"A virtual live-action hero."
(Title quote from L.A. Times article.)
Much of the town Ishinomaki, one of several along the northeastern coast of Japan, is still underwater. That hasn’t stopped Hideaki Akaiwa. He rescued his relatives and kept on going.
From an article in the Los Angeles Times, 3/17/11
For one survivor, self-help is the only course
MARK MAGNIER
REPORTING FROM
ISHINOMAKI, JAPAN
In a nation of careful dressers, Akaiwa sports Rambo-style army pants, a blue sweatshirt, muddy sneakers, legs wrapped in plastic secured with orange duct tape, and three different backpacks, including an L.L. Bean fanny pack with a tiny plastic anime character affixed, a doctor that saves people.
...[After the tsunami] Not willing to wait until the government or any international organization did, or did not, arrive to rescue his wife...Akaiwa got hold of some scuba gear. He then hit the water, wended his way through the debris and underwater hazards and managed to reach his house, from which he dragged his wife to safety.
...With his mother still unaccounted for days later, Akaiwa...repeatedly searched for her at City Hall and nearby evacuation centers.
Finally…[he] waded through neck-deep water, searching the neighborhood where she’d last been seen. He found her...on the second floor of a flooded house where she’d been waiting for help for four days.
After talking to the reporter, Akaiwa checked over his supplies, hopped on his bicycle and set off in search of more survivors to help.
Here's a link to the full article at www.bellinghamherald.com. (The L.A. Times blog doesn't have all of it up.)
Much of the town Ishinomaki, one of several along the northeastern coast of Japan, is still underwater. That hasn’t stopped Hideaki Akaiwa. He rescued his relatives and kept on going.
From an article in the Los Angeles Times, 3/17/11
For one survivor, self-help is the only course
MARK MAGNIER
REPORTING FROM
ISHINOMAKI, JAPAN
In a nation of careful dressers, Akaiwa sports Rambo-style army pants, a blue sweatshirt, muddy sneakers, legs wrapped in plastic secured with orange duct tape, and three different backpacks, including an L.L. Bean fanny pack with a tiny plastic anime character affixed, a doctor that saves people.
...[After the tsunami] Not willing to wait until the government or any international organization did, or did not, arrive to rescue his wife...Akaiwa got hold of some scuba gear. He then hit the water, wended his way through the debris and underwater hazards and managed to reach his house, from which he dragged his wife to safety.
...With his mother still unaccounted for days later, Akaiwa...repeatedly searched for her at City Hall and nearby evacuation centers.
Finally…[he] waded through neck-deep water, searching the neighborhood where she’d last been seen. He found her...on the second floor of a flooded house where she’d been waiting for help for four days.
After talking to the reporter, Akaiwa checked over his supplies, hopped on his bicycle and set off in search of more survivors to help.
Here's a link to the full article at www.bellinghamherald.com. (The L.A. Times blog doesn't have all of it up.)