Four things to know about President Obama's visit to Hiroshima
President Obama made history Friday when he visited the Japanese city of Hiroshima, which was devastated by an atomic bomb dropped by the United States 71 years ago.
Here are key things to know about his visit:
What happened in Hiroshima?
A U.S. B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, dropped "Little Boy," the first atomic bomb to be deployed, on Hiroshima on the morning of Aug. 6, 1945, during World War II. The blast killed 80,000 people immediately. Another 60,000 died from radiation exposure by the end of the year. Captain Robert Lewis, the co-pilot, said: "My God, what have we done?" after the bomb dropped, according to news accounts. About 70,000 people were killed three days later when the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb called "Fat Man" on the coastal city of Nagasaki. The death toll in both bombings stands at 210,000. On Aug. 15, 1945, less than a week after the Nagasaki attack, Japan surrendered.
Survivors of Hiroshima: 'There is horror here'
Why is Obama’s visit historic?
Obama is the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima since the bombing. During a 2009 visit to Japan, he said: "The memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are etched in the minds of the world, and I would be honored to have the opportunity to visit those cities at some point during my presidency." Obama met with survivors Friday and hugged Shigeaki Mori, 79, a survivor who spent 35 years trying to locate and console the family members of 12 captured American servicemen who were killed in the bombing.
What did Obama say?
Obama called for a world without nuclear weapons during his visit. "Seventy-one years ago on a bright cloudless morning, death fell from the sky and the world was changed," he said in a speech after laying a wreath to remember the victims. "Why do we come to this place, to Hiroshima? We come to ponder the terrible force unleashed in the not-so-distant past. We come to mourn the dead including over 100,000 Japanese men women and children, thousands of Koreans, a dozen Americans held prisoner.” In the guest book at the memorial site, Obama wrote: "We have known the agony of war. Let us now find the courage, together, to spread peace, and pursue a world without nuclear weapons.”
Why is his visit controversial?
Some Japanese bomb victim organizations have long called for an apology, viewing the use of atomic weapons as inhumane. Obama did not apologize but expressed sympathy for the victims. "Mere words cannot give voice to such suffering," he said.
Veterans see Obama's visit to Hiroshima as 'bittersweet'
Many American veteran groups and former prisoners of war opposed a presidential apology, arguing that Japan never apologized for mistreating American prisoners of war. The bombings also are controversial among historians. Some say they hastened the end of World War II and spared hundreds of thousands of lives. Others say Japan was on the verge of surrendering before the bombs were dropped.
Contributing: Kirk Spitzer in Hiroshima.