After the US atomic bombing of her home, Hiroshima, Japan, Sadako contracted leukemia. She vowed to fold 1,000 paper cranes but completed only 664 before her death at age 12. Her friends folded the rest, and the crane became a symbol of world peace as well as long life.
Quote: Peace Crane, I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world. - Sadako, age 12
