GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Miyako Sakashima, center, mother of drowned Ehime Maru student Toshiya Sakashima, was comforted yesterday by Hawaii resident Hiju Ashikaga shortly before ceremonies at Kakaako Waterfront Park to commemorate the second anniversary of the collision with the submarine USS Greeneville.
The parents of the only student whose body was not recovered from the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru placed a photo of their son at a memorial to the ship yesterday during a ceremony marking the second anniversary of the disaster. Ceremony marks 2 years
after Ehime Maru tragedyThe victims' families, state
and U.S. officials, and others
gather at the Kakaako memorialBy Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.com"Every time I come here, I feel your cordial heart and sincerity," said Tatsuyoshi Mizuguchi, father of 17-year-old Takeshi Mizuguchi.
"I feel my heart gradually being softened," he said through an interpreter to about 150 people who attended the ceremony at Kakaako Waterfront Park.
On Feb. 9, 2001, the nuclear submarine USS Greeneville surfaced beneath the Ehime Maru nine miles south of Diamond Head. The boat sank in minutes, killing nine students, teachers and crew members.
The submarine was performing an emergency main ballast blow procedure for 16 civilians who were guests on board.
Yesterday's ceremony started at 1:43 p.m., the exact time the Greeneville hit the Ehime Maru.
Families of eight of the nine people killed attended. They were joined by representatives of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. Coast Guard and the United Japanese Society of Hawaii. Ted Liu, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, represented Gov. Linda Lingle at the ceremony.
"We continue to feel the loss of those bright and youthful lives," Liu said. "Their lives are everlasting in our hearts."
Earl Okawa, president of the Ehime Maru Memorial Association, said, "The ceremony today is no less difficult than it was a year before."
The fishing vessel built to replace the Ehime Maru will visit Hawaii in the next few months, according to a Japanese government official.
Construction of the new 499-ton Ehime Maru was finished in November, said Ehime prefecture Vice Gov. Mizue Maeda during yesterday's service. The new ship is the same size as the original but has been outfitted with new sonar and safety gear. It was built with money from an $11.47 million settlement between the Navy and Ehime prefecture.
Students from Uwajima Fisheries High School are already training on the new ship.
Also in attendance yesterday were students from the Japanese clubs at Saint Louis and Iolani schools, which maintain the Kakaako memorial.
Mizuguchi, who spoke on behalf of the bereaved family members, said they are grateful for the students' efforts.
Saint Louis student Roger Paluyo, 16, said he often thinks about the students who were killed in the collision.
"It's hard not to think about them. ... For me, I wish it could've never happened to them," Paluyo said.
Star-Bulletin reporter Gregg K. Kakesako
contributed to this report.
