Posted on 12/16/2002 8:20:44 PM PST by altair
Yomiuri Shimbun
Scott Waddle, the former skipper of the USS Greeneville, a U.S. Navy submarine involved in a fatal collision with a Japanese fisheries training vessel off Hawaii last year, met four survivors of the accident at a hotel in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture, on Sunday.
Nine people aboard the Ehime Maru, including four students from Uwajima Fisheries High School, were killed in the accident on Feb. 9, 2001.
Waddle had expressed a desire to meet all of the nine surviving students. The four students, who have since graduated, agreed.
During their 30-minute meeting, Waddle offered a personal account of the tragedy, saying he too had wanted to die as he watched the Ehime Maru sink.
With tears in his eyes, he said he had not forgotten the tragedy and asked the students to convey his sincere apologies to the other survivors.
Choichiro Yokoyama, 19, one of the four students who agreed to meet Waddle, is recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Until March this year, he remained awake at night and slept during the day.
His parents had objected to Sunday's meeting, fearing it would prompt a relapse.
But after the meeting, Yokoyama told The Yomiuri Shimbun: "I said everything I had wanted to say. He was sincere in answering our questions."
Yokoyama's mother, Tsurumi, visibly relieved that the encounter had ended, said: "I'm glad it went well, although I had misgivings. I hope my son can now concentrate on his work."
Yokoyama works aboard a fishing vessel owned by his grandfather.
Yuta Sakamoto said he had been skeptical about the value of the meeting, but added: "I thought his tears were real. I would like to think it was the first step toward putting the tragedy behind us."
Masaharu Maeda, a lecturer at Kurume University who is treating the survivors for PTSD, sat in on the meeting.
"I think they believe (Waddle's) apology came right from the heart," he said. "All I want is for all of the survivors to complete their recovery."
Copyright 2002 The Yomiuri Shimbun
I dunno. Should they really be impressed? I mean, if the fishing boat had been full of nuns and orphans, and was in the process of ferrying aid to starving Ethiopians, that would have been a coup. /sarcasm
Would you be happier with seppuku? I don't know enough about the difference between what SOP for "squids in a can" is, what the calimari cadet commander did, and how that contributed to the death of those kids to have an opinion as to whether he should be impressed with himself or not.
Regardless of my knowledge in these areas, I suspect, with no small degree of confidence, that you're a jerk. Maybe not.
If you have additional information or personal experience that would a)explain why your contempt is justified, and b)contradict my suspicion, please post away.
Would you be happier with seppuku?
No, I think he ought to have been court martialed though.
Links to articles on CNN that came out at the time of the accident begin here.
Regardless of my knowledge in these areas, I suspect, with no small degree of confidence, that you're a jerk. Maybe not.
Whatever. Do your homework, then get back to me. I pick occasions to be angry very carefully.
1. The Rape of Nanking;
2. The abuse of Korean Women used as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers; and
3. The use of Allied POW soldiers as slave workers for the Japanese war effort.
When that occurs, I'll have some sympathy for this incident. There's entirely too much whining by the Japanese over this incident. It was an unfortunate accident.
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