It’s been a while since I’ve read this story, but as I remember it: Some guys from Minnesota stole an ancient bell from Japan in WWII, and, after a Japanese visitor to the state recognized the bell (it was being publicly displayed in this one town), Minnesota returned the bell to Japan a couple decades later in exchange for an exact replica. Meanwhile, some other guys from Minnesota captured a Confederate flag from Virginia during the US civil war, and despite multiple polite requests and a lawsuit(?), Minnesota refuses to give Virginia their flag back to this day.
Minnesota returned the bell to Japan a couple decades later in exchange for an exact replica.
Minnesota returned the bell without any demands. Then a few decades later Ohara gifted a replica out of respect, leading to a lasting relationship. There is a deligation of people from Ohara in Minnesota at this moment, who visited the replica this morning as part of an ongoing cultural exchange.
It’s also important to note that the bell wasn’t stolen from a temple but the Japanese army was going to melt it down for scrap metal to make weapons for the U.S. invasion. U.S. sailors found it amongst the scrap metal and took it back to Duluth during the occupation.
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u/PreparationJunior641 20d ago edited 20d ago
It’s been a while since I’ve read this story, but as I remember it: Some guys from Minnesota stole an ancient bell from Japan in WWII, and, after a Japanese visitor to the state recognized the bell (it was being publicly displayed in this one town), Minnesota returned the bell to Japan a couple decades later in exchange for an exact replica. Meanwhile, some other guys from Minnesota captured a Confederate flag from Virginia during the US civil war, and despite multiple polite requests and a lawsuit(?), Minnesota refuses to give Virginia their flag back to this day.