Residents in Kure offer prayers and paper cranes in memory of U.S. soldier killed in action
Apr. 14, 2015
by Yasuyuki Sadasue, Staff Writer
On April 9, residents of the towns of Ondo and Kurahashi in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, held a memorial ceremony before a monument to an American soldier, located on the top of Mt. Maruko in Kurahashi. The monument was dedicated to an airman on a U.S. bomber that was shot down in 1945 during World War II. Local residents also took the opportunity to reflect on the importance of peace.
A total of 29 people, including members of a friendship association in the nearby Fujinowaki district, and children from the Meitoku Day-Care Center, chanted sutras and offered 1000 paper cranes. The plane crashed into an Ondo home on July 24, 1945, killing one crew member. In 1952, the head of the Fujinowaki district, who had lost his eldest son in the war, reportedly erected the cross-shaped monument and said, “The war is over and there are no friends or foes. I hope Japan will become a peaceful nation.”
In the past, the mountain site had been neglected, but local residents are now taking good care of it. This year marks the 10th memorial ceremony at the site. Makoto Kakuishi, 82, a farmer who experienced the war-era air raids, said, “I remember how the earth rumbled when the plane crashed. I would like to share the scars left behind by the war of 70 years ago to future generations, as much as possible.”
(Originally published on April 10, 2015)
On April 9, residents of the towns of Ondo and Kurahashi in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, held a memorial ceremony before a monument to an American soldier, located on the top of Mt. Maruko in Kurahashi. The monument was dedicated to an airman on a U.S. bomber that was shot down in 1945 during World War II. Local residents also took the opportunity to reflect on the importance of peace.
A total of 29 people, including members of a friendship association in the nearby Fujinowaki district, and children from the Meitoku Day-Care Center, chanted sutras and offered 1000 paper cranes. The plane crashed into an Ondo home on July 24, 1945, killing one crew member. In 1952, the head of the Fujinowaki district, who had lost his eldest son in the war, reportedly erected the cross-shaped monument and said, “The war is over and there are no friends or foes. I hope Japan will become a peaceful nation.”
In the past, the mountain site had been neglected, but local residents are now taking good care of it. This year marks the 10th memorial ceremony at the site. Makoto Kakuishi, 82, a farmer who experienced the war-era air raids, said, “I remember how the earth rumbled when the plane crashed. I would like to share the scars left behind by the war of 70 years ago to future generations, as much as possible.”
(Originally published on April 10, 2015)
