President Obama marked the beginning of Memorial Day weekend with a trip to Japan’s Iwakuni air station to thank the U.S. and Japanese troops there, who he called “the backbone of our alliance.”
“We are reaffirming one of the greatest alliances in the world between the United States and Japan and I wanted to come by and thank you,” Obama told a group of servicemen and women, civilian workers on the base and their families.
“I especially welcome the chance to be with you as we head into Memorial Day weekend,” he said. “…It’s a reminder that we can never forget all of those who have given everything for our freedom.”
Obama is in Japan for the G7 summit shortly after his visit to the air station Friday and an historic trip to Hiroshima, one of two cities where the United States dropped atomic bombs at the end of WWII, killing at least 129,000 people, mainly civilians.
The visit to Hiroshima, Obama said, is an “opportunity to honor the memory of all who were lost during World War II” and to recommit to the “peace and security of a world where nuclear weapons would not longer be necessary.”
The visit also speaks to the fact that “even the most painful divides can be bridged,” he said.
He then told a story of Marine pilot Capt. Tessa Snow, who flew a mission to provide relief in the wake of the Kumamoto earthquakes last month.
A family helped by that mission is expecting a baby girl who they decided to name Tessa, he said, in the hopes she would grow up with the same values of “honor, courage, and commitment and a willingness to help others.”
The servicemen at the air base have responded to those earthquakes, flooding in the Philippines and Thailand, as well as the 2011 Tsunami in Japan.
“Together, you have saved countless lives across the region,” he said. “Your service right here is rooted in the shared values of Japan and the United States… it’s an indispensable source of stability in this region and around the world.”
