A second letter, a second son

Just twenty four days after the first letter arrived from Japan, notifying me that the son of Shinzo Furuya had been located, a second letter was waiting for me in the mailbox today after work.

Another son has been located.

This time the item was a photo of a man in uniform, with the name "Kaoru Mitsumura, April 1944" written on the back. The agency located his son, living in the city of Chou-ku in Niigata-ken on the western coast of Japan approximately 200 miles north of Tokyo.

On the way home tonight I wondered if I would find another message from Japan in the mailbox, although my imagination conjured up a letter from Shinzo's son, letting me know he received the flag from the War Victims' Relief Bureau. Even though it was not from him, I will gladly accept another successful investigation from the agency and cannot wait to make it back down to the post off to send the photo home. If I can find some labels I may just have to print some out - it would definitely be easier than trying to squeeze the address in that time area on the form!

My sincere thanks and appreciation goes out to Kanako Sekine, Satoshi Taniyama and their investigators for the excellent work and dedication to return the belongings of fallen Japanese servicemen to Japan - I look forward to hearing from them again.