Kim Sherwood said he believes the Allies used this point to keep the Japanese in war status, not surrender status, so they could drop the bomb.

"We maintained the situation of war long enough for us to test bombs on civilians targets," Kim Sherwood said.

Hiraoka said he also believes there was no need for the bomb. He believes the civilian population and most government officials had reached a point where they wanted the war to end. Also, most of the military was devastated by the war. He believes if the U.S. had guaranteed the safety of the emperor, surrender would have been swift.

Earlier on Monday, Hiraoka spoke to a group at Utah Valley University. He told the audience that when nuclear weapons are abolished, Hiroshima will be fully healed of its wounds.

He will speak again on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Salt Lake Main Library auditorium.

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E-mail: lwilde@desnews.com