World War II Still More Than a Memory

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Sept 6, 1999 | by John Elvin

Japanese protesters have targeted as insensitive earrings sold at the National Atomic Museum in New Mexico. The earrings, selling for $20 a pair, are shaped like the "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" atomic bombs developed at Los Alamos and dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A spokesman said the museum "does not advocate war or the use of nuclear weapons," but there are no plans to discontinue selling the store's most popular item.

In related news, two Japanese cannons have been removed from a park in Illinois after veterans protested that the weapons may have been used to kill Allied troops. The cannons were captured at Okinawa in 1945. They have been restored after 50 years in the park and now will grace the grounds of a public library where officials say they will be appreciated as educational exhibits.

Last, ground will be broken in October for a statue to grace a small park near the U.S. Capitol commemorating Japanese-Americans who were interned in this country during World War II, as well as those who served in the U.S. armed forces.