US, Japanese cities mark WWII end with Pearl Harbor ceremony

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — U.S. and Japanese cities linked by World War II marked the 70th anniversary of the conflict's end by vowing to remember the past and promote peace.

Mayors and city council members from Honolulu and Nagaoka on Friday joined the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in laying wreaths at Pearl Harbor. Fireworks resembling white chrysanthemum flowers were launched at the end of the ceremony. White chrysanthemums are often presented at memorial services in Japan to honor the dead.

Nagaoka is the hometown of the late Japanese Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, the architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor that launched the U.S. into the war in 1941. U.S. planes bombed the city during the last weeks of the war, killing nearly 2,000 people. Today, it is one of Honolulu's sister cities and is famous for fireworks.

Nagaoka Mayor Tamio Mori recounted his city's history to reporters after the ceremony and said peace was indispensable to its citizens.

FULL story at link.



People hang paper cranes folded for peace near a memorial to the sunken battleship USS Arizona before a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Friday, Aug. 14, 2015, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Mayors and city council members from Honolulu and Nagaoka, Japan, joined the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander to lay wreaths and unveil a new plaque. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/5448f66ecea74d2c8f980e2ad2f5eb99/us-japanese-cities-mark-wwii-end-pearl-harbor-ceremony

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Omaha Steve.

[Aristus]

2. One thing that always gives me hope for humanity is the stories I hear of WWII veterans,

American and Japanese, who, upon meeting for the first time since the war, burst into tears and fall into one another's arms. Apologies, expressions of regret, and the pledges of eternal friendship that they exchange remind me that the nobility in human beings can outweigh the evil.

[joanbarnes]

3. I hope and pray for lasting peace.

[DinahMoeHum]

4. There will be a webcast on September 2 re the USS Missouri. . .

. . .70th anniversary of the formal surrender of the Japanese Empire.

NOTE: 9:02 am is local (Hawaiian) time, which is 3 pm Eastern Daylight Time, 2 pm Central, 1 pm Mountain and 12 noon Pacific
(please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here)

https://ussmissouri.org/get-involved/events/end-of-wwii-commemoration/


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I don't know if any networks will carry this live (maybe C-Span or MSNBC), so the above link is available.

[Marcuse]

5. Peace.

May our children similarly celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Iran nuclear agreement.