Name Floyd Schmoe Role Author | ||
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Occupation Quaker, pacifist, author Died April 20, 2001, Ken, Washington, United States Books A year in paradise, The Big Sur: Land of Rare Treasures | ||
Floyd W. Schmoe (September 21, 1895 – April 20, 2001) was a Quaker, pacifist and author living in the Seattle, Washington area for most of his life.
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Early life
Floyd Schmoe was a stretcher bearer during World War I. He did not fight because he was a pacifist and conscientious objector based on his Quaker faith. He did not take part in World War II. After World War II he went to Hiroshima, Japan, and helped rebuild houses that were destroyed by the atomic bomb. He built 21 homes from 1949 to 1953 in Hiroshima financed by funds from the US. He exchanged letters with Emperor Hirohito.
He became a professor of forestry at the University of Washington. He was the first park naturalist at Mt. Rainier National Park. He also traveled all over the world and built the Seattle Peace Park. In 1988 he received the Hiroshima Peace Prize and was made an honorary citizen of Japan.
Museum
In 2012, the sole remaining house was re-opened as a museum, with his then-85-year-old son Wildred Schmoe attending along with Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui.