Five Japanese high school students who survived the collision between a U.S. nuclear attack submarine and their fishing training vessel two years ago will be among the 100 people who will mark the accident's anniversary in Kakaako tomorrow. 5 Ehime Maru survivors
to help mark memorial
By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.comThe Uwajima Fisheries High School students were among the 35 people aboard the 190-foot training vessel Ehime Maru when it was struck by the USS Greeneville as it surfaced nine miles south of Diamond Head.
Tomorrow's second memorial service will begin at 1:43 p.m. -- the exact moment of the collision on Feb. 9, 2001 -- at the Ehime Maru Memorial at Kakaako Waterfront Park.
Besides the five students, relatives of eight of the nine people who were killed in the accident will arrive today to attend the 30-minute ceremony. It has been called the Navy's worst civilian accident because of the number of deaths and the sinking of a ship.
Among the four people who will speak tomorrow will be Tatsuyoshi Mizuguchi, the father of 17-year-old Takeshi Mizuguchi, whose body was never recovered during the $60 million salvage operation conducted by the Navy. Once the eight bodies were recovered, the Ehime Maru was taken to a site more than 12 miles off of Kalaeloa and sunk in nearly 8,000 feet of water.
Other speakers include Ehime prefecture Vice Gov. Mizue Maeda; Ted Liu, director of the state Department of Business & Economic Development; and Earl Okawa, representing the Ehime Maru Memorial.
Okawa, who also is the executive director of the Japan American Society, said certificates of appreciation will be presented to students from Saint Louis and Iolani schools for maintaining the granite memorial; the United Japanese Society; and the Hawaii Pilots Association, whose tugboats take the flowers from the memorial and scatter them at sea.