Obama to Hiroshima: Will he really be welcome?

U.S. President Barack Obama is set to become the first sitting president to visit Hiroshima following the atomic attack August 6, 1945.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Critics worried Obama's trip was to apologize for the devastation, but according to The New York Times, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Obama will "not revisit the decision to use the atomic bomb."

Several survivors, such as Hiroshi Shimizu, the general secretary of the Hiroshima Confederation of A-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, expect the U.S. President to issue a formal apology.

Though Shimizu wants an apology, he recognizes it is not realistic to expect one. He admitted an apology would "limit world leaders" and admitted, "We would first like for them to come and stand on the grounds of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and take a good look at what is in front of them and give it good thought."

Yamada was a child when the first bomb was dropped. The blast knocked her off her feet but she stood and ran to a shelter. "I saw bodies, and there were parents who lost their children, and children who never saw their parents again after that day," she recalled. "I hope Mr. Obama will make his visit an opportunity to pledge that such tragedy will never happen again."

Japanese officials have not demanded an apology of Obama and the White House was clear when it stated the President would not offer one. Instead, Obama's visit is aimed at calling for more global action of non-proliferatoin and disarmament.

Kohachiro Hayashi, a retired teacher, simply explained: "I hear America is still divided over atomic bombings, but it's been almost 71 years since the war ended, and I think it's about time Obama should be able to visit Hiroshima. We should just accept his visit as a gesture of sincerity. It's OK as long as he makes clear his commitment never to use atomic weapons. ...I hope he will learn what happened and feel a little bit of it himself while being there."

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