Hiroshima survivor Hideko Tamura-Snider, 91, praises PRB participants; will soon travel to attend 80th anniversary Hiroshima Memorial Service in Japan 

By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news

Dr. Hideko Tamura-Snider gave a spirited message of optimism and hope for the future of the Pacific Rim Bowl and its participants, organizers, and supporters on Tuesday, July 22, during the third PRB Peace Ceremony at Lithia Park’s Butler Bandshell.

The Hiroshima survivor, peace ambassador to Hiroshima and 91-year-old Medford resident founded the peace ceremony as part of the week of events surrounding the exchange program between Ashland High School and Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, Japan. The program started in Ashland in 1988, but this year has incorporated Phoenix High School players as part of a team known as the South Valley Wolfpack. 

A survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, Tamura-Snider is the author of “One Sunny Day: A Child’s Memories of Hiroshima.” She was 10 years old when she was present during the first use of an atomic bomb during warfare, three days before the second and, to date, final use on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945. 

The bomb killed her mother and left her fleeing for safety to find her father, who survived the bombing, as reported previously by Ashland.news.

Tamura-Snider will return to Japan on July 31 to attend the 80th annual Memorial Service in early August with her granddaughter. Tamura-Snider shared her experiences, both in Japanese and English, with nearly 100 student-athletes and their coaches and supporters on Tuesday. 

“We have learned, hopefully, the conflicts fought through war only bring further misery and what we must do is what you are doing, led by the insightful coaches in Ashland,” Tamura-Snider told PRB athletes and supporters.

She asked players from Japan, seated in the shade on the grass overlooking Butler Bandshell, to raise their hands if they were from Japan.

Hands flew up throughout the audience, denoting the 47 players plus additional coaches and PRB staff on site.

“Arigato, gozaimasu,” she said cheerily, sharing a hearty “Thank you very much” in Japanese.

“Welcome to Southern Oregon, the best place in the United States!”

She praised the players for their “skills,” “stamina,” and “healthy, open attitude” making it possible for the PRB program to continue.

“I thank you so very much,” Tamura-Snider said, also noting Hall and former PRB Coach Jim Nagel and Japanese coaches.

“Hopefully for the future, you will continue to form and develop your character with strength, being very practical, aware of the world situation around you,” she said.

“Guided by your soul, intellect and insight – learning from each other and from different cultures. 

“Loving and caring and empathy at the same time is really, really possible,” she added

Hall’s late mother was friends with Tamura-Snider.

“That’s probably the best pre-game speech I’ve ever heard,” he said.

“The war is responsible for bringing me, my mom, Hideko, and football in Southern Oregon all together,” Hall said in a previous interview at Phoenix High School, noting his own strong Japanese heritage.

Following the program, Ashland.news met with Tamura-Snider to talk about her upcoming trip to Japan.

“I don’t know how much longer my body is going to be good, so while I can still walk, I wanted to make (my) last pilgrimage to my ancestral grave, especially my father,” she said. “He was the reason I stayed alive.”

Reach Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at [email protected].

Related stories:

Phoenix teams up with Ashland as South Valley Wolfpack in first joint Pacific Rim Bowl (July 21, 2025)

Football: Japan All-Stars arrive in Ashland, start practice Monday at Walter A. Phillips Field (July 21, 2025)

Football: Ashland, Phoenix set to join forces for Pacific Rim Bowl in July (April 1, 2025)

Hiroshima survivor: ‘My mother had said, “Go to the river”’ (Aug. 14, 2023)

‘More than just a game’: Ashland High School football team to return to Japan after hiatus (July 27, 2023)