On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings, I want to extend my warm greetings to the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as you mark this solemn anniversary.

One of the great honors of my presidency was visiting Hiroshima in 2016. You have to stand in that place, where the bomb fell, to fully appreciate both the scale of destruction that took place and the miracle of Hiroshima’s renewal. I will always carry with me the memory of folding my orizuru and visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Park.

Above all, I will remember greeting the hibakusha, who carry with them the memories of that day. As always, they call on us to never give up in our pursuit of peace and a world where the miracles of science are harnessed to build, not destroy. I am proud that the U.S.-Japan alliance represents that spirit, and will always do my part to help it grow stronger.

I know that this is a particularly poignant anniversary, as there are few hibakusha with us. But I am heartened by the belief that their memory and example will never fade. As I said in my speech in Hiroshima: “Someday, the voices of the hibakusha will no longer be with us to bear witness. But the memory of the morning of August 6, 1945, must never fade. That memory allows us to fight complacency. It fuels our moral imagination. It allows us to change.”