MY FIRST DAY IN JAPAN, AUGUST 1961

THE BUS RIDE FROM THE AIRPORT TO THE NAVAL AIR STATIONAT ATSUGI WAS LONG AND FULL OF STRANGE AND EXCITING AROMAS. ONCE WE ARRIVE AT THE NAVAL AIR STATION, I SAW MT FUJI IN THE DISTANCE. IT HAD BEEN A LONG DAY, A LOT OF FLYING WITH ONLY A ONE HALF-HOUR STOP IN HAWAII FOR REFUELING--AND SENDING POST CARDS OF DIAMONDHEAD. THE PILOT POINTED OUT MIDWAY ISLAND, THE KIMONO-CLAD HOSTESSES SERVED COLD BOTTLES OF KIRIN BEER. THEY FURNISHED US WITH HOT TOWELS FOR REFRESHING OUR FACES. IT HAD BEEN A JOURNEY OF MORE THAN FIVE-THOUSAND MILES. I LOOKED AT MT FUJI AND WONDERED WHAT MY TOUR OF DUTY WOULD BE LIKE. WOULD I BE HOMESICK FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS? WOULD I LEARN TO SPEAK JAPANESE AND HAVE THE KIND OF EXPERIENCES I HAD HEARD ABOUT FROM MY NAVY FRIENDS WHO HAD BEEN TO JAPAN? MY MIND WAS FULL OF MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE. MY COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF WAS PRESIDENT KENNEDY; I KNEW HE HAD IT ALL UNDER CONTROL.

HOW I SPENT A LOT OF MY SPARE TIME

FRIENDS AND ALLIES FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS

THE FIRST CAPTION THAT ENTERED MY MIND FOR THE PAINTPROGRAM IMAGE BELOW WAS

TORA, TORA, TORA

but after awhile I thought about a caption that would be less intimidating and dramatic , a caption that would express the general attitude that exists today, more than 50 years after the war. As time passes, the memories of Pearl Harbor and the war fade away; time has a way of healing the scars of war when generations change. I needed a caption that would indicate that those days of hate and anger are, for the most part, gone. It was with much peril and sacrifice that many of our deceased family members made it possible for Japan and the USA to build a bonds and freindship. To illustrate the obvious, I came up with the following caption:

"Somehow, I think we are making a big mistake, Abe."

MY FASCINATION WITH JAPAN BEGAN EARLY IN LIFE

WELCOME TO THE JAPAN OF THE EARLY 1960s

For some reason, I always knew that I would go to Japan. From the time I was a small boy I sensed a fascination with Japan. Some might say it was because I heard so much about Japan when I was a young boy. Sure, that had an impact on the subject, but there was more to my interest in that faraway island empire than a war. The war ended when I was almost four years old. At that age, I had no concept of hate or vengeance but there were war games being played in the neighborhood. As a boy, we played outdoors with toy guns. We played cowboys and Indians and we played war. For whatever reason, the war games involved Japan and the USA rather than the Germans. I believe there were numerous reasons for this. One reason might be the propaganda I was exposed to during and after the war. One reason was the stories the returning GIs told us boys. Most of us had a dad or relative who served, so our take on the war was somewhat influenced by the tales we heard. There were numerous movies that continued to punish the Japanese long after the surrender. We continued to find new movies and new comic books about World War Two as we grew older and taller. The John Wayne movie, Sands of Iwo Jima, was the movie that we liked the best. There are many reasons why we chose to play war games against Japan and it is a subject that I want to mention in depth in future posts. To focus on the subject, the Japan of the 1960s, let me state that my hint of the future became a reality in 1961 when the Pan American Boeing 707 landed at Haneda Airport in Tokyo in August of 1961. My first day in the Japan was one that was pleasant and one that I will always remember.