Japanese man thanks those who returned small boat 3 years after it vanished in 2011 tsunami

Published January 08, 2015

A Japanese man says he's grateful for the return of his boat three years after it disappeared in the 2011 tsunami.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser (http://bit.ly/1r1VsKu ) reports Tomomune Matsunaga of the Fukushima prefecture lost his home and personal watercraft to the earthquake and tsunami that killed 16,000 people.

A Hawaii volunteer found the small boat on Johnston Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

A student training vessel carried the watercraft from Honolulu to Japan, and Matsunaga got it back on Nov. 10, his birthday.

In a letter thanking people who returned the boat, Matsunaga says he holds memories of working on the craft in his garage and of his children playing on it.

He says he looks forward to using it again when it's repaired in a few years.

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Information from: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, http://www.staradvertiser.com

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https://www.foxnews.com/us/japanese-man-thanks-those-who-returned-small-boat-3-years-after-it-vanished-in-2011-tsunami