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Survivors, Victims’ Families in Okinawa Pref. Mark 80 Years Since Sinking of Ship; U.S. Sub Attack Led to Deaths of Nearly 1,500 Evacuees in WWII

Courtesy of the NYK Maritime Museum
Tsushima-maru

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:58 JST, August 22, 2024

NAHA — Thursday marked 80 years since an evacuation ship with hundreds of schoolchildren aboard heading to Nagasaki Prefecture from Okinawa Prefecture was sunk by a U.S. submarine during World War II.

A memorial service to remember the sinking of the Tsushima-maru was held on the day in Naha, where survivors and victims’ families mourned the loss of those aboard.

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Attendees observe a moment of silence at a memorial service to remember the victims of the sinking of the Tsushima-maru during World War II, at Kozakura no To in Naha on Thursday.

The service started in the morning at the Memorial to the Victims of the Tsushima-maru, known as Kozakura no To, and was attended by Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki, minister for Okinawa affairs Hanako Jimi and others.

After a moment of silence, Masakatsu Takara, who heads a group for victims’ families and survivors of the Tsushima-maru tragedy, said: “This kind of tragic event must never happen again. We hope that the cycle of retaliation ends throughout the world. We will work to convey the preciousness of peace.”

According to the Tsushima-maru Memorial Museum in Naha, the ship was struck by a torpedo launched by the U.S. submarine Bowfin on the night of Aug. 22, 1944, off the coast of Kagoshima Prefecture’s Akuseki Island, killing at least 1,484 people, including 784 children.