Inscribed "It was cherry blossom time, and in the last phase of WW2, the bombs fell on Tokyo like rain. By the command of the army, all the animals in Ueno Zoo were to be shot or poisoned, for there were fears the animals would escape. All the lions, tigers and bears and big snakes will killed. The three elephants, called John, Tonky, and Wanly were given poison, but they refused to eat it. Their keepers hearts were broken as they were ordered to starve the elephants. As they got thinner they would do circus tricks to get one peanut or a drop of water. John took 17 days to die. Their keepers prayed for an end to war so Tonky and Wanly could be fed. They died two weeks after John. Their tomb at Ueno zoo is covered with paper cranes, made by children," lower left