Emotion marks Ehime Maru memorial unveiling

By B.J. Reyes
Associated Press

Japanese fishing students who survived their boat's collision with a U.S. nuclear submarine gathered today at the Kaka'ako Waterfront Park with family and government officials to remember the nine men and boys who died.

Japanese fishing students visit the Ehime Maru memorial today at Kaka'ako Waterfront Park. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

Gov. Ben Cayetano called the 12-foot-by-12-foot memorial a testament to the "heartfelt feelings of hope and sorrow" that the people of Hawai'i have toward the victims.

"We can never know the depth of your grief," Cayetano said.

Nine of 35 students, teachers and crew from the Uwajima Fisheries High School died aboard the Ehime Maru when the USS Greeneville surfaced beneath the trawler Feb. 9, 2001, sinking it in 2,000 feet of water about nine miles south of O'ahu.

In the year since the collision, the establishment of the waterfront memorial and an unprecedented recovery effort by the U.S. Navy, which included some Japanese participation, have done much to stem bitterness that resulted from the collision.

The recovery alone cost $60 million. Japan's Ehime prefecture paid for the $65,000 memorial.

Eight of the nine bodies were recovered.

Family members of the nine who died in last year's tragedy gathered at the Kaka'ako Waterfront Park today. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

An anchor from the Ehime Maru rests atop the granite blocks.

"The anchor is a witness to the pathway of the nine victims," said Uetake Shigeo, Japan's senior vice-minister for foreign affairs.

Representatives from Japan also thanked Cayetano and the Japan-America Society of Hawaii, who were among those responsible for the memorial's inception.

"We hope that people all over the world will come and visit this memorial," said Kato Moriyuki, governor of the Ehime prefecture in Japan. He ended his comments with a prayer "that the spirits of the nine victims will rest in peace."

The U.S. Navy was represented at the ceremony by Rear Adm. Robert F. Willard, deputy commander in chief and chief of staff of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. He did not address the crowd of about 300 people, but did place a flower on the memorial.

Four students from the Uwajima Fisheries High School who survived the accident also attended the service but did not speak.

Yuka Mizuguchi, whose son was among the four 17-year-old students who died, spoke on behalf of the victims' families. The body of Takeshi Mizuguchi was never found.

"Although Japan and Hawai'i have legal and cultural differences, let this memorial be a symbol of how we meet halfway," he said. "Hereafter, this memorial will become a beacon of our hearts."