The Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee will be ringing the International Friendship Bell at dawn 76 times to commemorate the effects of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.  During this silent event we will be requesting visitors to come up and ring the bell.  Visitors will be able to write down their own hopes and messages of peace. 

The International Friendship Bell is a symbol of unity and will carry the message of peace and international friendship into the future.  At nearly seven feet tall and five feet wide, this 8,300-pound bronze bell hangs at A.K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where the uranium for the world’s first atomic weapons was manufactured.  Designed in Oak Ridge and cast in Kyoto, Japan, the relief panels on the bell show peaceful imagery inspired by Tennessee, Japan, and the tragedies of war between the two nations.

The Ringing of the bell will be at 6:49 am ET at the Peace Pavilion in A.K. Bissel Park 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN 37830.  For directions and information, call 865-482-1942.