Sadako Sasaki was just two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.
She survived the initial blast, but the radiation exposure caused her to develop leukemia.
While in the hospital, her best friend told her about a legend that said if a sick person folded 1,000 paper cranes, they would soon get well.
And so, Sadako began folding cranes, determined to beat her illness.
Despite the pain and suffering she endured, she folded well over 1,000 cranes before she passed away at the age of 12. But her legacy lived on.
Her classmates and friends folded more cranes in her memory, and they raised money to build a statue in her honor.
The statue is called the Children’s Peace Monument, and it is located in Hiroshima Peace Park
Today, people all over the world fold paper cranes in memory of Sadako and as a symbol of peace.
Her story has inspired many to work for peace and nuclear disarmament, and her brother continues to share her story and promote peace.
One of the last surviving origami paper cranes was presented by Masahiro Sasaki to Clifton Truman Daniel, grandson of President Harry S. Truman, in 2015.
It is currently on display at the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri.