Winter 2015 / 2016 Newsletter~ Connecting Families… Healing Hearts ~Vern Thompson, 92, U.S. Navy

We are proud to bring you are latest update of OBON activities. Inside you will readabout our new name and also several quite remarkable stories; one about brotherly loveand the other about reconciliation. You must not miss reading Kazumi's letter (p. 9 & 10)
written about the grandfather she never knew. Also, we have the announcement ofspecial recognition to the staff of OBON SOCIETY from the Ministry of Foreign Affairsof Japan, which should make all supporters feel proud.
Index
Page 2 :OBON Announcement
Page 3 :Reconciliation Story
Page 4, 5 & 6 :Mr. Watanabe’s Quest
Page 7 & 8 :Mr. Glenn Stockdale’s Flag

Page 9 & 10 :The Granddaughter’s Letter
Page 11 :Foreign Aﬀairs Award to OBON
Page 12 :Contact to OBON SOCIETY

~ Connecting Families… Healing Hearts ~We have not changed. We are committed to the same mission
and the same work, it is just that now we have a new namethat will serve us long into the future.

OBON SOCIETY
Our new website is under construction.
www.OBONSOCIETY.org

Check back soon!

Unde

r Con

struction-2-

~ Connecting Families… Healing Hearts ~Marion Scalasi

USMC Rifleman Marion Scalasi fought in numerous WWII battles,
including the grueling fight for Tarawa Atoll. On November 24th, 1943,
one day after the island was secured, he, along with other Marines,
continued to battle against small groups ofdetermined Japanese soldiers who werefighting till their last breath against theinvaders. It was at this time when hehappened to find, tucked inside the helmetof a deceased Japanese soldier, thisexceptional signed “good luck flag.”Marion Scalasi withfriend and captured flag.

Mr. Scalasi brought home this battlefieldsouvenir and proudly displayed it in his
home. Everyone who knew him was awareof it, but he rarely mentioned his ordeal on
the battlefield. However, before Marion
passed away last November he told his
family that, despite the 72 years that had
passed, “if possible, efforts be made to
return the flag to any descendants of thesoldier.”
The family contacted OBON SOCIETY andsent the flag to us so the search could
begin.
After opening the carefully wrapped mailingwe happened to notice some writing on theinsides of the narrow box. Upon
disassembling it we discovered that several
family members had sent their personal,
heartfelt messages along with the flag.
This touching example of reconciliation
took our breaths away.

The flag is currently under search; OBON SOCIETY scholars are working
diligently to sort through the clues and find the proper family.

-3-

~ Connecting Families… Healing Hearts ~~ Mr. Watanabe’s Quest (1) ~We hear many stories from both America and from Japan, but few stories can come close to Mr. Watanabe.

The elder brother was killed in
Manchuria; his ashes were broughthome by some colleagues and thesewere given to his grieving mother tobury in the family grave. The second
brother (left) simply vanished without
a trace.

Tsuruo Watanabe was a young school
boy when the war began. His two elder
brothers were drafted into the military,which he remembered very wellespecially since one brother proudly
purchased for him a new school uniform
as a gift before he left home.

After the war when ships arrived with returning soldiers Mr. Watanabe remembers his mother travelingto the docks to watch each unloading, waiting to catch the first glimpse of her son. Several years passed
as the ships continued to arrive but nothing dissuaded the waiting mother from her search until thatday, three years after the war, when a letter arrived from the government along with a small box
containing a small piece of coral. The letter stated her son had been killed in Okinawa and there wereno remains recovered, but hopefully the coral would provide some comfort.
His first order of business was to researchthrough government archives for his
brother’s military unit and locate where
they had been assigned. Next he had todecipher where they actually dug in andthen unravel their final movements that
occurred during the chaos of war.

Great sadness was felt by the family.
The mother, in particular, grieved
deeply over his missing son and thelack of remains that prevented herfrom giving him a proper burial in thefamily grave plot. So Mr. Watanabe
began the search for his missing
brother. That was fifty years ago.
Mr. Watanabe

After years of research he felt he could confidently point to
the hillside where his brother must have died. The area wasovergrown and concealed by decades of vegetation, but at least
he found the general vicinity. Before his mother passed away
she asked him to bring his missing older brother back home.
Mr. Watanabe traveled from his home in northern Japan to thetropical Okinawa and began to dig. He did not go just once, hereturned there every year, decade after decade. Even after
more than thirty years had passed he continued his lonely
search for his brother, one shovelful at a time.
Mr. Watanabe excavating in Okinawa-4-~ Mr. Watanabe’s Quest (2) ~In America, thousands of miles away in the city of Monroe, Connecticut…the Barbier family had
purchased a used home from a family named Dugas. It would eventually become the new Barbier family
home, but first they had to clear out the trash, newspapers and old rags before they could move in.
As the closets and attics were cleared out and the refuse was disposed, the Barbiers happened to comeacross one peculiar abandoned item that caught their attention. They didn’t know it at the time, butthey had found a Yosegaki Hinomaru, which the previous owners had left behind. The Barbier family felt
it was special, so they put it away where it would not be harmed and kept it safe. That was in 1991.

Twenty-four years later the Barbier family heard a
public radio broadcast by Tom Banse, who hadinterviewed members of a non-profit organization
headquartered in Astoria, Oregon that returns thesefamily flags. Suddenly realizing they had somethingthat belonged to someone in Japan, the Barbier family
contacted OBON SOCIETY, sent the flag andencouraged the search to begin.

The OBON SOCIETY scholars examined the various names and notations on the flag and using their
deep experience and expertise traced it origin back to the island of Hokkaido and eventually to thehome of Mr. Watanabe. As impossible as it might seem, this happened to be a Yosegaki Hinomaru thatonce belonged to the brother he had been searching for during the previous fifty years.

At this time Mr. Watanabe wasundergoing treatment forcancer. Despite his poor healthhe promised the OBON
SOCIETY staﬀ that as soon as
his treatment was finished hewould take the flag with him
to Okinawa, have his picture
taken and send us a print. We
appreciated his sincerity andquickly had the flag sent tohim, not knowing how muchtime he had left.

When OBON SOCIETY staﬀ
contacted Mr. Watanabe he was
speechless. He could not believe
this miracle was possible. To
confirm this once belonged tomissing brother the OBON
SOCIETY quickly sent detailed
images of the flag. Mr. Watanabe
had the images enlarged andtaped together so he could see
the Yosegaki Hinomaru
approximately in the authentic
size. (see picture right)-5-

~ Mr. Watanabe’s Quest (3) ~We were absolutely astonished tosoon receive a photograph of Mr.
Watanabe, with his brother’s
Yosegaki Hinomaru, in front of thewar memorial dedicated to his
brother’s battalion on Okinawa.
(see photo right)
After making the epic journey to
Okinawa he returned home andvisited his parent’s gravesite.
There he once again unfurled the
Yosegaki Hinomaru so his motherand father could ‘see’ that finallythe family was all back together
again, and none of their sons were
missing.

The Barbier family were equally astonished as this story unfolded. They marveled at how this discarded
item they had found a quarter of a century earlier had somehow traveled around the world and right
into the heart of a long-lost brother who had been searching for most of his lifetime to reunite thefamily. The email we received from the Barier’s son sums up the family's feelings….

“My mom said, and I think she was spot on, that "This is themost meaningful and important thing we've ever done." I'mblown away; my happiness that it's back with the family andthat Tsuruo Watanabe is able to have some sort of closure isbeyond words. I'm also really moved that the US and Japan
used to be enemies that went to war but now we can haveconnections on a pure human level. Everyone acrosscultures wants to be with their family, the fact that we wereable to help a family in Japan makes me very emotional.
If you can let Tsuruo know that I am happy and relievedthat the flag has gotten to him, that would be great!”email from Dave Barbier; Oct. 27th 2015
to OBON SOCIETY-6-

~ Connecting Families… Healing Hearts ~~ Glenn Stockdale’s Flag (1) ~Glenn Stockdale had many friends, was a proud veteran and frequented classrooms where he gave
presentations about ecology. Thus he served his country in the 41st Infantry Division during WWII
and he served it again in the classroom preparing young students for their future.

Many soldiers who had direct exposure to combat and lost good friends were haunted
by nightmares for years after the war. Their horrific ordeal never left their thoughts
and thus they remained hardened and bitter far beyond any hope of reconciliation.

Like many other soldiers, Glenn returned home after the war with a great battlefield souvenir….
a Yosegaki Hinomaru. The stories of how he obtained it were never shared, but whenever theflag was discussed Glenn’s opinion was the same, “Don’t send the flag back.” Glenn wasadamant. Even on his deathbed he insisted the flag should not be returned to Japan.
-7-

~ Glenn Stockdale’s Flag (2) ~After Glenn Stockdale passed away his children had to settle
his estate, including the souvenirs from WWII. These items
fell into the possession of his children.
Naturally, his children were torn between the importance offulfilling their father’s wishes, on his deathbed, and theimportance of fulfilling their own ideals of compassion, world
peace and reconciliation.
It did not take Terry Stockdale long to decide what to do. He
felt that the Yosegaki Hinomaru belonged in Japan, back with its
family, not here in America.
Terry Stockdale found our humanitarian eﬀort and sent theflag to OBON SOCIETY.

Terry Stockdale

After a thorough search our staﬀ and scholars discovered relatives of the soldier who once carried
this flag. We uncovered the fact he had married in 1939 and brought into the world both adaughter and a son before he had been sent to New Guinea.
A deeper search brought
us into contact with theson and daughter. They
had no memory of theirfather but nevertheless,upon learning of theexistence of his Yosegaki
Hinomaru, they adamantly
declared they would like tohave it returned.

Terry Stockdale was so surprised and thrilled with this news he flew to Japan so he could meet thefamily and personally return the flag his father brought home. The Kishsi family gathered toreceive the heirloom. The ceremony was simple, but charged with emotion. This was the only
trace from their father to ever be returned to the Kishsi family.
-8-

~ Glenn Stockdale’s Flag (3) ~The granddaughter of Yoshigusu Kishi wrote a letter to Terry Stockdale
to share her own remarkable story and express her feelingsof joy, sorrow and reconciliation.
(The letter and translation appear below)

Dear Terry,This is Kazumi Matsushita the Granddaughter of Yoshigusu
Kishi. Thank you so much. I am grateful to you for bringing myGrandfather’s flag all the way to Japan. Although I met you I
was unable to officially tell you thank you. That’s why I am
writing this letter today.
When I heard that my Grandfather’s flag was found, many
years after the war, two things came to my mind.
The first thing was that…you will probably laugh at me…but I
did not realize that my Grandfather actually existed.
When I was young my Grandmother was always telling me
stories of the war. It was a scary story, but it was so far awayfrom reality. It felt like she was reading me a haunted fairy tale.
I was always asking my Grandmother to tell me more storiesof the war. She told them over and over and I was never boredhearing the stories. So maybe that’s why my Grandfather, who
appeared in her story, felt like a character from an old story.
There never was a realization of somebody who actually lived.
When I heard from my mother that there was actually a flag of
my Grandfather, it felt like I was meeting for the first time a
Grandfather who actually existed.
In the train on the way back from the ceremony I told my
Daughter that we never found out the connection between myGrandfather and Terry’s father. My Daughter said that Terryprobably did not hear from his Father, or if Terry heard aboutit, he probably did not want to talk about it.
I told her the war is a battle with people killing other people.
Personally there is no hate. These people just kill each other.
It is a scary thing. It could have been that our Grandfather
could have survived the war and it could have been Terry’s
Father who died in the war. There is no point in talking about
the reality of sadness now. There is no need for us to go backto the sad past. That’s what I told my Daughter.
continued next page…

-9-

Yoshigusu Kishi

~ Glenn Stockdale’s Flag (4) ~continued from previous page…

Terry, if you heard something from your Father and you havebeen suffering from the story you heard please forget about it.
I am sure your Father has an injury in his soul and heart fromthe war. He is gone now and I would like him to rest in heaven
without going back to the past.
We are just thankful for you, your Father and for your family
who saved the flag for 70 years. I am really thankful you
brought our Grandfather back home.
Our country and your country have had a sad past, but beyond
that we became friends. There are so many countries that are
fighting and killing people in the world. We would like to pray for
those countries that have to go through those sad realities.
The second thing that came into my mind was that the story I
heard from my Grandmother was that were not many survivors
from my Grandfather’s platoon. Possibly his ship was sunkwhile on the way to Papua New Guinea. Our guess was heprobably died before he reached Papua New Guinea. Also weheard that there was no food in Papua New Guinea for theJapanese soldiers. There were really heavy battles and thesoldiers knew that. They knew they were not able to go back toJapan, so they would rather die in the sea. So that why wethought he died in the sea before he reached Papua New
Guinea. My Grandmother said it was probably better for thesoldiers. I never pictured him dying on the ground in Papua
New Guinea. But after I heard the flag existed I pictured him
dying on the ground. I wonder if he suffered or what was his lastthought. It made me cry.
When I first saw the flag when I first met you I was so surprised
and impressed with the beauty of the flag. It does not look likeit’s been 70 years and I was so grateful with the way you wereable to preserve the flag for so many years.
Rather than thousands of words, the flag tells the whole story of
you and your family.
I would like to see you again soon. Take care of yourself.
Thank you. Thank you so much.

- 10 -

OBON SOCIETY staﬀ are dedicated to the promotion of peace, reconciliation andfriendship between the people of the United States and Japan. Our staﬀ works around theclock searching for families in Japan who belong to the items sent to us by American veterans.
In recognition of this heroic eﬀort the Ministry of Japan selected the OBON SOCIETY toreceive special recognition for their work. On behalf of their staﬀ and supporters Rex & Keiko
Ziak received the award from Consul General Omura in Seattle on January 21st, 2016.

OBON SOCIETY Recognized for its Contributions to Japan-U.S. Relations
by Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs“On January 21, 2016, the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle recognized one
organization for its contributions to Japan-U.S. relations. In a ceremony held during the New
Year’s Reception at the Official Residence, Consul General Masahiro Omura presented Rex
and Keiko Ziak, founders of OBON SOCIETY, with the Foreign Minister’s Commendationin Honor of the 70th Anniversary of the End of the War.
OBON SOCIETY (formerly OBON 2015) is a non-profit organization established in 2009.
Since then the organization has actively assisted in the return of yosegaki hinomaru, or war
flags, and other artifacts and memorabilia belonging to Japanese soldiers to relatives inJapan. Last year their efforts were acknowledged by the Japanese government when the
couple traveled to Japan with a group of U.S. veterans and met with Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe. With the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, OBON SOCIETY’s work has
been recognized as an important symbol of reconciliation, mutual understanding, andfriendship between our two countries.
The Foreign Minister’s Commendation in Honor of the 70th Anniversary of the End of the
War has been awarded to 28 individuals and 14 groups nationwide in recognition of theiroutstanding achievements in and contributions to the promotion of good relations between
Japan and the United States.”
Official press release sent by theConsulate-General in Seattle- 11 -

Contact to~ Connecting Families… Healing Hearts ~If you have a flag, or know someone who does, please contact OBON SOCIETY.
We will gladly answer any questions and fully explain our process.
It will give us great pleasure to research the flag in your possession
and return it to its proper family.

OBON SOCIETY
P.O. Box 282
Astoria, Oregon 97103
contact@obonsociety.org
The OBON SOCIETY is a charitable gift-dependent initiate.
Whether you would like to a one-time donation, occasional donations or evenmonthly sustaining donations, we will greatly accept your contribution and utilize it
wisely. This funding is what makes it possible to connect these families and return
personal items at no cost to them.
OBON SOCIETY is an affiliate of Astoria Visual Arts,a 501(C)3 non-profit organization.
Please send your tax-deductible contributions to:
OBON SOCIETY
P.O. Box 282
Astoria, Oregon 97103- 12 -