On the 65th anniversary of using the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, no doubt people who decry the use will be coming out of the woodwork to once again castigate the event.

While the bomb was a weapon of war, it also became a weapon for peace as well. There can't be the slightest doubt that Stalin and the Soviet Union had czarist eyes on all of Europe, having already demonstrated that by the invasion of Poland, the Baltic States and Finland.

The Soviets saw what the bomb does and that we were in position to use it again. It gave them pause in their lustful ambitions. It preserved peace in Europe for more than a half century and should expect it to continue.

Richard L. Lelonek, Baltimore