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Dr. Hiroya Sugano gives opening remarks during the B-29 Memorial Ceremony at the Sengen Shrine, Shizuoka, Japan, June 20, 2026. On June 20, 1945, two B-29 aircraft collided in midair during a bombing run over Shizuoka City. Twenty-three aircrew members were killed, along with approximately 2,000 Japanese civilians. Dr. Hiroya Sugano, a child at the time, and his family lived through the raid. Another person at the scene was Mr. Fukumatsu Itoh. Mr. Itoh had pulled two of the American Airmen from the wreckage who were still alive, but they eventually succumbed to their injuries. Mr. Itoh also retrieved a blackened canteen from the wreckage, which appeared to bear the handprint of its former owner. Being a devout Buddhist, Mr. Itoh gave the American crewmen a proper burial alongside the local residents who had also died and began conducting a modest annual ceremony to honor those who had paid the ultimate price. A silent prayer was offered and bourbon whiskey was poured from the blackened canteen onto the crash site memorial as an offering to the spirits of the fallen, both Japanese and American. Eventually, Dr. Sugano met Mr. Itoh. Before Mr. Itoh died, Dr. Sugano promised to carry on the tradition, which he has done since 1972. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Scott Fremming)