GREENFIELD — To mark the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Traprock Center for Peace and Justice is holding a silent vigil to call for nuclear disarmament.

The vigil will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 6, the day on which Hiroshima, Japan, was bombed in 1945. Folks are invited to join the center and members of the New England Peace Pagoda for a silent vigil on the Greenfield Common at 9 a.m.

“It is in part to commemorate and never forget the victims of the U.S. atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” said Traprock board member Pat Hynes. “It’s also an opportunity to state that a world in which nuclear weapons exist and threaten our community and humanity is a deeply unjust world, and to also call for the elimination of nuclear weapons.”

Hynes said the goal is to create a chorus of voices calling for nuclear disarmament across the country starting at the municipal level, which can then put pressure on state and federal officials. She mentioned Traprock has been working with Greenfield Mayor Ginny Desorgher to sign a resolution proclaiming Aug. 6 as “Lifting Community Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons Day.”

The ultimate international goal, Hynes continued, is to get nuclear weapon states to ratify the United Nations’ Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

“Seventy countries have ratified it and there are more on the way,” Hynes said. “This is a world consensus, not only among the scientists, but also among the majority of countries in the world who signed the treaty.”

At 9:30 a.m., the vigil will move to the Greenfield Public Library’s Community Meeting Room, where a commemoration will honor the work of Randy Kehler, the war-tax resister whose opposition to the Vietnam War, advocacy for social justice and refusal to pay federal taxes gained national attention. Kehler died at the age of 80 in late July. The public is invited to share memories of Kehler and his work.

Hynes described Kehler, who founded Traprock as its first director in the late 1970s, as a “giant nationally for peace and justice.”

“He built such a solid foundation here as the first director of the Traprock Center for Peace and Justice that it has survived 45 years, which is rare for many organizations,” Hynes said.

Following the commemoration, Greenfield activist Paki Wieland will discuss the “increased militarism” of NATO and the “women say no to NATO” movement.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.