They call their trip a “Journey of Repentance.”

Sixteen people – most from the Tacoma area – will travel to Japan later this month to acknowledge and ask forgiveness for the destruction caused by the twin U.S. atomic bombings 64 years ago. The Rev. Bill Bichsel, a Tacoma peace activist and Jesuit priest, said the group wants to meet and connect with those who have suffered from the bombings of World War II.

“We come with deep sorrow for what has happened with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” Bichsel said Monday. “We pledge ourselves not to let this happen again and work toward the elimination of all nuclear weapons.”

Bichsel, 81, and two other Tacoma-area peace activists are leading the ad-hoc interfaith group, which departs July 30 and returns Aug. 11.

The group, which includes an American Indian and a Buddhist as well as Christians, will be in Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and Nagasaki on Aug. 9 to attend anniversary ceremonies remembering the attacks.

They plan to present signature petitions to city leaders which in part read, “I apologize to the people of Japan for my country’s atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 64 years ago, and ask forgiveness for these atrocities and the ongoing suffering of those affected by radiation.”

They also will bring about 3,000 origami peace cranes. Students from Holy Rosary Catholic, Sheridan Elementary and Bryant Montessori schools in Tacoma made most of the paper cranes.

The bombs killed an estimated 220,000 people instantly or within a few months. Japan surrendered to the United States on Aug. 15, 1945, ending the war.

Local veterans of World War II, such as retired Army Lt. Col. Joseph Zelazny, believe President Harry Truman did the right thing by dropping the bombs.

Zelazny, 88, remembers Pearl Harbor and disagrees with the Journey of Repentance.

“Why should I feel sorry and apologize to (the Japanese) for something their own government started?” the Tacoma man said Monday when a reporter told him about the peace mission. “You hate to see a civilian get hit, but what are you going to do? Wait for more of our people to get hit?”

Tom Karlin views things differently. He was a Navy petty officer stationed in Japan in 1957 when he visited a museum in Nagasaki with photos of people fleeing that city’s bombing with looks of terror on their faces.

“As a young sailor, I was horrified at what I saw,” Karlin said. “It touched my conscience.”

Karlin said he no longer believes the U.S. explanation given at the time.

“We were taught that had we not dropped the bombs on Japan, the war would have cost another million lives (in U.S. soldiers),” Karlin said.

Karlin, who left the Navy in 1960, said he now believes the war could have ended earlier with a conditional surrender.

Karlin, 73, who lives in Lakewood, said he’s making the trip to listen to those who have suffered from the bombings, ask forgiveness from them, and promise to work witfare.

For Bichsel, acknowledging and repenting what was done to Japan is a crucial step for the U.S. to “turn from the path of violence.” “Deterrence does not work,” he said. “Iran and North Korea are examples of that. Our weapons encourage other nations to have weapons.”

Mitch Kohjima isn’t making the trip seeking forgiveness. He was born near Tokyo in 1948 and moved to the United States in 1986.

Kohjima, 60, a former Buddhist monk who lives in Tacoma, said he wants to return to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where he last visited in 1980.

Kohjima, who remains a citizen of Japan, shares the hope for peace with a sense of urgency. He said both countries must cooperate to eliminate nuclear weapons.

“The American people must wake up,” Kohjima said. “We must do something to abolish nuclear weapons.”

Steve Maynard: 253-597-8647 steve.maynard@thenewstribune.com