UWAJIMA, Japan — The Navy's No. 2 officer completed a round of apologies on behalf of President Bush on Thursday, expressing "profound sorrow" to the families and classmates of four students presumed dead after a U.S. submarine sank their training ship.
The four 17-year-old boys are among nine people lost at sea after the USS Greeneville rammed their ship while surfacing on Feb. 9 off the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The ship, which sank within minutes, is operated by a high school for aspiring sailors in this small fishing village.
"I was sent by President Bush to be his personal representative and to convey his apologies and profound sorrow," Adm. William Fallon said after a closed-door meeting with the families and dozens of students.
The visit by Fallon comes at an emotional moment.
Thursday was graduation day for about 50 of the school's 200 students. Wearing dark blue jackets and huddling under umbrellas, they arrived at school in twos and threes, greeted outside by teachers while about 20 cameramen and reporters looked on. Some of the girls carried flowers.
"When we went to Hawaii (immediately after the accident), I was very unhappy with the way we were treated. But now I feel that the United States is making a sincere effort to address our concerns," said Ryosuke Terata, father of one of the missing students. "I came away feeling certain that the raising of the Ehima Maru will happen."
Shoko Takagi, a relative of missing teacher Jun Nakata, said, "We weren't just reiterating our demands. We were sharing our feelings."
Fallon's sweep through Japan and the ubiquitous apologies recently by American officials have been well-received and appear to be calming anger over the accident and Washington's initial failure to release the information that civilians were at the sub's controls when it occurred.
After their meeting, school principal Ietaka Horita said he thanked Fallon for his "sincere efforts." Horita added he believes the United States is a nation that "cherishes justice, values, human rights and human lives."
"I think it's important that somebody close to the president apologized to the families in person," said Tomomi Mizuno, a 16-year-old freshman. "There's been a lot of misunderstanding on both sides, and I think it's good there was finally some communication."
Over the past two days in Tokyo, Fallon apologized on behalf of Bush to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and other political leaders and met with some families of the lost nine. He called on the local governor Thursday morning before coming to this village about 430 miles southwest of Tokyo.
The families got the apology they wanted most on Wednesday when Cmdr. Scott Waddle visited Japan's consulate in Honolulu and hand-delivered his written apologies to them.
Waddle, who according to reports here was born on a military base in Japan, cried as he handed over the letters.
"I think they've apologized enough," said Tokitatsu Miyashita, directing traffic at a construction site near the school.
Families of those presumed dead — the four students, two teachers and three crew members — have repeatedly demanded the boat, the Ehime Maru, be salvaged and the bodies recovered.
Fallon said the possibility of raising the boat was being evaluated.
Washington's concern reflects the crucial importance it attaches to its security alliance with Tokyo.
About 50,000 U.S. troops are stationed here, including the largest contingent of Marines outside the United States. The United States maintains several major Air Force bases in Japan, and the home port of the Navy's Seventh Fleet is just south of Tokyo.
Though strongly supported by both Washington and Tokyo, the troops' presence is often a source of friction, particularly on the small southern island of Okinawa, where roughly half the troops are based.