55 Years Since Miyamori Elementary School Crash

What place should be safer for children than an elementary school? In 1959, when children at Miyamori Elementary School were waiting for the milk to drink with their school lunches, the school was suddenly engulfed in flames, and the children struck by a “ball of fire.” There is no way that such an outrage can ever be forgiven. Still less can such an event ever be repeated.

Fifty-five years have passed since that incident, in which a U.S. military aircraft crashed into the Ishikawa (modern day Uruma) school, killing 18 and injuring more than 200. At a recent memorial service, those affected were given an avenue to express themselves. That the children of those who survived the Battle of Okinawa should fall victim to such an accident is surely a “double victimization.” I want to deeply impress such outrageous post-war Okinawan history on others’ hearts and minds.

According to those enrolled at the school at the time of the accident, their first alumni meeting was held the day before the memorial service. The fact that they were finally able to hold a meeting themselves only after 55 years have passed illustrates the depth of their emotional scars. Their eyes swim with tears as a military aircraft flies in the sky overhead. When talk turns to the accident, tears naturally well up. When you hear these sorts of stories from those who personally experienced it, you understand that even now the emotional trauma caused by the event has not been healed.

The people that day couldn’t help their sons and daughters, the children under their care or their classmates. Even now, the bereaved families and teaching staff reflect regretfully upon the children who died. Yet, it’s someone else who’s forcing these painful thoughts upon people who have no fault or responsibility in the matter. It’s both the Japanese and American governments who brought about this sort of postwar history in Okinawa, and it’s they who should have the guilty conscience.

At the time of the accident, the U.S. military blockaded the scene of the crime, refusing to allow even the mothers and fathers who were worried about the well-being of their children into the area. There’s no doubt whatsoever that they took such action because they were trying to prevent information from being leaked about their plane. They prioritized military secrets over the concerns of parents who were only thinking of their children. The military completely prioritizing their secrets over people was repeated again in 2004, when a military helicopter crashed into Okinawa International University. After being reinstated following the plane crash, 45 additional incidents have occurred. That’s a frequency of more than one per year. In a sense, we are seeing what the tragedy at Miyamori has now led to.

One month prior to the accident, the engine of the aircraft involved was serviced. However, one part of the maintenance process was left out. The plane then, in a poorly maintained condition, took off on a test flight from Kadena Air Base. In this situation the lives of Okinawa residents were treated like materials in an experiment.

For flying poorly maintained planes, full responsibility for the accident falls, without question, on the supervisor and pilot. This was established as fact several decades after the accident. I’m pointing out the need to re-verify this information so that memories of the accident will not be allowed to fade away.

Along with the bereaved families and the students enrolled at the school at the time of the accident, Ishikawa and Miyamori gathered for 630 meetings, from which they’ve so far published four volumes of compiled records. I want to express my respect for their great effort toward not letting the memory of the accident be forgotten. There are also people who have finally started talking about their long locked away memories. Thanks to this project, the recollections people can share will be accurately recorded. I want them to be passed on.