Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., pilot of the ENOLA GAY waves from his cockpit before the takeoff, 6 August 1945. (Source: National Archives)

Hiroshima, Japan: August 6th, 1945 8:15 am (Source: Peacewire)

October 23, 2003

U.S soldiers marching into the ground zero area immediately after a nuclear explosion. (Source: Peacewire)	Dear Friend, A committee of scholars, veterans, clergy, activists, students, and other interested individuals is now forming to challenge the Smithsonian's plans to exhibit the Enola Gay solely as a "magnificent technological achievement." The planned exhibit is devoid not only of historical context and discussion of the ongoing controversy surrounding the bombings, but even of basic information regarding the number of casualties. We have formulated the following statement of principles, which we plan to circulate widely. The statement makes clear that we are not opposed to exhibiting the plane in a fair and responsible manner, but that we fear that such a celebratory exhibit both legitimizes what happened in 1945 and helps build support for the Bush administration's dangerous new nuclear policies. We, in fact, welcome and intend to initiate a national discussion of both the 1945 bombings and of current nuclear issues. But before we launch a public campaign and officially contact the Smithsonian, we seek endorsements of the statement from a small number of prominent individuals who can help the effort gain credibility and attract media attention. More active participation is, of course, welcome and desirable. Most immediately, though, please let us know if we can add your name to our list and how you would like to be identified.
		Sincerely, Peter Kuznick, Professor of History and Director, Nuclear Studies Institute, American University Kevin Martin Executive Director, Peace Action Daniel Ellsberg Author, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and The Pentagon Papers

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Trinity site explosion at 0.006 seconds after detonation (Source: History Channel)

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Statement of Principles

Gen. John "Jack" Dailey, director of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, the most widely visited museum in the world, has announced plans to display the Enola Gay--the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima--as the centerpiece of the museum's new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport. That August 6, 1945 attack, according to recent estimates, resulted in over 140,000 deaths. A second atomic bomb dropped three days later on the city of Nagasaki caused an estimated 70,000 deaths. And as many scientists warned in advance would happen, and as President Truman clearly understood, the incineration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki initiated a nuclear arms race that threatened to bring about the annihilation of the human species, a danger that persists today.

Recognizing the momentous implications of the onset of the nuclear age, in 1999 a national panel of distinguished journalists and scholars voted the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the most significant news event of the 20th century. Yet, in a statement reflecting extraordinary callousness toward the victims, indifference to the deep divisions among American citizens about the propriety of these actions, and disregard for the feelings of most of the world's peoples, museum director Dailey declared, "We are displaying it [the Enola Gay] in all of its glory as a magnificent technological achievement." The plane, in fact, differs little from other B-29s and gains its notoriety only from the deadly and history-altering nature of its mission.

Dailey's remarks are particularly shocking in light of the criticism of the bombing by General Dwight Eisenhower and the questions raised by so many other WWII military leaders, sentiments best reflected in the haunting comments of Admiral William Leahy, Truman's wartime chief of staff who chaired the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who poignantly observed, "the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender....in being the first to use it, we adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages."

People throughout the world have already raised powerful objections to the exhibit. Hidankyo, the main survivors' organization in Japan, and Gensuikyo, the Japan Council Against A and H Bombs, have written to Dailey, insisting, "The display rationalizes the bombing and as such it is absolutely unforgiveable....Atomic bombs massacre civilians indiscriminately and are weapons that cannot be justified in humanitarian terms. Even now, many victims continue to suffer the after-effects." Nor can Americans acquiesce to an exhibit that implicitly celebrates the atomic bombings while avoiding all of the crucial questions. By its mishandling of these issues in 1995, the Smithsonian cast international doubt upon the integrity, decency, and fairmindedness of American institutions. We hope to avert a similar outcome this time. We have therefore formed an ad-hoc coalition of religious leaders, veterans, scientists, historians and other scholars, citizen activists, and students united by our conviction that such an exhibit must not go forward as planned.

We are not, however, opposed to exhibiting the Enola Gay. Much to the contrary, we welcome any exhibition that will spur an honest and balanced discussion of the atomic bombings of 1945 and of current U.S. nuclear policy. Our greatest concern is that the disturbing issues raised by the atomic bombings in 1945 will not be addressed in the planned exhibit and that President Truman's use of atomic weapons will legitimize the Bush administration's current effort to lower the threshold for future use of nuclear weapons. Whatever the National Air and Space Museum's conscious intention, any effort to treat the atomic bombings of 1945 in a celebratory fashion or to display the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb solely as a "magnificent technological achievement" can only dishonor the museum and the nation and serve the purposes of those who seek to normalize nuclear weapons and facilitate their future use.

We intend to use this exhibit, the presidential elections, and the upcoming 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings to stimulate a national discussion of U.S. nuclear history and current policy and to work with like-minded groups in other nations. Most Americans remain unaware of the policy changes adopted in the 2001 U.S. Nuclear Posture Review, which prompted the New York Times to editorially condemn the U.S. as a "nuclear rogue" nation, and of the measures taken by the Bush administration to produce a new generation of "more usable" nuclear weapons. The significance has not been lost on international leaders. In his stirring Peace Declaration on August 6 of this year, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba warned, "The nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the central international agreement guiding the elimination of nuclear weapons, is on the verge of collapse. The chief cause is U.S. nuclear policy that, by openly declaring the possibility of a pre-emptive nuclear first strike and calling for resumed research into mini-nukes and other so-called 'useable nuclear weapons,' appears to worship nuclear weapons...." Or as Joseph Cirincione, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's nuclear expert, noted, the Bush administration is now "saying that nuclear weapons are no longer the weapon of last resort..."

To initiate this desperately needed national conversation on nuclear arms policy, past and present, the Committee for a National Discussion of Nuclear History and Current Policy calls upon Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lawrence Small, John Dailey, and other leaders of the Smithsonian to sit down with our representatives and those of other interested organizations and to jointly plan a balanced exhibit that places the bombings in their historical context, educates viewers about the consequences of past nuclear weapons use, and explains the controversy surrounding the use of the atomic bombs that antedates the deployment of the Enola Gay itself.

We also call on the Smithsonian to co-sponsor a joint conference or a series of conferences that explore the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the place of nuclear weapons in the modern world. Given the seriousness of the current nuclear crisis, should the Smithsonian not accede to this request for a fair and balanced presentation and a reasoned discussion of the many profound issues involved, we will join with others in this country and around the world to protest the exhibit in its present form and to catalyze a national discussion of critical nuclear issues.

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Partial List of Signers*

• Kosuzu Abe, Professor University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan; Affiliate Researcher, Center for Puerto Rican Studies, City University of New York, Hunter College
• Elaine S. Abelson, Professor of History, New School University
• Hafsat Abiola, Founder of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND)
• Frank Ackerman, Professor, Global Development and Environment Institute, Tufts University
• Rev. George Addison, Chaplain, Brock University, St. Catharines, Canada
• Jean-Christophe Agnew, Professor of American Studies and History, Yale University
• Wilbert H. Ahern, Professor of History, University of Minnesota, Morris
• Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor, City of Hiroshima, Japan
• Gar Alperovitz, Author, The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb and Atomic Diplomacy: Hiroshima and Potsdam; Bauman Professor of Political Economy, University of Maryland, College Park
• Benjamin L. Alpers, Professor, Honors College, University of Oklahoma
• Donna Alvah, Professor of History, St. Lawrence University
• Michihiro Ama, Department of East Asian Languages and Literature, University of California, Irvine; Secretary, Higashi Hongwanji Mission, Los Angeles
• Lori E. Amy, Director, Women's and Gender Studies Program, Georgia Southern University
• Joyce Appleby, Professor Emerita of History, University of California, Los Angeles
• Anthony K. Arnove, Editor, Iraq Under Siege and Terrorism and War
• Stanley Aronowitz, Professor of Sociology and Urban Education, Graduate Center, City University of New York
• John Ashbery, Poet; Professor of Literature, Bard College
• Alan D. Attie, Professor of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Pat Aufderheide, Professor and Co-Director, Center for Social Media, School of Communication, American University
• Paul Auster, Writer; Filmmaker
• Lawrence Badash, Professor Emeritus of History of Science, University of California, Santa Barbara; Author, Scientists and the Development of Nuclear Weapons
• John S. Baick, Professor of History, Western New England College
• Ellen R. Baker, Professor of History Columbia University
• Peter W. Bardaglio, Professor of History, Ithaca College
• Holly Barker, Embassy, Republic of the Marshall Islands; Author, Bravo for the Marshallese: Regaining Control in a Post Nuclear, Post-Colonial World
• Michael A. Barnhart, Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of History, State University of New York-Stony Brook
• Rosalyn Baxandall, Professor and Chair of American Studies, State University of New York College, Old Westbury
• David T. Beito, Professor of History, University of Alabama; Research Fellow, The Independent Institute
• Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Professor of Italian Studies and History, New York University
• Thomas Bender, Professor of History, New York University
• Medea Benjamin, Co-founder, Global Exchange
• Scott H. Bennett, Professor of History, Georgian Court College
• Susan Porter Benson, Professor of History, University of Connecticut
• Ira Berlin, Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland
• R. B. Bernstein, Adjunct Professor of Law, New York Law School; Author, Thomas Jefferson
• Kai Bird, Co-editor, Hiroshima's Shadow; Author, The Color of Truth: McGeorge Bundy and William Bundy, Brothers in Arms
• Herbert P. Bix, Professor of History and Sociology, Binghamton University; Author, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan
• Casey Nelson Blake, Professor of History and American Studies, Columbia University
• William Blum, Former State Department Official; Freelance Journalist; Author, Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower
• John Bodnar, Chancellor's Professor of History, Indiana University
• Julian Bond, Professor, School of Public Affairs, American University; Department of History, University of Virginia
• Paul S. Boyer, Merle Curti Professor of History Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Philip Brenner, Professor of International Relations, American University
• Karen Brodkin, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles
• Barbara Brooks, Professor of History, City College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York
• Anne Brophy, Professor of History, Georgia State University
• John K. Brown, Professor of History and Technology, University of Virginia
• Rogers Brubaker, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles
• Carolyn J. Bryan, Professor of Music, Georgia Southern University
• Paul Buhle, Professor of American Civilization, Brown University
• Terry Butler, Professor of Mathematics, Rutgers University
• Robert Buzzanco, Professor of History, University of Houston
• Christopher Capozzola, Professor of History, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Mina J. Carson, Professor of History, Oregon State University
• Madeline H. Caviness, Mary Richardson Professor of Art and Art History, Tufts University; President, International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies
• Courtney B. Cazden, Charles William Eliot Professor of Education Emerita, Harvard University
• Jane Censer, Professor of History, George Mason University
• Rev. Jerrye G Champion, National Board President, Church Women United
• Julie A. Charlip, Professor of History, Whitman College
• Una Chaudhuri, Professor of English and Drama, New York University
• William F. Cheek, Professor of History, San Diego State University
• Ira Chernus, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Colorado at Boulder
• Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Dick Cluster, Writer; Translator; Professor in Honors and Academic Support Programs, University of Massachusetts at Boston
• Ben Cohen, President, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities; Co-Founder, Ben and Jerry's
• Lizabeth Cohen, Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies, Harvard University
• Steven Cohen, Professor of Education, Tufts University
• Barry Commoner, Director Emeritus, Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, Queens College, City University of New York
• William E. Connolly, Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Politics, Johns Hopkins University
• Sandi E. Cooper, Professor of History, College of Staten Island
• Edward Countryman, University Distinguished Professor of History, Southern Methodist University
• Susan Crane, Professor of Modern European History, University of Arizona
• Bruce C. Daniels, Professor of History, Texas Tech University
• Lawrence R. Davidson, Professor of History, West Chester University
• Natalie Zemon Davis, Henry Charles Lea Professor of History Emerita, Princeton University
• Alan Dawley, Professor of History, The College of New Jersey
• Jane S. De Hart, Professor of History, University of California, Santa Barbara
• David De Leon, Graduate History Director, Howard University
• Judith DeGroat, Professor of History, St. Lawrence University
• Marie Dennis, Director, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
• Matthew J. Dennis, Professor of History, University of Oregon
• E.L. Doctorow, Author
• Ariel Dorfman, Writer, Distinguished Professor, Duke University
• Ann Douglas, Parr Professor of Comparative Literature, Columbia University
• John W. Dower, Professor of History, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Author, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II
• Jonathan Dresner, Professor of East Asian History, University of Hawai'i at Hilo
• Ellen Carol DuBois, Professor of History, University of California, Los Angeles
• Mary L. Dudziak, Judge Edward J. and Ruey L. Guirado Professor of Law and History, University of Southern California
• Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Professor of Ethnic Studies, California State University, Hayward
• Anabel Dwyer, Board Member, Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy
• Sally Eberhardt, Theaters Against War, New York, New York
• Taner Edis, Professor of Physics, Truman State University
• Carolyn Eisenberg, Professor of History, Hofstra University
• Ivan Eland, Senior Fellow and Director, Center on Peace & Liberty, The Independent Institute
• Pat Elder, Co-founder, DC Anti-War Network (DAWN)
• Geoff Eley, Sylvia L. Thrupp Collegiate Professor of Comparative History; Professor of German Studies, University of Michigan
• Daniel Ellsberg, Author, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and The Pentagon Papers
• Tom Engelhardt, Author, The End of Victory Culture; Creator, TomDispatch.com
• Sara M. Evans, Professor of History, University of Minnesota
• Samih Farsoun, Professor of Sociology, American University
• Lane Fenrich, Deptartment of History, Northwestern University
• Kirsten Fermaglich, Professor of History and Jewish Studies, Michigan State University
• Eileen Findlay, Professor of History, American University
• Michael M.J. Fischer, Professor of Anthropology and Science and Technology Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Robert P. Forbes, Lecturer in History; Associate Director, Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition, Yale University
• John M. Foster, Professor of Biology Emeritus, Hampshire College.
• Elizabeth Frank, Joseph E. Harry Professor of Modern Languages & Literature, Bard College
• Marian C. Franz, Executive Director, National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund
• George M. Fredrickson, Edgar E. Robinson Professor of United State History Emeritus, Stanford University
• Valerie French, Professor of History, American University
• Max Paul Friedman, Professor of History, Florida State University
• Michael Frisch, Professor of History/Senior Research Scholar, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
• Atsushi Fujioka, Professor of U.S. Economy, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto
• Lloyd Gardner, Research Professor of History, Rutgers University
• Sister Maureen Geary, OP, Promoter of Justice, Peace and Care for Creation for the Grand Rapids Dominicans
• Clifford Geertz, Professor Emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey
• Joseph Gerson, Director of Programs, American Friends Service Committee, New England Regional Office
• James Gilbert, Professor of History, University of Maryland
• John Gillis, Professor of History, Rutgers University
• Todd Gitlin, Professor of Journalism and Sociology, Columbia University
• David Glassberg, Professor of History, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• Natalie J. Goldring, Executive Director, Program on Global Security and Disarmament, University of Maryland; Acting Chair, Executive Board, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
• Gary R. Goldstein, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University
• James A. Good, Professor of History, North Harris College
• Linda Gordon, Professor of History, New York University
• Elliott J. Gorn, Professor of History, Brown University
• Van Gosse, Professor of History, Frankin & Marshall College; Co-Chair, Historians Against the War
• Paul Gottfried, Professor of Humanities, Elizabethtown College
• Loren Graham, Professor of History and History of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Jonathan Granoff, President, Global Security Institute; CoChair, American Bar Association Committee on Arms Control and National Security
• Anne H. Griffis, Church Women United
• Richard B. Griffis, United Church of Christ
• Robert Griffith, Professor of History, American University
• Elaine C. Hagopian, Professor Emerita of Sociology, Simmons College
• Xanthe Hall, Program Director, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Germany
• David C. Hallin, Professor of Communication, University of California, San Diego
• Ronald Hamowy, Professor of History Emeritus, University of Alberta, Canada; Research Fellow, The Independent Institute
• Robert E. Hannigan, Dept. of History, Suffolk University
• Laura Hein, Department of History, Northwestern University
• Ira Helfand, MD, Co-founder and Past President, Physicians for Social Responsibility
• David R. Henderson, Professor of Economics, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California
• Nancy M. Henley, Professor Emerita of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
• Margot A. Henriksen, Professor of History, University of Hawaii at Manoa
• Edward S. Herman, Professor Emeritus of Finance, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
• Neil Hertz, Professor of Humanities, Johns Hopkins University
• Robert Higgs, Senior Fellow in Political Economy, The Independent Institute; Editor, The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy
• Hosea Hirata, Professor, Director of the Japanese Program, Tufts University
• Wayne Hobson, Professor of American Studies, California State University, Fullerton
• Jennifer L. Hochschild, Henry LeBarre Jayne Professor of Government; Professor of African and African American Studies, Harvard University
• Martha Hodes, Professor of History, New York University
• Stanley Hoffmann, Buttenwieser University Professor, Harvard University
• Rev. David J. Hogan, Roman Catholic pastor, retired
• John P. Holdren, Teresa and John Heinz Professor; Director, Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
• Albert L. "Woody" Holton, III, Professor of History, University of Richmond
• Gerald Horne, Moores Professor of History and African-American Studies, University of Houston
• Gerald C. Horne, Professor of African-American History, Professor of Communications Studies, University of North Carolina
• Michael Hunt, Professor of History, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Lloyd A. Hunter, Professor of History and American Studies, Franklin College
• Adrienne Carey Hurley, Japan Studies Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University
• Amy Isaacs, National Director, Americans for Democratic Action
• David Isles, Professor of Mathematics, Tufts University
• William Issel, Professor of History, San Francisco State University
• Maurice Isserman, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of History, Hamilton College
• Elizabeth Ito, Teacher
• Bruce Jackson, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Samuel P. Capen Professor of American Culture, University at Buffalo
• Matthew Frye Jacobson, Professor of American Studies and History, Yale University
• Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
• Martin Jay, Sidney Hellman Ehrman Professor of History, University of California, Berkeley
• Robert Jensen, Professor of Journalism, University of Texas, Austin
• John Jonik, Political cartoonist
• Mitch Kachun, Professor of History, Western Michigan University
• Michio Kaku, Professor of Theoretical Physics, City College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York
• Michael Kammen, Professor of American History and Culture, Cornell University; Former Member of the Smithsonian Council
• Laura Croghan Kamoie, Professor of History, American University
• Louis Kampf, Professor of Literature Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Rhoda Kanaaneh, Professor of Anthropology, American University
• Stanley N. Katz, Professor of Public and International Affairs; Director, Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University
• Ira Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University
• Gordon Kaufman, Mallinckrodt Professor of Divinity Emeritus, Harvard University
• Michael Kazin, Professor of History, Georgetown University
• Joseph Kinner, Professor of History, Gallaudet University
• Gregory T. Knouff, Professor of History, Keene State College
• Barbara Koeppel, Investigative Journalist
• Walter Kohn, Research Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, Nobel Laureate of Chemistry
• Gabriel Kolko, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus, York University, Toronto, Canada
• Dennis Kortheuer, Professor of History, California State University, Long Beach
• J. Morgan Kousser, Professor of History and Social Science, California Institute of Technology
• Joel Kovel, Professor of Social Studies, Bard College
• Ron Kovic, Author, Born on the Fourth of July
• Wendy Kozol, Professor of Gender and Women's Studies, Oberlin College
• David Krieger, President, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
• Kenneth Kusmer, Professor of History, Temple University
• Peter J. Kuznick, Professor of History, Director, Nuclear Studies Institute, American University
• Walter LaFeber, Professor of History, Cornell University
• Ann J. Lane, Professor of History and Students in Women and Gender, University of Virginia
• Fr. Paul Lansu, Pax Christi International
• Donald N. Lathrop, Professor of Peace and World Order Studies, Berkshire Community College, Pittsfield, Massachusetts
• Steven F. Lawson, Professor of History, Rutgers University
• Norman Lear, Writer-Producer
• Richard Ned Lebow, James O. Freedman Presidential Professor of Government, Dartmouth College
• Joel L. Lebowitz, Professor; Director, Center for Mathematical Sciences Research, Rutgers University
• Eric LeCompte, National Council Chair, Pax Christi USA: National Council Peace Movement
• Susan E. Lederer, Professor of History of Medicine, History, Yale University
• Steve Leeper, US representative, World Conference of Mayors for Peace
• Mark H. Leff, Professor of History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Melvyn P. Leffler, Stettinius Professor of American History, University of Virginia
• Roger Leisner, Host, Radio Free Maine
• Jesse Lemisch, Professor Emeritus of History, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York
• Gerda Lerner, Robinson-Edwards Professor of History Emerita, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Lawrence W. Levine, Margaret Byrne Professor of History Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley; Professor of History, George Mason University
• Norman Levitt, Professor of Mathematics, Rutgers University
• Robert Jay Lifton, Visiting Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Co-author, Hiroshima in America
• Susan Lindee, Professor of History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania; Author, Suffering Made Real: American Science and the Survivors at Hiroshima
• Kriste Lindenmeyer, Professor of History, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• Leon F. Litwack, A.F. & May T. Morrison Professor of History, University of California, Berkeley
• Alvaro Vargas Llosa, Research Fellow, The Independent Institute; Author, Liberty for Latin America (forthcoming)
• Doug Long, Hiroshima Scholar
• Ronald G. Lora, Professor of History, University of Toledo
• Bernard Lown, MD, Professor Emeritus, Harvard School of Public Healt
• Staughton Lynd, Historian and Attorney
• Vincent Lyon-Callo, Professor of Anthropology, Western Michigan University
• Mark H. Lytle, Professor of History, Bard College
• Nancy MacLean, Professor, Deptartment of History, Northwestern University
• Graham MacPhee, Professor, University of Portsmouth, England
• Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate
• Arjun Makhijani, President, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research
• Leo Maley, III, Author of numerous articles on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Jane Mansbridge, Adams Professor, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
• Glenn Marcus, Documentary Producer; Adjunct Professor of Communications, Johns Hopkins University
• William F. Marina, Professor of Humanities, Professor of Business; Former Director of International Studies, Florida Atlantic University
• Norman Markowitz, Professor of History, Rutgers University
• Kevin Martin, Executive Director, Peace Action
• Eric S. Maskin, A.O. Hirschman Professor of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey
• Paul H. Mattingly, Professor of History; Director, Program in Public History, New York University
• Jeremy Maxand, Executive Director, Snake River Alliance, Boise, Idaho
• Elaine Tyler May, Professor of American Studies and History, University of Minnesota; Author, Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era
• Joseph A. McCartin, Professor of History, Georgetown University
• Robert W. McChesney, Research Professor of Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Kathleen McCluskey, CSJ, Executive Director, US Federation of Sisters of Saint Joseph
• Robert S. McElvaine, Elizabeth Chisholm Professor of Arts & Letters and Professor of History, Millsaps College
• J. Geeta McGahey, MD
• J.E. McNeil, Executive Director, Center on Conscience & War
• J.R. McNeill, Professor, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
• Brent Meeker, Science and Engineering Fellow of the Naval Air System Command
• William Mello, Professor of Labor Studies, Indiana University
• Everett Mendelsohn, Professor of the History of Science, Harvard University
• Leisa D. Meyer, Professor of History and Director, Women's Studies Program, College of William and Mary
• Joanne Meyerowitz, Professor of History, Indiana University; Editor, Journal of American History
• Barton P. Meyers, Visiting Professor of Psychology, Bard College
• Zia Mian, Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton University
• Irene Michaud, Western Massachusetts American Friends Service Committee
• Howard G. Miller, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, North Carolina State University
• Richard H. Minear, Professor of History, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Translator of Hiroshima literature
• Gregg Mitman, Professor of History of Science, Medical History, and Science & Technology Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Uday Mohan, Author of numerous articles on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Marian B. Mollin, Professor of History, Virginia Tech University
• David Montgomery, Farnam Professor of History Emeritus, Yale University
• Rick Moody, Author Purple America and The Ice Storm
• Regina Morantz-Sanchez, Professor of History, University of Michigan
• Leuren Moret, Environmental Commissioner, Berkeley, California
• Bradford Morrow, Author, Trinity Fields and Ariel's Crossing; Professor of Literature, Bard College
• Richard Moser, Ph.D., National Field Representative, American Association of University Professors
• Robert K. Musil, Executive Director and CEO, Physicians for Social Responsibility
• Pamela S. Nadell, Professor of History, American University
• Sylvain Nagler, Professor, Empire State College
• David Nasaw, Distinguished Professor of History, City University of New York Graduate Center
• Gary B. Nash, Professor Emeritus of History, University of California, Los Angeles
• Anil Nauriya, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi, India
• Bruce Nelson, Professor of History, Dartmouth College
• Margaret Nielsen, Professor of Social Work, Michigan State University
• Philip Nobile, Editor, Judgment at the Smithsonian
• Howard Norman, Writer
• Ronald L. Numbers, Hilldale Professor of the History of Science and Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Arnold A. Offner, Cornelia F. Hugel Professor of History, Lafayette College
• Patricia Oldham, Lecturer Behavioral-Social Sciences Department Hostos Community College, City University of New York
• Alicia Ostriker, Professor, Department of English, Rutgers University
• David S. Painter, Professor of History, Georgetown University
• John O. Pastore, Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine; Director of Echocardiography, Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center; Former Executive Secretary, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
• Orlando Patterson, John Cowles Professor of Sociology, Harvard University
• Philip J. Pauly, Professor of History, Rutgers University
• David Penna, Professor, Department of Government and History, Gallaudet University
• Theda Perdue, Professor of History, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• James Petras, Professor of Sociology, Binghamton University
• Alan F. Phillips, M.D. and Joy Phillips, Founders, Anti-Nuclear-War Fund, Project Ploughshares, Canada
• Geoff Pingree, Professor, Cinema Studies and English, Oberlin College
• Mark Pittenger, Professor of History, University of Colorado
• Stephen J. Pitti, Professor of History, Yale University
• John Polanyi, Nobel Laureate, Chemistry, 1986
• Gareth Porter, Author, Perils of Dominance: Power Imbalance and the Path to the Vietnam War
• Theodore A. Postol, Professor of Science, Technology, and National Security Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Lawrence N. Powell, Professor of History, Tulane University
• Linda C. Raeder, Professor of Humanities, Palm Beach Atlantic University
• Ralph Raico, Professor of History, State College, Buffalo
• James Michael Reaume, Jr. MD
• Adolph Reed, Professor, Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, New School University
• Leo P. Ribuffo, George Washington Distinguished Professor, Department of History, George Washington University
• Robert J. Richards, Professor of History, Philosophy, and Psychology; Director, Morris Fishbein Center for the History of Science and Medicine, University of Chicago
• Paul Craig Roberts, Research Fellow, The Independent Institute; Former Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury
• Dave Robinson, National Coordinator, Pax Christi USA
• Jo Ann O. Robinson, Professor of History, Morgan State University
• Lillian S. Robinson, Professor and Principal, Simone de Beauvoir Women's Studies Institute, Concordia Univesity, Montréal, Canada
• Hugh Rockoff, Professor of Economics, Rutgers University
• Daniel T. Rodgers, Henry Charles Lea Professor of History, Princeton University
• Ruth Rosen, Professor Emerita of History, University of California, Davis
• Robert A. Rosenstone, Professor of History, California Institute of Technology
• Roy Rosenzweig, Professor of History, George Mason University
• Andrew Ross, Professor of American Studies, New York University
• Steven Ross, Professor of History, University of Southern California
• Joseph Rotblat, Nobel Peace Laureate, 1995
• Joshua D. Rothman, Professor of History, University of Alabama
• Richard Rubenstein, Professor of Conflict Resolution and Public Affairs, George Mason University
• Anne Sarah Rubin, Professor of History, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• Bruce Russett, Dean Acheson Professor of Political Science, Yale University
• Jonathan Schell, Author, Fate of the Earth
• Cathy Schneider, Professor of International Studies, American University
• Eric Schneider, Associate Director for Academic Affairs, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania
• Ellen Schrecker, Professor of History, Yeshiva University
• Michael Schudson, Professor of Communication, University of California, San Diego
• Robert D. Schulzinger, Professor of History, University of Colorado, Boulder
• Silvan S. Schweber, Professor of Physics and Koret Professor of the History of Science Emeritus, Brandeis University
• Nicole Schweizer, Art Historian, Switzerland
• Joan W. Scott, Professor of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey
• Pete Seeger, Musician, Songwriter
• Mark Selden, Professor of Sociology and History, Binghamton University; Author, The Atomic Bomb. Voices From Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Butler D. Shaffer, Professor, Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, California; Author, Calculated Chaos
• Robert Shaffer, Professor of History, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
• Charles Sheehan-Miles, Veterans for Common Sense; Executive Director, Nuclear Policy Research Institute
• Martin Sheen, Actor; Director; Activist
• Doris H. Sher, Professor of History, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, Newark
• Ann Sherif, Professor of East Asian Studies, Oberlin College
• Michael Sherry, Richard W. Leopold Professor of History, Northwestern University; Author, The Rise of American Air Power: The Creation of Armageddon
• Martin J. Sherwin, Walter S. Dickson Professor of English and American History, Tufts University; Author, A World Destroyed
• Francis R. Shor, Professor, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Wayne State University
• Chris Simpson, Professor of Communication, American University
• Rev. William Sinkford, President, Unitarian Universalist Association
• Kathryn Kish Sklar, Distinguished Professor of History, State University of New York, Binghamton
• Zach Sklar, Writer, Olivebridge, New York
• Melvin Small, Professor of History, Wayne State University
• Barbara Herrnstein Smith, Professor of Comparative Literature and English, Duke University; Professor of English, Brown University
• Damu Smith, Founder, Black Voices for Peace
• Judith E. Smith, Professor of American Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston
• Neil Smith, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, City University of New York Graduate Center
• Mary Hembrow Snyder, Professor of Religious Studies and Chair, Humanities Division, Mercyhurst College
• Robert W. Snyder, Director, Journalism and Media Studies, Rutgers University, Newark
• Alan Sokal, Professor of Physics, New York University
• Michael M. Sokal, Professor of History, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Clinton W. Spence, Pastor, United Methodist Church
• Scott Spencer, Author
• Paul Spickard, Professor of History and Asian American Studies University of California, Santa Barbara
• David E. Stannard, Professor of American Studies, University of Hawaii, Honolulu
• Christine Stansell, Professor of History, Princeton University
• Peter Stearns, Professor of History, George Mason University
• John Steinbach, Coordinator, Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Committee
• Jean Stokan, Policy Director, Pax Christi USA
• Oliver Stone, Filmmaker
• Susan Strasser, Professor of History, University of Delaware
• Dorothy Stroup, Author, In the Autumn Wind
• Cathie Sullivan, Director, Los Alamos Museum Project
• Ronald Takaki, Professor of Ethinc Studies, University of California, Berkeley; Author, Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb
• David Thelen, Professor of History, Indiana University
• David J. Theroux, Founder and President, The Independent Institute; Publisher, The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy; Director, OnPower.org
• John Whittier Treat, Professor of Japanese, Yale University; Author, Writing Ground Zero: Japanese Literature and the Atomic Bomb
• Nicholas Turse, Professor of Epidemiology, Columbia University
• William M. Tuttle, Jr., Professor of American Studies, University of Kansas
• Charlotte A. Twight, Professor of Economics, Boise State University; Adjunct Fellow, The Independent Institute
• Nancy C. Unger, Professor of History, Women and Gender Studies, and Environmental Studies, Santa Clara University
• Steven W. Usselman, Professor of History, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Gore Vidal, Author; Historian; Playwright
• Joe Volk, Executive Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation
• Frank von Hippel, Professor of Public and International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School; Co-Director, Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton University
• Kurt Vonnegut, Author
• Daniel J. Walkowitz, Director, Metropolitan Studies, Professor of History, New York University
• Charles Wallace, Jr., Chaplain and Professor of Religious Studies, Willamette University
• Mike Wallace, Distinguished Professor of History, John Jay College, City University of New York
• Michael Walzer, Professor of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey
• Jessica Wang, Professor of History, University of California, Los Angeles
• Charles Weiner, Professor Emeritus, History of Science and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Richard Weiss, Professor of History, University of California, Los Angeles
• Andrew Wells-Dang, Regional Representative Fund for Reconciliation & Development, Hanoi, Vietnam
• Robert Westbrook, Professor of History, University of Rochester
• Philip E. Wheaton, Episcopal priest; Founder, Ecumenical Program for Inter-American Communication & Action; Author, Empire & the Word
• Anne Mitchell Whisnant, Historian and Mellon Project Manager, John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute, Duke University
• David E. Whisnant, Professor Emeritus, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Geoffrey White, Professor of Anthropology, University of Hawaii
• Stephen J. Whitfield, Max Richter Professor of American Civilization, Brandeis University
• Jon Wiener, Professor of History, UC Irvine
• Roger Wilkins, Robinson Professor of History and American Culture, George Mason University
• Brett Williams, Professor of Anthropology, American University
• David Blake Willis, Professor of Cultural Studies, Soai University, Osaka, Japan
• Garry Wills, Author, Lincoln at Gettysburg
• Angela C. Wilson, Professor of Indigenous History, Arizona State University
• Lawrence S. Wittner, Professor of History, State University of New York, Albany
• Robert Wohl, Professor of History, University of California, Los Angeles; Author, A Passion for Wings
• Robert S. Wolff, Professor of History, Central Connecticut State University
• Roberta Wollons, Professor and Chair, Department of History, Indiana University Northwest
• Thomas E. Woods, Jr., Professor of History, Suffolk County Community College
• Peter Yarrow, Musician, Songwriter (Peter, Paul, and Mary)
• Keniiro Yokoro, Secretary General of Japanese Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
• Lisa Yoneyama, Professor of Cultural Studies and U.S.-Japan Studies, Department of Literature, University of California, San Diego
• Marilyn B. Young, Professor of History, New York University
• Maurice Zeitlin, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles
• Howard Zinn, Professor Emeritus, History, Boston University; Author, A People's History of the United States
• Michael Zuckerman, Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania

* Institutional affiliations added for purposes of identification only.

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Watch owned by Kengo Futagawa (59 at the time) who was crossing the Kannon Bridge (1,600 meters from the hypocenter) by bicycle on his way to do fire prevention work. He jumped into the river, terribly burned. He returned home, but died on August 22, 1945. (Source: "HIROSHIMA" by Hiromi Tsuchida)

Related Events Sponsored by Other Organizations Sun 12/14: Service Honoring the Hibakusha Mon 12/15: Protest the Enola Gay (Return to the top of this page) Resources and Further Reading The Historians Committee for Open Debate Hiroshima: Was it Necessary? Official Website of the City of Hiroshima Official Website of the City of Nagasaki featuring information on the Atomic Bomb Museum Hiroshima Archive A wide-ranging site, offering information about the 1994-95 Enola Gay controversy, the 50th anniversary of the bombings, course syllabi, artwork related to the bombings, etc. Leo Szilard On Line, one bit at a time A website dedicated to the life and work of Manhattan Project scientist Leo Szilard. The Los Alamos Study Group Works on disarmament issues.

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