HIROSHIMA, June 21 Kyodo - Two U.S. soldiers killed in the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima were registered as A-bomb victims Monday at Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for Atomic Bomb Victims.

Norman Brissette, who was 19, from Massachusetts and Julius Molnar, 20, from Michigan, were being held in Hiroshima as prisoners of war at the time of the bombing.

The number of U.S. soldiers registered as A-bomb victims now totals five.

Former U.S. soldier Raymond Halloran, 82, who lives in California, visited the memorial hall to register them on behalf of their bereaved families.

Halloran was a POW in Tokyo from January 1945 to the end of World War II, said he hopes the registrations of the two soldiers will be an opportunity for people to pay their respects to all victims of war. ==Kyodo