OBON Project

I wrote in the newsletter last October about Mr. Stan Fagerstrom, who returned three Japanese flags he obtained during WWII and the closure that came with being able to do that. Two of the flags were not marked with any information, but were placed in a special shrine in Tokyo; the other flag did include names and was able to be returned to a surviving family member, after which the Japanese soldier’s family and former comrades held a special funeral ceremony for him. Here is a partial reprint from that powerful article, with the letter he received back from that family member:

“The letter you see here from the brother of Giichiro Komatsu speaks for itself. I thank God that at least one flag is back where it belongs. I pray its return may have helped in some small way to close the wounds war always leaves long after the last shots are fired.”

The mission of OBON 2015 is to return all Yosegaki Hinomaru (Good Luck Flag) to their families in Japan by August (OBON) of 2015, which marks the 70th anniversary of the end of that tragic war.

Please see more about this project and read stories from others who have returned flags to families in Japan, as well as watch videos discussing the importance of the OBON 2015 at this link: http://www.obon2015.com/english/