There is a quote attributed to Albert Einstein which states, “I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” This is a stark sentiment, which echoes the message sent by the South Country Peace Group in alliance with the North Country Peace Group, who co-sponsored the solemn event held on Saturday, Aug. 6 at 5 p.m. beginning at the aptly named peace pole at South Country Library in Bellport.

The peace seekers joined there for a silent procession to the Bellport Village Marina for the 40th annual World Peace Vigil and Community Dedication to Peace, commemorating the 77th anniversary of the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The Japanese city of Hiroshima also paused to reflect this year, as they do annually, on the anniversary of that mournful day, joined in solidarity by countless people around the world, in remembrance of the U.S. attack in which 140,000 people perished in the final throes of World War II.

Representatives from 99 nations and the European Union gathered for the annual ceremony at Peace Memorial Park, where the mourners joined for a moment of silence at 8:15 a.m., the precise moment the U.S. uranium bomb detonated over the city on Aug. 6, 1945. Three days later, a second bomb would take the lives of another 70,000 men, women, and children in Nagasaki.

This much larger gathering, where the unthinkable incident took place, telegraphed to the world a similar message that those gathered at the peace vigil in Bellport want to broadcast to the community and to the planet: a plea for the elimination of all nuclear weapons. This year’s remembrances took on a new urgency, in the uncertain aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, with looming fears of a new nuclear arms race, with weapons available that are even deadlier than the ones used in 1945.

Susan Perretti was at the event in Bellport, representing the North Country Peace Group based in Setauket. Perretti was originally a part of the SCPG when she lived in this area. She stressed the importance of informing the younger generations about this dark moment in history, because many are not even aware of it.

“I think it’s important to remember,” she said simply. “This has been a very faithful annual vigil and march.”

Michelle Santantonio, the longtime, dedicated chairperson of the SCPG, officiated the event, where attendees were encouraged to don white, the traditional Japanese color of mourning. Special guest speakers and performers included Jason Neal, giving his poetic invocation and reflections. He opened with a call for open discourse to help find peace in these polarizing times:

“In order for us to realize peace, we must expand our circles of peace,” said Neal.

Catherine Green sung a capella, including a heartrending rendition of the poem, “Little Girl of Hiroshima.” It was about a 7-year-old girl who lost her life that fateful day and who would have been 84 today had she lived.

In addition, the program included a poetry reading by Diane Atkinson and special guest professor Karl Grossman, journalist, nuclear industry historian, and author of several books, including one he co-authored with professor Christopher Verga called “Cold War Long Island,” who was there for a Q&A session.

The pièce de résistance of the program was an emphasis on the existential threat of another nuclear attack, which the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons seeks to abolish. Most people are unaware this treaty even exists due to a lack of media coverage, according to Grossman, who is doing everything he can to rectify this glaring omission.

The professor informed that The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, in 2020, moved the infamous Doomsday Clock forward to 100 seconds to midnight, with midnight symbolizing “nuclear annihilation.”

The aim of this ambitious nuclear arms embargo is to ban the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use and threat of the use of nuclear weapons by all nations. However, as the renowned author and journalist noted, the major impediment to implementing the treaty’s objective is that the U.S., Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom, the five leading “nuclear weapons states,” have not signed on to the peace treaty. However, the U.N. treaty, since its inception in 2021, has garnered 88 signatories in 66 state parties globally.

Visit nuclearbantreaty.org to learn more about the Nuclear Ban Treaty Collaborative or to find out how you can help spread the message and support the cause. Go to karlgrossman.com to find out more about his published work, television appearances, and speaking engagements. For more on the SCPG contact southcountrypeace@outlook.com.