Alaska returns basketball washed away by tsunami
Jun 13, 2012, 8:20 PM
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A basketball that was washed away in last year’s tsunami has been reunited with students at a middle school in Japan.
A beachcombing student found the basketball in March on a beach near Craig, Alaska.
It had the words “Kesen chu,” short for Kesennuma Chugakko or Kesennuma Middle School in Rikuzentakata, printed on it.
Students in Alaska sent back the ball with words of encouragement for the Japanese students, half of whom remain in temporary housing.
Students and school officials in Japan opened the cardboard box and immediately began playing ball. They called the basketball’s return a miracle and said it brings back memories.
A soccer ball, a volleyball and a buoy, all found in Alaska, also are being returned this week to their owners in Japan by FedEx.
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