I gripe a lot about the occupation, but in honor of today, I want to bring up what America did for Japan 15 years ago.
Within hours of the 2011 quake and ☢️ threat, THOUSANDS of American Marines, CB’s, engineers and rangers were deploying to the heart of the disaster zone, repairing airstrips within hours, running aid convoys, diving under collapsing buildings and swimming through flood zones with possible live power shorts to rescue stranded Japanese children. They insisted on staying for months to help stand up disaster relief and distribute literal mountains of food aid from America. Japanese emergency services would ask for volunteers for hazardous jobs and Americans would literally JUMP in front of Japanese people, demanding to help however they could. Apparently almost all of the servicemen who participated were volunteers. No one who lived through the quake or those hellish months afterwards is ever likely to forget just how much American men and women put their muscles and necks on the line when a friend was in trouble.
I rag a lot on America, but I hope that Americans never forget just how special they are when the cards hit the table. The people of northeast Japan sure don’t.
Here’s to 250 years of one of the most weird and wonderful countries on Earth. May you rise to meet your challenges as much as you did Japan’s on that day in 2011. ❤️🇺🇸