1959 — June 30, U.S. Air Force F-100 Jet Crashes into School, Ishikawa, Okinawa — 18
Listed here in that a U.S. jet was responsible for the peacetime deaths of eighteen civilians.
— 21 AP. “Pilotless Jet Crashes into School.” Bakersfield Californian, 6-30-1959, 1.
— 21 Quarterly of the NFPA. “Large Loss of Life Fires of 1959.” Vol. 53, July 1960, p. 29.
— 18 Blanchard estimate of fatalities.[1]
— 18 Ryukyu Shimpo. “Editorial: Do not fly flawed military aircraft over Okinawa.” 5-29-2013.
— 18 Ryukyu Shimpo. “Memorial held for 55th anniversary…Miyamori Elementary Sch.” 6-30-2014.
— 17 Japan Times. “Okinawa school marks 50th year since deadly U.S. fighter crash.” 7-1-2009.
Narrative Information
June 30: “Naha, Okinawa (AP) — A pilotless U.S. Air Force Jet fighter hurtled into the corner of an Okinawan schoolhouse today, then sprayed fiery fragments over a residential area. The air force said 21 persons were killed and 100 injured in the crash at Ishikawa, a city of 30,000 Inhabitants 18 miles north of Naha. Rescue teams were seeking more bodies.
“The plane struck the roof of the school’s sixth grade classroom, where a class was in progress. The teacher was hospitalized. All of the victims apparently were Okinawans. Police said that 60 of the less seriously injured were schoolchildren playing near the school.
“The blazing wreckage set fire to 30 houses. Thousands rushed hysterically to the scene after a broadcast that 150 had been killed and 300 hurt. The milling crowds hindered the removal of the injured to hospitals by military ambulances.
“It was one of the worst military disasters since World War II on Okinawa, biggest U.S. base inn the Far East. There were immediate political repercussions in Tokyo. The Japanese Socialist Party, long critical of American administration of the former Japanese island, said it would bring the matter up in Parliament. Lt. Gen. Robert W. Burns, commander of the 5th Air Force, expressed his “deep personal sympathy” for the victims and their families. He planned to fly to Okinawa for a personal investigation.
“An explosion occurred aboard the F100 Super Sabre jet soon after it took off from Kadena Air Base, eight miles from Ishikawa. The pilot, Capt. John G. Schmitt Jr. of Chalmers, Ind., parachuted to safety. Capt. Richard Roussell of Lockport, La., an eyewitness, said the empty plane headed for an uninhabited hill, veered sharply and finally crashed into a corner of the Miamori Elementary School. Sheering off from the school building, it burst into a shower of flaming metal which scattered over the green-tiled roofs of the surrounding residential district.
“The air force sent 10 helicopters from Naha to help evacuate the injured. Every ambulance and
available air force medical corpsman hurried to the scene. Off-duty servicemen joined in combing the wreckage for the dead and injured. “Every effort is being made to tender all possible aid to those injured or otherwise affected by the tragic accident,” Burns said. Brig. Gen. Dale Smith, commander of the 313th Air Division, took personal charge of rescue operations. An emergency first aid station and a morgue were set up in an undamaged part of the elementary school, whose windows. were shattered by the crash.” (AP. “Pilotless Jet Crashes into School, 21 Killed on Island, 100 Others Hurt.” Bakersfield Californian, 6-30-1959, pp. 1 and 4.)
July 1, 2009: “Naha, Okinawa Pref. (Kyodo) A memorial service was held at a public elementary school in Uruma,[2] Okinawa Prefecture, on Tuesday, the 50th anniversary of a U.S. fighter jet crash that killed 11 students and six other people in the neighborhood. On June 30, 1959, an F-100 on a test flight from the U.S. Kadena Air Base in then U.S.-occupied Okinawa developed an engine fire and crashed into Miyamori Elementary School and nearby houses at lunchtime. In addition to the 17 fatalities, 210 people were injured, including 156 students. The pilot ejected and was unhurt. The accident prompted fresh ill feelings toward the U.S. military in Okinawa and led to mounting calls for the prefecture’s reversion to Japan, which came about in 1972.” (Japan Times. “Okinawa school marks 50th year since deadly U.S. fighter crash.” 7-1-2009.)
June 30, 2014, Ryukyu Shimpo: “Fifty-five years have passed since June 30, 1959, when a U.S. F-100 fighter from Kadena Air Base crashed into Miyamori Elementary School in Ishikawa City, currently Uruma City. The 55th anniversary memorial ceremony was held on June 30 at the school. Participants paid their respects to the 18 victims…. The statue has the names of the 18 victims, including locals and pupils inscribed on it. At 10:40 a.m., the time the military jet crashed, the participants offered silent prayers.” (Ryukyu Shimpo. “Memorial held for 55th anniversary of U.S. military jet crash into Miyamori Elementary School.” 6-30-2014.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Pilotless Jet Crashes into School, 21 Killed on Island, 100 Others Hurt.” Bakersfield Californian, 6-30-1959, pp. 1 and 4. Accessed 10-29-2014 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=154159440&sterm=okinawa+plane+crash
Japan Times. “Okinawa school marks 50th year since deadly U.S. fighter crash.” 7-1-2009. Accessed 10-20-2014 at: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/07/01/national/okinawa-school-marks-50th-year-since-deadly-u-s-fighter-crash/#.VFEfKskhAcc
National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss of Life Fires of 1959.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 53, July 1960, pp. 7-38.
Ryukyu Shimpo. “Editorial: Do not fly flawed military aircraft over Okinawa.” 5-29-2013. Accessed 10-29-2014 at: http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2013/06/01/10460/
Ryukyu Shimpo. “Memorial held for 55th anniversary of U.S. military jet crash into Miyamori Elementary School.” 6-30-2014. Accessed 10-20-2014 at: http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2014/07/09/14534/
[1] We presume that early reporting of 21 deaths had to do with the very difficult task of identifying victims when bodies had been dismembered and burned. In that there are today eighteen names on a memorial we use this figure.
[2] “The modern city of Uruma was established on April 1, 2005, when the cities of Gushikawa and Ishikawa were merged with the towns of Katsuren and Yohashiro (both from Nakagami District.” (Wikipedia. “Uruma, Okinawa.” 9-18-2014 modification.)