This month, on the 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, we remember. We must never forget what happened on Aug. 9, 1945. We also celebrate the 70th anniversary of the sister city relationship between Nagasaki and St. Paul.

I reflect. A clock stopped at 11:02 a.m., and a photo of a mother breastfeeding her child shortly after the bomb exploded. Those sites from the Atomic Bomb Museum are forever ingrained in my memory. I recall the quiet and sacredness of ground zero and of Peace Park just steps away. A Paul Granlund sculpture, “Constellation Earth,” a gift from the citizens of St. Paul, signifies the friendship between the two cities.

I give thanks for the bond established between Nagasaki and St. Paul that was envisioned by Louis Hill and President Dwight E

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