Operation 2000 Cherry Tree Project comes to Wright-Patt

**WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFLCMC) --**A historic milestone came full circle on Oct. 27, at Wright-Patterson AFB when the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s (AFLCMC) Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation (AFSAC) Directorate dedicated the planting of 10 Japanese cherry blossom trees under the Operation 2000 Cherry Tree Project.

Brig. Gen. Chris Clark, Director of International Affairs for Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command and Director of AFSAC, hosted the ceremony. Distinguished guests included former Ohio Governor Bob Taft and his wife, Hope; Consul General of Japan in Detroit, Hajime Kishimori; Deputy Consul General Kentaro Yamane; Findlay Mayor Christina Marie Muryn; Sidney Mayor Mike Barhorst; Dayton Mayor Shenise Turner-Sloss; and Operation 2000 Cherry Trees Founder and Chairman Alex Hara. Ohio industry leaders, community organizers, and Japanese Foreign Liaison Officers also attended.

In 1912, the People of Japan gifted over 3,000 cherry blossom trees to the United States as a token of goodwill. President William Howard Taft - a proud son of Ohio - formally accepted the historic gift while First Lady Helen Herron Taft planted the first trees along the tidal Basin in Washington DC.

More than a century later, President Taft’s great grandson, Bob Taft, serves as Honorary Chairman of the initiative to distribute 2,000 cherry trees across the state of Ohio.

The project was born when Hara, a Japanese-born businessman living in Dayton, Ohio, watched helplessly on television as the 2011 catastrophic earthquake and tsunami shook his homeland.

Saddened by the events, he was inspired by the rapid response of the American military and the willingness of the American people to donate their money, products, and time to people half a world away.

“I first conceived the project as an opportunity to give something back,” said Hara. “The cherry blossom is a potent symbol that illustrates the fleeting nature of life and represents the transformation of Japanese culture throughout the ages.”

The Tafts participated in the dedication ceremony, completing a historic circle that began along the Potomac as a national gesture and now firmly roots itself into Ohio soil at the epicenter of American aerospace power.

Kishimori presented an award to Taft in honor of his distinctive contributions to the Operation 2000 Cherry Trees Project.

The former governor emphasized the strategic importance of Wright-Patt, the great state of Ohio, and the U.S.-Japan relationship that stands as a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy.

During the ceremony, Clark spoke about the bond the U.S. shares with Japan.

“Today we’re going to conduct our role in advancing security assistance by planting a living testament to the bonds that we share with our Japanese allies," he said. "This bond will grow along with the trees we are planting here today.”

Clark encouraged members of the Wright-Patt community to visit the cherry trees that are planted inside the gate on Area A at 1822 Van Patton Drive, in front of AFSAC headquarters, building 210.

Nicholas Thomas, a member of the AFSAC Facilities Team, led the major landscaping project.

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