Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji Fire Memorial Ceremony 2018

Photo By Staff Sgt. Timothy Turner | Survivors of the Oct. 19, 1979 Camp Fuji Fire tragedy pose for a photo after the annual Camp Fuji Fire memorial ceremony at the command post, Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji, Japan, Oct. 19, 2018. CATC Camp Fuji hosts the ceremony annually to remember the tragic fire that took the lives of 13 Marines with Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, and injured many others, to include Japanese rescue workers. The gathering and collective remembrance of this tragedy is a depiction of the strong mutual commitment to the U.S. and Japanese community. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Timothy Turner)  

CAMP FUJI, JAPAN

10.19.2018

Story by Sgt. Timothy Turner 

Marine Corps Installations Pacific

COMBINED ARMS TRAINING CENTER CAMP FUJI, GOTEMBA, Japan – Members of the U.S. military, Japanese officials, and local community members gathered at Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji command post Oct. 19 for the annual Camp Fuji Fire memorial ceremony.

CATC Camp Fuji hosts the ceremony annually to remember the tragic fire that took the lives of 13 Marines with Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, and injured many others, including Japanese rescue workers on Oct. 19, 1979.

“They cannot be forgotten,” said Col. Michael D. Reilly, commanding officer, CATC Camp Fuji. “When Marines needed help, this local community was there. Thank you.”

In October 1979, 1,250 Marines from Camp Schwab, Okinawa, staying in Quonset huts at CATC Camp Fuji for training, were enduring 115 mph winds and heavy rainfall due to Typhoon Tip.

The heavy rains eroded two storage containers holding 5,000 gallons of gasoline, causing them to burst. The fuel moved along the water-soaked ground and was ignited by a kerosene heater inside one of the Quonset huts with the Marines still inside.

Seventy Marines and multiple Japanese rescue workers lay injured after combined efforts from fellow Marines, the base fire department and emergency workers from neighboring towns to get the fire under control.

Though the injured Marines were evacuated and received medical treatment, one lost his life the night of the tragedy and 12 others perished in the following days and months.

Three survivors of the 1979 tragedy were present at the ceremony. One of them, Takako Yoshizaya expressed gratitude for the opportunity to attend and spoke about what she remembered from that day.

“I shed tears today thinking about the Marines that lost their lives,” said Yoshizaya. “I couldn’t see their faces because they were all bandaged.”

With the Marines’ living quarters destroyed, they were accepted into the homes of local residents and onto the local Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force camp.

“The real lesson for me is one of humanity,” said Reilly. “That while we may have some differences, we all value human life and will go to extraordinary lengths to take care of each other, and that is a worthy legacy.”

The memorial is an important part of the history and legacy of CATC Camp Fuji, and the gathering and collective remembrance of this tragedy is a depiction of the strong mutual commitment to the U.S. and Japanese community.

• Date Taken: 10.19.2018
• Date Posted: 10.19.2018 03:53
• Story ID: 296968
• Location: CAMP FUJI, JP