YAKIMA TRAINING CENTER, WA – Tensions are high between the United States and Japan after the closing ceremony of Rising Thunder 13 was ruined by a disgruntled Navy veteran of World War II.
The exercise, conducted by the 3rd Stryker Brigade and the Japanese Army each year, teaches soldiers how to communicate intricate combat and maneuver tasks to a foreign nation using nothing but hand signals and poorly drawn symbols in the dirt. It is hailed as one of the premier military partnership events in the Pacific region.
"We were all standing in formation, yelling 'Banzai' over and over again to thank our American hosts for their generosity in helping us rebuild our military skills after they bombed us back to the stone age in 1945, when we heard a high pitched whine across the parade field," recalled Japanese Lt. Honda Toyota.
"At first no one paid any attention, but eventually the noise grew louder, and I saw an elderly man wearing what appeared to be an ancient naval enlisted uniform riding an electric wheelchair pass in front of the podium where General Subaru Mitsubishi was giving his speech," the officer said.
