My daughter asked her grandfather to write about his wartime experiences for her homework. Here is part of his story: “On December 8, 1941, Japan declared war on the U.S and the U.K. I was in the fourth grade of elementary school at the time. The bombing of Japan started in June 1942, and large air raids on Nagoya began in December 1944. We were planning to leave Nagoya on March 20, 1945, but the night before, B-29 bombers flew overhead and dropped 200,000 firebombs on the city. My family and I were safe in our bomb shelter, but large areas of the city burned down. In just two hours, 826 people died. We escaped to the countryside, but I saw the horrors of war. War must never happen. It is never okay to kill each other. Peace is the greatest treasure of all.”  (144 words)

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