Oak Ridge Bell Ringing

NPS/KLEIN

 

Reflection

• More Reflection
• Days of Peace & Remembrance
• Messages of Peace
• Seeds for Reflection
• Los Alamos Lights for Peace
• Hanford Lights for Peace
• Partners in Commemoration
• Virtual Lights for Peace

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 produced the enriched uranium used in the Little Boy atomic bomb. 

Each year on August 6, park staff invite the public to ring the International Friendship Bell in Oak Ridge to commemorate the number of years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during the park’s annual commemoration event. Members of the public may ring the bell for whatever reason speaks to them including for lives lost, service and sacrifice, and peace.  

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. 

Commemorative Events 

Every July, the park posts a full schedule of events on the Days of Peace and Remembrance web page, the park's online calendar, and Facebook page.