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^[[NS 8/6/99]]

[[photo two boys posing with bomb with numerous framed artifacts on wall]]

[[photo caption]]
Troy Skinner, 4 left, and his brother Aaron, 9, pose beside a weapon casing identical to the atom bomb called "Little Boy" at National Atomic Museum in Albuquerque, N.M.
[[/photo caption]]

[[article title]]
Atomic bomb earrings irk Japanese 
[[/article title]]

They find souvenirs at the National Atomic Museum distasteful. 

[[photo of atomic bomb earrings]]

[[photo caption][
Earring replicas of atomic bombs "Fat Man," left, and "Little Boy" have drawn protests from a Japanese antinuclear organization.
By The Associated Press
[[/photo caption]]

KIRKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AP)-Souvenir earrings with tiny silver replicas of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 are being sold at the National Atomic Museum, causing indignation in Japan.
"It's not the sort of thing you should be hanging from your ears or using to decorate your desk," said Naomi Kishimoto of the antinuclear group Gensuikyo in Hiroshima. "It's unforgivable that (the) museum would sell through the Internet something that praises the unit that dropped the atomic bomb."
  Members of Gensuikyo found the earrings and other items, including medallions that commemorate the bombing missions over Japan, on the museum's Web site, which is run by the U.S. Department of Energy at this Albuquerque air base. 
  The earrings are shaped like the "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" atomic bombs developed at Los Alamos during the war under the Manhattan Project. They sell for $20 a pair at the museum. 
  The bomb dubbed "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. Nagasaki was struck by Fat Man three days later. As many as 175,000 people were killed in the two attacks. The Japanese surrendered five days after the second bomb.
  Museum director Jim Walter said Thursday the museum does not plan to stop selling the earrings. 
  He said items sold in the museum store reflect history and present the work of dedicated scientists in the United States.
  "This museum does not advocate war or the use of nuclear weapons," he said.
  Museum store manager Tony Sparks said the earrings are the most popular item in a store that offers a balanced view of the events.
  "We're aware that it's sensitive," Sparks said. "We have such a high contingency of Japanese visitors, most of whom are interested in hearing our side. We are careful not to glorify it."
  Visitors on Thursday had a wide range of reactions. 
  Lois Dove of South Fork, Colo., said she didn't blame the Japanese for objecting to the earrings. "It's not appropriate," she said.
  Ben Parks of Amarillo Texas, said he understands the Japanese reaction but thinks the earrings should stay on the shelf, since the bombs ended the war. 
 
[diagram explaining photo display (Nagasaki right, Hiroshima left)] 

Atomic bomb damage aerial photographs BY William E. Jones Columbia City, IND 

January, 1946