This was a very touching thing to read, thank you for sharing it. As an American living in Japan, I consider it my duty to visit Hiroshima at some point to pay my respects. But even after living here for years, I haven't quite managed to work up the courage to do it (yet). I'm not convinced that an act as evil as the atomic bombings was necessary to end the war, and I feel ashamed of my home country when I think about it. But the past can't be changed, all we can do is look forward to the future and take to heart the message of the Peace Memorial Park: that everything in humanity's power be done to ensure that such an unspeakable act never be repeated.