Today–August 6, 2022–marks the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan. In an instant, a single bomb killed or fatally wounded at least 90,000 people and marked the beginning of the nuclear era.

In 2019, I had the privilege of visiting the beautiful city of Hiroshima and the profoundly moving museum and memorial there. It is a powerful reminder of the responsibility that we all share to ensure these weapons are never used again.

The survivors of the attack, known in Japanese as Hibakusha (atomic bomb affected people), dedicated their lives to telling the world about the horrors they endured in order to rid the world of these terrible weapons. Nuclear weapons are going nowhere soon, but I am deeply grateful to the Hibakusha. World War II was the first and, thanks to their efforts, only nuclear war.