A Flawed Legacy - 8

Back to Japan and the task of re-classifying our enlisted personnel, I was prepared for all of the "problems" we were supposed to discover.  With a few minor problems, we breezed through the effort, made possible by the assistance of our various unit commanders.  Of course, as my "boss" suggested, I also was responsible for maintaining their records, so they were committed to cooperate.  That was an interesting response but the truth of the matter is the fact that I saw how well a unit can function if everyone is committed to succeed.  Years later, I would long to be employed by a company who actually recognized such possibilities.

My three year tour in Japan was about to be completed, so I tool advantage of privileges I had earned and made a tour of the places I had visited.   First stop was our satellite base outside of Seoul, Kimpo Airdrome.  I had placed all of the enlisted personnel serving there and most of them agreed it was a good duty assignment.  Then, I ran into an "old" drinking buddy I had met in my travels throughout Japan.  He was in Korea assigned to an Army reconnaissance outfit, flying along the 32nd "parallel" to observe the North Koreans and their troop movements.  He invited me to fly along and it was quite an experience.  Everywhere we looked, as far North as we could see, there were preparations being made to move South.  Plenty of military of course, but what intrigued us was the numbers of supply vehicles to support a military invasion.  "Do you report on this?" I asked my buddy and his reply, "Yes, every time we fly over, we  keep track of additions or movements."  It was all hard for me to believe. 

Next stop, Tokyo, but as I was was walking through the airport, I saw a press conference underway and being curious, I walked over to hear what was being said.  There were reporters from all over and they were grilling what I heard were State Department representatives.  The gist of most of the questions had to do with the possibilities of North Korea invading the South.  "No, we are aware of their capabilities and have concluded, they are merely doing what most armies in the field do, move about so that their soldiers do not get bored with their assignments,"  What?  That was not what we saw.  It was not what was being reported, daily.  I wanted to raise my question, but the press conference ended and I got on my bus, wondering why I had just heard what I had actually heard.  Oh well, I was heading home and right then, I had places to go and people to see.

I took the train back to Kyushu, but got off in Kokura to take a bus up to say good-bye to my dear friend, the former Japanese Colonel with whom we had become close friends.  We spent three days, getting drunk and crying that we would not be seeing one another again.  He was the closest I had ever come to a man ad I used to think of him as my Father.  We visited his wife and daughter in the village where they lived and neighbors turned out to wish me a fond, Sayonara.

I had left my Jeep there as there was a good local mechanic who could fix "everything", so I paid him and left for Itazuke.  As I was approaching the guards at the gate, they were waving me down, "Guess what, Sarge,  the North Koreans have invaded the South."  It was June 30, 1950.  I had a feeling I would not be going home right away. 

I was right.   A couple of days later, I was asked to attend a conference where plans were being made to form an Air Force Unit that would move to South Korea and fly missions from there.  My job was to assemble a cadre of experienced enlisted technicians to support the mission at Itazuke and the date for their transition would be announced.  That was when knowing the guys who were doing my job at other bases in Japan became a God-send.  Within seventy-two hours, a full complement had arrived and were temporarily housed in our base gymnasium.  We were ready to go to war.  The Provost Marshall issued me a gun and I was instructed to make certain, no one left except when we went to the Mess hall.

As it turned out, I did not sleep for the seventy-two hours they were with us and so, I collapsed.  All I had ever dome was follow instructions and it went off like clock work.  For that, my over eager superior prepared a recommendation for a Bronze Star, but the authorities reduced the award to an USAF Commendation Medal.  I was very proud, but even more proud of the fifth stripe I was awarded for my efforts in that crisis.

I was surprised to learn that my "contact" at Fifth Air Force headquarters was impressed by that job and so, he had me on other assignments in and out of Korea.  I will never forget the first trip to Korea. All we had to do was report to the air strip, pick up a parachute, convince the load master we knew how to use it, and take a seat, making sure we buckled up.  Sitting next to me were three youngsters from the 24th Division (Army) who had missed the deployment of their regular outfit and would catch up with them when we got to Korea.  One kid was crying, at least I could see the tears in his eyes and asked, "What's wrong, soldier?"  Turns out that they only had 9 bullets between the three of them and they thought they would be asked to fight as soon as we landed.  I assured them that was not the case and I would help them to find their outfit.  That was easy.  The Division headquarters had assumed there would be instances like that and had personnel assigned to the Air base to get them where they needed to be going.  Just imagine.  Going into a combat zone with only a few pieces of ammunition.

That was more than enough to scare me and to realize that this war was now, very real to me.  On my way back to my base, that plane was loaded with wounded soldiers who would be treated at the hospital in Fukuoka.

On a later trip, I discovered there was a B-25 bomber scheduled to go where I was going and so I got aboard.  We had hardly cleared the air strip when I noticed the port engine was spilling oil all over the wing.  I hurried up to the pilots and discovered they were Greeks, who did not speak English, or so they said.  "No, problem" they indicated and they shut that engine down.  A few minutes later, I looked out of a starboard window and there were flames coming from that engine and we were about 500 feet above the Sea of Japan.  All they did was start the other engine and shut down the one with the fire.  I kept wondering what I would do when we went into the sea.  There were three other "passengers" aboard, but they were all asleep.  I decided to let them sleep as I kept my eyes on the port side engine. It was dark and as I looked out I saw lights, hopefully from Pusan which had to be the source of the lights.  It was, but now the pilots were starting to climb - on one engine.  I was not sure it could, but it did and a few minutes later, we were on the ground.

The pilots caught up to me as I was searching for a gate to get out of there and they threw their arms around me and drugged me over to a counter.  "Speak English," they shouted to no one in particular, but soon a guy came over to us from someplace - remember, it was the night time.  What they wanted others to know was that I had become their "navigator".   "Give him medal," they laughed and I broke away to get out of there.  I was thankful to be alive, 

A Flawed Legacy - 7a

I am going to interrupt my chronological "journey" for a day as I review a couple of incidents that happened while I was stationed at Itazuke.

The first occurred when four of us who were new to Kyushu decided to take a long weekend and travel around the island and view life as a Japanese native.  We started by walking down the rows of street side "stalls" out of which they peddled their wares and more often, their fruits and vegetables.  We had a blast teasing one another, urging the others to buy a sample - which never happened.

Then we came upon a beautiful hotel in Kokura and walked in to see how much it would cost for a night and discovered for "G.I.'s" it was more than reasonable.  We paired off and spend most of the day walking through the beautiful gardens and we also discovered the bathing pool.  It was divided by a sheet hanging the ceiling and barely touching the water.  It was there to separate the men from the women.  My roommate and I decided to try it out and no sooner was he in the water and he began to "test" the curtain.  Immediately, there were screams and a guard came to warn us - "No touchee!"

It was my first time ever in a pool and I was really enjoying myself when my buddy came up from behind me and whispered, "We are going to have lots of fun this evening."  With that I was out of the pool and looking for the others.  When I found them, they asked if I did not know about the other guy, that almost everyone knew he was a "queer".   Innocent me, I did not know.  Back in our room, he was quick to undress and sat on the floor, buck naked, inviting me to join him.  When I told him that such things were an abomination in the Bible, he laughed and ordered more Saki from room service.   That incident ended any relationship we had ever enjoyed.

The next day, I separated from the others and was eating in a restaurant when a Japanese man came over and asked if he could join me.  What a fascinating guy, we would become fast friends, not only with him, but also his family.  I learned he had been a Colonel in the Japanese army and his last station was on Iwo Jima, had also served in Korea and China and with that, I asked him about the pictures I had seen of Japanese soldiers throwing babies into the air and stabbing them with their bayonets.  He acknowledged that such things had happened, but also told me of the drugs and alcohol his superiors had ordered for his troops, telling him it helped the men become even more brave.

There were many such incidents that we discussed and finally, I asked him about Iwo Jima.  It was, as he told me many times, "...real Hell attempting to endure the constant bombardment."  Then, came a real bomb shell.  Many of the men turned to homosexuality, believing they were going to die and nothing mattered to them anymore.  In fact, he claimed, his Adjutant and another high ranking officer, held him down and tried to rape him.  They forgot about his pistol and he shot the Adjutant, killing him, and the others fled.  When the American forces finally landed, my friend and hundreds of others surrendered believing they would get better treatment than they were receiving from their own.

And that was true, but my friend also had to stand trial in a Japanese court for the murder and they took his pension away from him.  It wasn't until the courts heard of the atrocities committed by their own, that he got his pension restored.   One day, he asked me to join him as he was going to be "tried" by a Samurai court and I was about to be amazed by the court's attitude toward homosexual acts in their ranks and I was able to obtain a transcript that later was confirmed by translators who had it written in English.  I have always wished that I could have kept that so that others might know more about the so-called "disease" of homosexuality,  As long as I was in the military and involved with personnel who could possibly be involved in such acts, the more I needed to provide the evidence presented in that Samurai court 

Shortly after I became a Staff Sergeant and could join the Non-Com club, I was approached by three other, higher ranked Sergeants with more service than myself, asking if I knew a certain Colonel in HQ, asked if I knew of any of his Section 8 fixations.  Turns out they were "queers" in the eyes of the military and subject to Section 8 discharges, loss of rank, privileges and immediate discharge, so they needed a "heads up" if the Colonel started asking about.  Since his office was a few doors from my own, they asked me - as a Sergeant,  to keep them advised.  Nothing ever happened.

To me it merely more evidence of the efforts will make just to exposes others who are "different" than them and it goes on today, except that it is much worse.