U.S., Japanese cities mark end of war

Honolulu, Nagaoka mayors lay wreaths

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii — U.S. and Japanese cities linked by World War II marked the 70th anniversary of the conflict’s end Friday and Saturday.

Mayors and city council members from Honolulu and Nagaoka joined the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in laying wreaths Friday at Pearl Harbor. Fireworks resembling white chrysanthemum flowers were launched at the end of the ceremony. White chrysanthemums are often presented at memorial services in Japan to honor the dead.

Part of Pearl Harbor, which is still an active naval base, opened to the public Saturday for another display of fireworks from Nagaoka.

Nagaoka is the hometown of the late Japanese Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, the architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor that launched the United States into the war in 1941. Today, it is one of Honolulu’s sister cities and is famous for fireworks.

Nagaoka Mayor Tamio Mori recounted his city’s history and said peace was indispensable to its citizens. “So we wanted to come to Pearl Harbor — the place where the war began — on this 70th anniversary of the end of the war to honor victims from the U.S. and Japan and send peace around the world,” he said.

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said Friday’s ceremony was intended to honor and remember the past. “Because we cannot understand how to go forward unless we know where we came from,” he said, adding that the sister cities have built strong foundations for a bridge to peace.

The Dec. 7, 1941, bombing of Pearl Harbor killed about 2,400 sailors, Marines and soldiers. World War II ended when Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945, which was Aug. 14 in Hawaii and other parts of the U.S.