Kentaro Nakajima and Koichi Nakamura / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer and Photographer
KESENNUMA, Miyagi--Restoration work on Oshima island, located off Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, has suffered significant setbacks because ships have struggled to dock at the island's completely devastated port.
However, life on the isolated island has begun to improve since the electricity supply has gradually been restored, thanks to the U.S. Navy's amphibious warfare ship USS Essex, which is capable of delivering heavy machinery and other items to shore even where there is no port.
The quake had raised the level of the seabed, preventing ships from entering or leaving the island's ports, which used to anchor the island's lifeline ferries to Kesennuma city.
A U.S. Marine Corps' landing craft utility, or LCU, played a major role in the island's restoration. The shallow-bottom craft carries large vehicles and can dock in shallow water.
A Yomiuri Shimbun reporter and a photographer joined U.S. marines on board the USS Essex on Sunday. The marines were on their way to Oshima to help with restoration work.
The activities were planned as of Operation Tomodachi, the U.S. military's humanitarian aid mission for victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
A three-day intensive search for missing people by the Self-Defense Forces, Japan Coast Guard and U.S. military finished on Sunday. The operations, conducted in coastal areas in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, found a total of 79 bodies, including 12 bodies found by the SDF and one by the JCG on Sunday.
About 90 ships and about 130 airplanes were involved on the search mission's last day.
On Oshima island, a man cried while watching the muddy remains of his restaurant be demolished by heavy machinery. One hundred meters away, Takujiro Komatsu, 67, had run the sushi restaurant for 38 years. The restaurant had been carried to its present site by the tsunami.
The man operating the machine was a U.S. Marine Corps member. Other marines were clearing debris nearby.
Komatsu bowed his head to the U.S. marines, saying tearfully, "They searched through debris for my precious sushi tub."
At 4 a.m. Sunday, about 160 U.S. marines and Navy personnel approached Oshima island from the USS Essex. They were members of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, a rapid-response force stationed in Okinawa Prefecture.
They gathered at the LCU docked inside the bowels of the Essex at 3 a.m. and loaded it with the goods needed for their one-week outdoor stay on the island, such as tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, clothes, water and food. Heavy machinery and relief supplies for islanders, including water, were piled high on the deck of the LCU.
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Amphibious assist
The LCU left the USS Essex from its rear gate and continued to Oshima island, about 20 kilometers away.
About 100 U.S. personnel were squatting in small gaps between heavy machinery and aid supplies. There was little space to spare. They barely moved, huddling up to avoid the cold wind during the one hour trip to the island.
It had snowed on the island, and the ground was covered in half-frozen muddy water.
After the earthquake, the island of about 3,500 people became isolated, and hardly any relief aid arrived until recently.
After the earthquake, almost the entire island lost power. The LCU carried Tohoku Electric Power Co.'s power-supply vehicles to Oshima, restoring power to parts of the island from March 27.
The LCU also brought many heavy machines to the island, facilitating the clean-up.
Since Friday, 170 U.S. marines arrived at Oshima to clear debris at the four ports, and more personnel arrived Sunday. Military machinery is removing wrecked cars, while soldiers manually clear concrete and other debris.
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'Ganbarimasho'
The devastated scene was overwhelming even to experienced Marines.
Cpl. Brian Arsenault, 22, said he has been trained to cope with all sorts of tragic situations, but what he saw was very different from what he had imagined.
Col. Andrew MacMannis, 49, said when he saw islanders waving as the marines worked, he was moved to know their help was appreciated.
The U.S. service members, many of whom can speak a bit of Japanese because they are stationed in Okinawa Prefecture, cheered up residents by saying, "Ganbarimasho" (Let's hang in there).
On March 11, USS Essex crew were at Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia after completing drills, enjoying their first holiday in a long time. They changed their schedule to head to Japan the day after the disaster.
Watching the scenes of destruction in Japan on TV, Chief Petty Officer Chris Tucker, 37, and his colleagues were determined to rush to the scene and begin rescuing victims, he recalled.
"Does anybody have candies for kids?" the public address system on the ship asked on March 30. Within an hour, a line of soldiers had filled a box with with candy.
"They didn't do it because of an order, but out of a desire to do something for friends," said SDF Master Sgt. Masanori Ide, who is stationed aboard the USS Essex as a senior officer of a Japan-U.S. bilateral coordination center.
Capt. David Fluker, USS Essex commanding officer, said the relationship between Japan and the United States had grown even stronger in the weeks since the quake.
(Apr. 5, 2011)
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