SHIZUOKA — A retired U.S. Air Force pilot and his friend unveiled a memorial plaque in Shizuoka on Saturday honoring 23 American airmen who died in a mid-air collision during a 1945 raid on the city.
"(With the plaque, I expect) people to understand who was killed here . . . and the names of the people who honored those who were killed," Jerry Yellin, 84, from Florida said before attending the ceremony, which commemorates both Japanese and Americans who died in the bombing.
On June 19, 1945, 123 B-29s took off from Guam on a mission to bomb the city. In the early morning of June 20, they dropped incendiary bombs that killed 2,000 people and wreaked havoc on the city. During the attack, however, two bombers collided and 23 airmen were killed, the ceremony organizers said.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.