Americans Landing For First Time In Japan, 1945

[FC]

[AzRednek]

My next door neighbor where I grew up was among some of the first Army troops in Japan. He was drafted, trained and at sea when the war ended. His ship was turned around back to the US. While at sea it was decided to send in troops that had not been in combat not having the hatred and hard feelings toward the Japanese. He also told my dad because of bad blood between McArthur and the Navy. McArthur wanted more Army and less Marines troops to occupy Japan. The ship was turned around again and my neighbor spent 2 years in Japan.

 

My neighbor's main job while in Japan was searching homes for weapons. Among his souvenirs were a couple of crude but very sharp spears. He had to cut the spears in half to fit his bag. He also brought home a European handgun of some sort taken from a Japanese govt official. I was to young to recall anything about the handgun.

[FC]

Must have been quite the experience for both sides to go marching into towns in Japan.

[AzRednek]

Must have been quite the experience for both sides to go marching into towns in Japan.

 

Had to have been a unusual experience for my neighbor. Abandoned at birth, he grew up in a reform school like orphanage and didn't know much beyond the walls. He escaped a few times as a teenager but was caught and returned. He told my dad that when he returned he knew more about Japan than the US.