He says the radiation exposure he suffered as a sailor caused basal cell carcinoma, a hole in his retina, the loss of all his teeth and hearing failure in both ears. He has had more than 150 cancerous skin tumors removed from his face.

Yet he's asking for forgiveness for what happened to the two cities in Japan.

"They were citizens, just like you and I," said Clark, who retired to Kailua in 1982. "They were living the same way we were living back in the States ... They didn't ask to be bombed. They weren't shooting us in the war zone. That's when I turned to ask for forgiveness."

Clark, 78, will be honored as one of several recipients of the Hawai'i Forgiveness Hero Recognition Awards at tomorrow's third annual Hawai'i International Forgiveness Day.

The purpose of this recognition is to honor those who have demonstrated the power of forgiveness. This year's event focuses on the 60th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and on the concept of forgiveness in cultures around the world.

Clark remembers handing out food and medical supplies to survivors in Nagasaki 45 days after the atomic bomb had leveled the city. The memories, he said, are tattooed in his mind.

There, he realized these people were not his enemies; they hadn't done anything wrong.

"They were innocent people," he said.

The Hawai'i Forgiveness Project, which started in 2003, is part of a worldwide effort. More than 300 countries celebrate Forgiveness Day on the first Sunday of August. With 400 people expected to attend this year, the Hawai'i event is one of the largest celebrations in the world.

Forgiveness may seem difficult in today's world, with global terrorism a common fear. The terrorist attacks in London last month were a reminder of that.

But this event, put on by the Hawai'i Forgiveness Project, aims to promote forgiveness and compassion, particularly at a time of chaos and disorder.

"Of all the human endeavors, forgiveness is the most difficult," wrote Peggy Chun, a beloved local artist now paralyzed from the Lou Gehrig's disease she has lived with since 2002. (She will also receive the Hawai'i Forgiveness Hero Recognition Award.) "When you think you have forgiven everyone, you have one to go — yourself. This is the purest state of happiness — forgiving one's self. I have struggled with this during the four years of my illness and I'm not quite there yet."

But amyotrophic lateral sclerosis has only slowed her down, not stopped her. When the disease took the functioning in her right arm, she painted with her left hand. When it took away the use of her left hand, she painted with her mouth, then her feet.

Now Chun, 59, is fully paralyzed and can't breathe on her own.

Communication is tricky. Right now she's using a new computer that scans her retina and tracks her eye movement so that she can type out words and even paint on the computer screen, said Kimi Chun, her daughter-in-law and coordinator of Peg's Legs, a volunteer group that provides daily care in partnership with healthcare providers. Chun now needs 24-hour care.

Despite all this, Chun remains amazingly positive and driven. Forgiveness has a lot to do with that.

"Fortunately, this life-altering stage in my life has forced me to be still," Chun wrote. "I have had the time to focus. I have learned that the easiest way to forgive and accept one's self and others is to simply live in gratitude."