Ring the Oak Ridge International Friendship Bell

On August 6, 1945, the US Army Air Forces dropped the uranium-fueled Little Boy atomic bomb over Hiroshima in the first of only two atomic bombings of a population in history. The Manhattan Project facilities at Oak Ridge, TN produced the enriched uranium used in the Little Boy atomic bomb.

The International Friendship Bell is a symbol of unity that carries the message of peace and friendship into the future. At nearly seven feet (2.13 meters) tall and five feet (1.5 meters) wide, this 8,000-pound (3629 kilograms) bronze bell hangs at A. K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where the enriched 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.

Play the video below to ring the International Friendship Bell virtually. You may ring the bell for any reason that speaks personally to you.

Duration:

18 seconds

Virtually Ring the International Friendship Bell in Oak Ridge, Tennessee