For Kiyokazu Tsuchida, a 95-year-old former Japanese sailor who fought on Peleliu Island in 1944, witnessing the Imperial Couple's visit to honor the war dead on Thursday was not just for him.
One of only 34 Japanese survivors from a fierce battle that claimed the lives of 10,000 Japanese troops and 1,600 American soldiers, it was also for his fallen comrades.
"Among the 34 people, I was lucky enough to be able to come here," said Tsuchida, who now lives in Fukuoka Prefecture and who talked with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko after they offered flowers at a cenotaph built by the Japanese government.