WEBVTT

00:04.810 --> 00:11.167
Airmen from Yokota Air Base attended a historical B-29 ceremony in Gunma, Japan

00:11.478 --> 00:20.431
In February of 1945, three U.S. aircraft crashed over mainland Japan and a total of 26 U.S. service members gave their lives

00:20.800 --> 00:26.797
At that time local Japanese civilians set up a memorial and remember them to this day, 70 years later

00:27.396 --> 00:34.171
The fact that these guys are having us as their guests and putting up the names of the guys on our side who were killed

00:34.457 --> 00:41.893
is absolutely beyond belief to me and it really shows that we can open up our hearts and create peace

00:42.299 --> 00:48.600
Mr. Maxwell Kennedy, son of former Senator Robert F. Kennedy researched and wrote a book about one of the aircraft that crashed

00:48.813 --> 00:52.345
and his information helped others discover what happened during that time

00:52.847 --> 00:56.942
I interviewed one pilot, who was a great guy named Al Turnbull

00:57.155 --> 01:03.810
and as he was pulling in, just about to drop his bombs, his best friend was flying next to him and the plane lit up

01:04.355 --> 01:08.003
and the guy radioed back very calmly, his name was Brothers and he said

01:08.191 --> 01:13.849
I'm hit, I'm loosing speed, there's two Zero's behind me, go home without me

01:14.474 --> 01:17.495
and that is just extraordinary bravery

01:18.828 --> 01:21.418
Airmen lay flowers on the memorial in honor of the fallen

01:22.230 --> 01:27.379
United with the U.S. Airmen, Japanese Buddhist Priests also remember the fallen soldiers in their own way

01:29.224 --> 01:36.087
374th Airlift Wing Commander Col. Douglas DeLaMater gave a few of his own words of inspiration

01:37.052 --> 01:45.009
After the ceremony all were invited to a reception to have fellowship and to hear more about the crashes from the memorial event coordinator Mr. Isao Arai

01:46.209 --> 01:54.385
All of us have a balance in the places we belong to and those soldiers must have had a place to go back to as well

01:54.688 --> 02:02.105
but they couldn't make it and time hasn't stopped since that moment for the grieving families and that truth pains me

02:03.391 --> 02:09.298
Mr. Arai is still searching for more information about the fallen service members to give to their families

02:09.846 --> 02:13.544
Reporting from Gunma prefecture, Japan, I'm Senior Airman Patrick Cole