'What Paul Harris Said' quotes are received every week by approximately 6000 Rotarians around the world.

Paul Harris once said, "The way to war is a well-paved highway, and the way to peace is still a wilderness."

Past District Governor Takashi "Taka" Uyeno of the Yokohama Rotary Club, Kamakuna, Japan (District 2590) has responded to this with the following article:

It was an August morning in 1945. My mother was to take me to the barber and we were leaving the house. Perhaps my diaper was wet, I cried and my mother took me back inside. Just as she was about to change it, the house was struck by a formidable shock, unlike anything we'd ever experienced. Although she folded me tightly in her arms and got down on the floor, we were blown into a corner of the room by the blast.

After a long moment, she raised her face and looked up to find no ceiling, no roof but only blue sky above. A flying stone had hit her and there was a gash on her forehead. Pressing one hand to the wound on her forehead, she held me in her other arm, and went to ask neighbors for help. What she found was a completely devastated city of Hiroshima, raised to the ground.

Since I was only 8 months old at the time of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, I heard all this from my parents. But because this story has been told to me over and over ever since I can remember, I have come to feel as though I had gone through this horrifying experience myself.

Almost sixty years have passed since humankind saw the atomic bomb disasters of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, as Rotary founder Paul Harris once said, "The way to war is a well-paved highway, and the way to peace is still a wilderness," it seems that an immeasurable amount of time is still needed to realize world peace.

There is a small stone monument in Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, located in the area, which was the atomic explosion's epicenter. Words of prayer for the bomb's 150,000 victims are engraved on it, which sincerely pledge, "We will never repeat our mistakes."

I think it is significant that these words were inscribed by the citizens of Hiroshima who suffered the devastating experience. Peace can only be realized when the parties involved in conflict swear jointly, without distinguishing themselves as friend or foe, that they will never repeat past mistakes. Some people might call this idealism, yet I believe it is the only way to pave the path in the wilderness.

The Centennial of Rotary gives us the opportunity to reflect on how far we have come and reaffirm our stand for peace.

As a member of this organization to which I am proud to belong, I have a firm belief that Rotary will do its utmost to promote peace whenever and wherever possible. It is my sincere hope that we will build a world where the 6 billion people on this globe can someday pledge together, "We will never repeat our mistakes."