World | Japan For Japan's Elderly, Crisis Echoes WWII Tsunami survivors tell stories of heroism, selfishness By Matt Cantor Posted Mar 15, 2011 8:11 AM CDT Copied Evacuees stretch while doing exercise at a makeshift shelter in Minamisanriku, northern Japan, Tuesday, March 15, 2011. (AP Photo/The Yomiuri Shimbun, Tsuyoshi Matsumoto) Younger Japanese aren’t familiar with the level of destruction wrought by the tsunami—but those who lived through World War II have seen it once before. Older residents of tsunami-hit areas long ago grappled with radiation risks and mass destruction. “I lived through the Sendai air raids,” one 75-year-old tells the New York Times, “but this is much worse.” Today’s young people are experiencing echoes of the past, witnessing acts of selfishness—and valor. A 21-year-old tells the Times of taking refuge in a school where some elderly people were too weak to climb the steps to safety. Some youngsters were “shoving old people out of the way,” the man says. But other locals lined up to pass older neighbors upward. “I saw the ugly side of people, and then I saw the good side,” he says. Read These Next A family hike took a tragic turn in Arkansas on Saturday. A new book argues the Sacagawea legend is all wrong. White House makes Hegseth put his polygraph away. US denies visas to Venezuelan team bound for Little League tournament. Report an error