The White House has invited a former prisoner of war to accompany President Barack Obama on his historic visit to Hiroshima, a group of former POWs said Saturday.
"As you can imagine, we see this as a positive step . . . and that maybe, finally, (the government is) noticing," Jan Thompson, president of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Memorial Society, said at a news conference during the society's annual convention in San Antonio, Texas.
Daniel Crowley, 94, a former U.S. Army air corpsman, has been chosen to make the trip to the atomic-bombed city on Friday, according to Thompson, who added, "I think it's powerful because the victims must face each other in order to become the victors of peace."