The Fuji Fire of 1979: Remembering a Forgotten Marine Corps Tragedy

The Scuttlebutt: Understanding Military Culture

Join us for a conversation with author Chas Henry, retired Marine Corps captain and award-winning journalist, as he shares the harrowing story behind Fuji Fire: Sifting Ashes of a Forgotten U.S. Marine Corps Tragedy.

On October 19, 1979, a super typhoon struck Camp Fuji, a remote Marine Corps training site on the slopes of Mount Fuji in Japan. Floodwaters from the storm breached a fuel storage area, triggering a gasoline spill that engulfed the camp’s Quonset huts—some of which were heated by open-flame kerosene burners. The resulting inferno killed 13 Marines and injured 73 others, most of them grievously burned. It remains the deadliest peacetime accident in Marine Corps history.

Our program will feature not only Chas Henry but also two Marines who survived the fire:

Mike Cummings, who suffered second- and third-degree burns over 75% of his body. He was medevacked to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and endured years of grueling treatment and surgeries.

David Luttenberger, who escaped the burning hut but visited friends in the burn ward soon after the tragedy. What he witnessed there left a mark deeper than the fire itself.

This long-overlooked episode is one of the Corps’ most searing stories of sacrifice, resilience, and institutional failure. With deep archival research and firsthand accounts, Fuji Fire uncovers how this “freak accident” happened—and why it was almost forgotten.

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We’re grateful to UPMC for Life for sponsoring this event!