Chapter Twelve: Prayer for Peace Summary and Analysis

With the combined support of over 3,000 schools the children's memorial became a reality. The statue was called The Statue for the Children of the Atomic Bomb and Sadako was used as its model. On Children's Day on May 5, 1958, a ceremony was held to unveil the memorial. Ten-thousand students were on hand for the ceremony including all of Sadako's classmates. The family sat with the original founders of the fund raising drive. Sadako's younger brother Eiji and young sister Mitsue pulled the cord that unveiled the memorial. On top of the memorial was the figure of a young girl holding a large crane as she looked skyward. The memorial was inscribed with the words: "This is our cry, this is our prayer: To create peace in the world." (91) Sadako and the children have never...