On the 14th, 76 years after the bombing of Akita, one of the last air raids in the Pacific War, a ceremony was held in Akita to commemorate the victims, and the bereaved families and local children prayed for peace.
The Tsuchizaki air raid is said to have killed more than 250 people in the air raid that the U.S. military bombed a refinery in the Tsuchizaki district of Akita City from the night of August 14, 1945, the night before the end of the war, to the early morning of the following day. I am.
The Peace Memorial Ceremony is held every year by citizens' groups made up of people who have experienced air raids and locals, and this was held after measuring the temperature to prevent infection with the new coronavirus.
At the ceremony, about 100 people, including bereaved families and local children, attended and mourned the victims of the air raid while ringing a bell made by melting the remains of war weapons.
Next, Kikuo Ito (81), chairman of the civic group that hosts the ceremony, said, "August 14 is a day that each of us citizens must not forget. We sincerely pray for the painful victims." Said.
A total of 11 local elementary and junior high school students published essays that thought about war and peace, and among them, Mr. Shion Tamagami, a sixth grader, said, "If the war ends one day earlier, I will not be sad. It's a shame to think that it was. The war will have sad consequences for both those who have fought and those who have been in the war. I will convey the importance of peace so as not to repeat the tragedy. "