10A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015
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Continued from Page 1A
Ziak and his wife, Keiko, are
organizing the efforts through
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group, OBON, a humanitari-
an movement that receives the
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and their families, searches for
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them back to Japanese families
at no cost.
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LVWKH¿UVWRILWVNLQG
“This is very unique. These
items were taken, and now 70
years later, they are being sent
back to Japan as a symbol of
reconciliation and love,” Rex
Ziak said.
On Monday, OBON and
members of the 41st Infantry
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Division — National Guard
units from the Northwest that Photos of 1st Lt. Paul Nichols and his family sit in a box near a Yosegaki Hinomaru that
served in World War II — will Nichols obtained when serving in World War II. Nichols’ granddaughter, Christine Wheat,
host a returning ceremony at the sent the flag to the Ziaks asking them to send it back to the Japanese soldier’s family.
Barbey Center at the Columbia
River Maritime Museum in As-
toria.
The ceremony will be the
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RI WKH ÀDJV )LYH ÀDJV ZLOO
be ceremoniously passed to
OBON, which will attempt to
connect them with families in
Japan.
“This is making peace at a
family level,” Ziak said.
Submitted photo
Leslie “Buck” Weatherill, a World War II veteran, stands
with a Yosegaki Hinomaru that he sent to the Ziaks to be
returned to the Japanese family. Weatherill will be one of
the guests of honor at the returning ceremony Monday.
‘It’s a miracle’
Rex Ziak founded OBON —
named after the Japanese season
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ored — in 2009, the same year
he married.
Keiko Ziak, a native of Ja-
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Her grandfather died in Burma
during World War II and dis-
appeared without a trace. Her
family never had closure until
the son of a Canadian military
memorabilia collector returned
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family.
)RU WKH -DSDQHVH DQG IRU
most other cultures, an item
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EROL]HG .HLNR =LDN¶V JUDQGID-
ther coming home. It is hanging
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house in Japan.
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pened,” Keiko Ziak said. “I
passed that story on to Rex. He
researched it and we found out
that so many miracles could
happen.”
More than 2 million Jap-
anese soldiers died in World
War II, including over 1 mil-
lion missing in action. The
staggering numbers mean
there are just as many un-
FODLPHGÀDJV
So far, Rex and Keiko Ziak
KDYHFROOHFWHGDERXWÀDJV
of which 30 have been claimed
by Japanese families.
Connecting the American
and Japanese cultures to return
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the Ziaks. One obstacle is the
fact that Japan did away with
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Rex Ziak holds the pieces of a Yosegaki Hinomaru that had fallen apart over time.
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
Keiko Ziak folds a Yosegaki Hinomaru.
phone books about 15 years ago,
making it harder to track people
down.
Since 2009, Rex Ziak has
been busy gathering a group
of scholars who can read the
names and slang messages on
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ZRUNHG ZLWK -DSDQ¶V YHUVLRQ
of veteran affairs, health de-
partments and religious lead-
ers.
With help in place, Rex and
Keiko are just recently starting
WRFROOHFWDQGUHWXUQÀDJV
Had they not married, the
Ziaks say they would not have
been able to start the OBON
HIIRUW.HLNRQHHGHG5H[¶VXQ-
derstanding of American gov-
ernment and vice versa for it all
to work.
“She was able to work the
other side of the ocean and I on
this side,” Rex Ziak said. “It was
truly a combination.”
IDPLO\FRQQHFWHGWRWKHÀDJWKH
SK\VLFLDQ¶V \HDUROG PRWKHU
said she may want to travel to
-DSDQDQGUHWXUQWKHÀDJLQSHU-
son.
³,W¶V D YHU\ SHDFHIXO JHV-
ture,” Rex Ziak said.
David Pearson, deputy direc-
tor at the Columbia River Mari-
time Museum, said the museum
is planning to display collected
ÀDJV LQ DQ H[KLELW LQ $XJXVW
The exhibit is scheduled to be
open for at least a year, possi-
bly two. Pearson said it will be
interesting to watch the exhibit
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and others are returned overseas
to Japan.
“The museum has always
KDG DQ H[KLELW RQ WKH 3DFL¿F
War, so it seemed like a very
interesting part of the story 70
JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian
years later,” Pearson said.
$V PRUH ÀDJV DUH UHWXUQHG Writing covers a Yosegaki Hinomaru. One problem with identifying the owner of the
Rex and Keiko see their project flags is the changes to Japanese writing that have happened over the past 70 years. The
as something larger than when changes can make it difficult to read the writing.
Peaceful gesture
it started, something they say
2QHRIWKHÀDJVWKDWZLOOEH could foster more peace in the
returned at the ceremony Mon- future.
day is from a Portland physi-
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cian, whose late father grabbed Keiko Ziak said. “We believe
WKH ÀDJ GXULQJ WKH ZDU ,I WKH this is the right thing to do on
=LDNV FDQ ¿QG WKH -DSDQHVH both sides of the ocean.”
Spring into whale-watching
Oregon Parks and Recre-
ation Department will host its
spring Whale Watch Week Sat-
XUGD\ WR 0DUFK DW GHV-
ignated whale-watching sites
along the coast. Trained volun-
teers from the Whale Watching
Spoken Here program will be
stationed at the sites from 10
a.m. to 1 p.m. on those days to
help visitors spot gray whales
KHDGLQJQRUWK9LVLWRUVZLOODOVR
learn about whale migration and
feeding habits. A map of the
watch sites is available online at
whalespoken.org
Local watching sites include
Cape Disappointment State Park
in Ilwaco, Wash., at the Lewis
and Clark Interpretive Center at
244 Robert Gray Drive; Ecola
Point inside Ecola State Park;
and the Neahkahnie Mountain
Historic Marker along U.S.
Highway 101.
Camping, including yurts
and cabins, is available at state
parks along the coast. Go to
oregonstateparks.org to check
availability and make a reserva-
tion.
OPRD reminds visitors to
be aware of storms and high
waves: respect closures; stay off
the sand; and watch storms from
an elevated location.
Dock: Project was caught in a wider debate
about a proposal to export coal to Asia
Continued from Page 1A
But the project remained
caught in a wider debate about a
proposal by Ambre Energy, the
Australian company that seeks to
export coal to Asia.
The coal would be mined in
the Powder River Basin of Wyo-
ming and Montana, then shipped
by rail to Boardman, where it
would be loaded onto barges on
the Columbia River bound for
the Port of St. Helens. Ocean-go-
ing ships there would take the
coal to Asia.
Commission member David
Lohman said it was appropriate
for the commission to consider
the longterm environmental ef-
fects of the project, based on a
state policy that commits Oregon
to prepare for climate change.
“The nature of the projected
commodity (coal) can be as rele-
vant as the nature of the projected
MREV´VDLG/RKPDQZKR¶VDODZ-
yer in Medford.
9RWLQJ IRU WKH IXQGLQJ ZHUH
Lohman, Alando Simpson of Port-
land and Chairwoman Tammy
Baney of Bend, who switched her
vote from last summer, when she
voted for funding the dock project.
The projects that received
funding on Thursday, in order:
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UHTXHVWHGPDWFKHGE\
for a 24-station, 170-bicycle
Bike Share site that will link to a
four-station, 40-bicycle site at the
University of Oregon.
• Teevin Bros. Land & Tim-
ber Co., $2.34 million requested,
matched with $1 million from the
company, to enable it to expand
its site for rail-to-barge transfers
in Rainier.
6DXVH %URV UH-
TXHVWHGPDWFKHGZLWK
from the company, to acquire a
reach stacker and forklift truck to
enable it to move heavier cargo
from trucks and trains onto barg-
es in Rainier.
• Sisters Airport, $733,259
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from the airport, for various im-
provements.
Columbia County Ride
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TXHVWHGPDWFKHGZLWK
for a transit center in Rainier.
Salem-Keizer Transit Dis-
trict, $1 million requested,
matched with $4 million from
other sources, for a transit center
in south Salem.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO Me-
dia Group and Pamplin Media
Group.
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