situation the Japanese were in regarding their war efforts are finally coming out to the general public (someone else in this queue mentioned one; another was the existence of the bomber planes who had fuel only for a one-way trip - out to their targets, but not back; rationing of every commodity was draconian and so on and on). Atrocities happened on every side on the Asian Front, but Hiroshima/Nagasaki were among the worst. Yes, the incineration of hundreds of thousands of civilians may have "saved" the lives of U.S. military men. Was the cost in our own dehumanization worth it?
Dear Joan Krebs, Glenview,
Dear Joan Krebs, Glenview, IL:
"Was the cost in our own dehumanazation worth it?"
I fully respect your opinion.
But the real facts and histories of inhuman and unpetented atrocities,cruelties and brutalities freely committed by the Japanese imperialistic domination and colonialitic occupation of China for deccades should also be taken count of and considered seriously in the facts related to the two bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaghi.
The war had two sides. Either sides should be mentioned and no single side only to be shown if the truth is to be fairly expressed for people to understand.
"the incineration of hundreds
"the incineration of hundreds of thousands of civilians may have "saved" the lives of U.S. military men. Was the cost in our own dehumanization worth it?"
UNBELIEVABLE!
Either you are misinformed or an idiot.
If one of YOUR relatives was drafted in the military you wouldn't be so quick to sacrifice him/her in a war that was started by the Japanese. And those innocent civilians were preparing for the invasion by making weapons I might add.
BTW, my dad was drafted as well as 4 uncles. One uncle died and was the first from my state to die. Until YOU know first hand what that is like you don't know what you're talking about.
I am reminded today of the
I am reminded today of the words of Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese peace activist and Buddhist/poet, that say:
I hold my face in my two hands.
No, I am not crying.
I hold my face in my two hands
to keep my loneliness warm ~
two hands protecting,
two hands nourishing,
two hands preventing
my soul from leaving me in anger."
This was when we destroyed Ben Tre, a city of 300,000 -after seven guerillas shot several rounds of unsuccessful anti-aircraft gunfire, and then left. "My pain is profound." It seem we knew too little then, and have not learned much more
over the past 45 - or even 65 years; the shame is on every American. We are not ready to learn yet, it seems; will the
people of Iraq or Afghanistan be as willing to forgive such arrogance?
A Creed There is a destiny
A Creed
There is a destiny that makes us brothers:
None goes his way alone:
All that we send into the lives of others
Comes back into our own.
I care not what his temples or his creeds,
One thing holds firm and fast -
That into his fateful heap of days and deeds
The soul of a man is cast.
Edwin Markham
from the Book High Tide published in 1916
EWA
The feast of the
The feast of the Transfiguration today should always remind us about the blinding light of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the subsequent devastation... We must say never again! When I was at mass today the celebrant never even mentioned the anniversary of the bombing! He was clueless.
What pain the folly of men
What pain the folly of men must bring to the heart of God.When will our leaders learn that war solves little that could not be solved in other less violent ways? Hiroshima is a plea for us to get out of Afghanistan and Iraq.
God have mercy on us.
Thank you for acknowledging
Thank you for acknowledging this date. This tragedy has been so under appreciated for the teachings in which humanity could participate. I pray for our mass awareness.
As I read some of the replies
As I read some of the replies to this article about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I am reminded about a story that was told by a Fransiscan priest who was assigned to the Roman Catholic Church at Medjugorje at the time the alleged appearances of the Blessed Mother began. This particular priest wasn't convinced that the appearances were real, but he claims that during a gathering at the church he saw the apparition of the Blessed Mother. The history of Yugoslavia is full of genocides, hatred and division. The Blessed Mother asked that the people at the church to forgive each other. Whether you believe in the apparitions or not, the request for forgiveness is the necessary and important part. The priest said that he waited for hours for a response. Very few people, if any were able to stand up as a sign of being willing to forgive. Even with the spectre of nuclear holocaust we find it difficult to go down the road of forgiveness.
I hope that before people get
I hope that before people get too judgmental about the decision to drop the bombs that they would visit the Truman Library Web site and read the documents available there.
Pay particular attention to Harry Truman's response to Sen. Richard Russell, who urged Truman to lay waste to all of Japan in revenge for Pearl Harbor.
Truman was left with no good moral decision to make. As he said later in subsequent interviews, he had a weapon that could (and did) end the war quickly. In his mind, he made the best decision at the least cost of human life among a choice of nothing but horrible alternatives.
What were his alternatives? Invade? Documents show that Japan was planning a massive defense of its homeland in hopes of at least a war of attrition that would stretch for years. Blockade and wait for Japan to surrender? At what cost of civilian life to starvation?
There can be no moral rationalizing of the decisions made in war. But the actions that the Truman administration took, almost immediately, to rebuild Japan also speaks volumes about his moral values as well.
Brave Anonymous. Finally a
Brave Anonymous.
Finally a posting with truth and common sense.
More and more stories about
More and more stories about the vicious, torturing and murdering japanese. Very few stories about the uncountable millions they tortured, raped and murdered, all with the full support of their people. This kind of grotesque hypocrisy is so telling of the left-liberal revisionists. Too many white wine spritzers and too many tokes of the ganga. Put down the spritzer and read a book about the war. In any case, since warring won't likely come to an end soon, the atomic/nuclear bomb is really just a very big bomb. Far more damage was done to Europe by conventional bombing the by the A-bomb on Nagasaki. A whole lot of little bombs or one big one. The effect is the same, one being quicker and more decisive when dealing with enemies who are savages. In any case your left-liberal muslim pals are soon to have the big ones (but not us?). Why don't you open a 'dialogue' with them, bring them to the 'negotiating table' (wherever that mythical table is), find 'common ground' and 'consensus' and then come to a 'compromise.' Then you can all gather around the campfire, sing, dance, hug and all will be just dandy. You people are frightening in your self-imposed naivete and hypocrisy. Further, your words and actions are an immoral insult to the many men (all better than I could ever be) who had to be sent to the war to be slaughtered and maimed in order to kill the beasts Hitler and Japan. I do hope there will not be another large world war but if it is to come, best be prepared for it to minimize loss of life. Did dialogue, negotiation, consensus and fireside hugging work with the aggressive warmongering Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Usama and all their ilk? Again, you people scare me. I am getting old so it all shouldn't matter to me. But you, your descendants who will have to fight the beasts here on our home ground: may our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ God have mercy on their souls because those other people will not.
Calixtus
Hiroshima proves this....All
Hiroshima proves this....All politics is local. To see that, put yourself in Truman's shoes.
July 1945. We demand uncondional surrender. But the Japanese insist on keeping the Emporer. Byrnes says to Truman, "You cant look weak. That would will hurt you politically" So Truman says "Drop the bomb." And he kills 100,000, thousands of innocent children.
People are glad, but uneasy about Pandoras box.
And they tell him "We got 1000 megawatts of reactors running. By fall, we can make 3 bombs a month" And he says "Oh oh, if I blow up 3 cities a month, I'll look like a barbarian. That will hurt me politically. We need to end this now. Take any deal they offer." So the Emporer stays.
I saw people in Kansas City
I saw people in Kansas City walking toward the planned factory complex and making a circle around the yellow bulldozer. It filled my heart with emotion that I never experienced before. I am a Japanese woman. I live one hour boat trip to Hiroshima. I work for Hiroshima as a translator. Last year, I started working for those lost lives in the A-bombing in Hiroshima. I thank you in place of those people. And I introduce three of them here:
TAKAMATSU, Kitsu 41
Home: Saikohji Temple, Johdo Shin-Shu Buddhist Sect, Saiku-twon, Hiroshima▼She was out of home in 1 Saiku-machi to go to visit Tsuya-village in Yamagatan-gun with other parents. School children of Kohdo Elementary School including her third son Gozan had evacuated to live there in a group. No Remains. ▼A family of 4 with children and deceased husband. Eldest son Shuhkoh who lived in the school dormitory and was exposed to the A bomb on his way to school, Hiroshima Institute of Technology (present Hiroshima University) says “ I was told that mother went to the Yokogwa Station, the meeting place, but she came back home by herself saying ‘I left my purse’. When I dropped by home on my way to school, no one was there. I suppose every one of our family went out somewhere and was hit there.
OHARA, Sadako 47
“Hei-kan-Doh”(traditional bean jam sweet cake) cake maker and shop. ▼A
Bomb death at the newly moved shop at 46 Zaimoku-cho, Hiroshima. In July, houses in Suishu-cho (Kako-machi, Naka W.) had been ordered pull down to make the fire escape lane and they had to move out.
Shizue, third daughter who was in the 4th grade of Shin Toku Girls Highschool, with some others identified Sadako's remains by gold covered tooth they found in the burnt out lot of kitchen around 9 Aug. Shizue was visiting relatives in Niho-cho in the morning of 6 Aug.
IIYAMA, Tadao 58
Vegetable shop owner▼Caught under the collapsed home together with his wife. Kunito, younger brother who lived in Saeki-gun(Hatsukaichi) and some others identified remains in the burnt out lot of home.▼A family of 3 was perished by the A bomb. Yoshiyuki, nephew, who was in the 1st grade of elementary school says “My parents drew a cart and went around the city for about a week. After all that, they concluded for sure that two remains they found in the burnt out lot of their home were of theirs. They consigned them in the urn.
▼ Out of 7 people of 2 families, Oharas and eldest daughter’s,
4 died A bomb deaths. Third daughter recalls ”Only remains of mother were found,
which, when I picked up, were broken in light and small pieces. They went away through my hands.
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