ESU Happy Hour

News

Our next ESU Happy Hour is Wednesday, August 18, 2021, at 3:00 pm Central Time. Don't miss this extraordinary storytelling adventure. This is a free program, but registration is required.

This presentation is about a little-known inspiring story of peace, brotherhood, and reconciliation. It is a story of the humanity, respect and brotherhood, Shiroishi villagers in northern Japan, extended to 34 American crewmen, who perished when three B-29 bombers crashed into Mt. Fubo on March 10, 1945, within minutes of each other, returning from the raid on Tokyo. 

In addition to making the arduous climb up the mountain, collecting, and respectfully burying them with "Bushido Spirit" in a mass grave, the villagers memorialized the crewmen in 1961 with a monument at the summit of the mountain, and in 2015, constructed Fubo Peace Memorial Park at the foot of the mountain, dedicated "in memory of the American crewman and to salute the 50 million around the world including Japan, who died during WWII".

Susan Moffat-Thomas says, "Several years ago, it was by chance that I learned the Fubo Peace Memorial Park that memorializes 34 WWII American Army Air Corps crewman, was dedicated in Japan in 2015. As the niece of one of the crewmen who is memorialized in this little-known peace park, I spent many hours and months researching how and why the Japanese chose to construct it 70 years after Japan's surrender ended the war in the Pacific Theater. What I learned, has been shared in many presentations and news articles, and I am happy to have the opportunity to share this extraordinary story with members and guests of the English-Speaking Union."

Return to News & Events