MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan (May 1, 2019) -- Residents of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni visited the Hiroshima Peace Park in Hiroshima City, April 26, 2019.
The participants traveled to the park with MCAS Iwakuni’s Cultural Adaptation Program (CAP) to meet 93-year-old Kikuko Shinjo, a survivor of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima during World War II, and to learn more about Japanese culture and history.
Miki Watanabe, a CAP specialist, coordinated the visit.
“People come to Japan and have a chance to learn about Japanese history, but they don’t go out to see and know the history,” said Watanabe. “We plan these events as a cultural trip so people can go together, and we provide transportation so people are more comfortable visiting and meeting a World War II survivor.”
The participants learned more about Japanese culture and history by visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and the Atomic Bomb Dome at the park.
The museum holds artifacts from victims, statements from survivors and photos from the bombing. The dome, originally named the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, was at the epicenter of the event and was the last building standing after the bombing on August 6, 1945.
One of the participants, Doris Lambinicio, an MCAS Iwakuni resident, helps Shinjo make 1,000 origami paper cranes every year to wish for continued peace in the region.
“I make 750 paper cranes every year so it is easier on Shinjo and the other seniors because she inspires me,” Lambinicio said.
The visit concluded with Shinjo presenting gifts to CAP participants to show her thanks for their visit to her.