PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) – Japanese and U.S. cities, together with the U.S. Navy, on Friday marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II with a memorial service at Pearl Harbor.
Mayors and city council members from Honolulu and Nagaoka joined the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in laying wreaths and unveiling a new plaque. 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. It is one of Honolulu’s sister cities and is famous for fireworks. U.S. planes bombed the city during the last weeks of the war, killing nearly 2,000 people.
Nagaoka Mayor Tamio Mori recounted his city’s history to reporters afterward and said peace was indispensable to its citizens.
“So we wanted to come to Pearl Harbor – the place where the war began – on this 70th anniversary of the end of the war to honor victims from the U.S. and Japan and send peace around the world,” he said.