Wakayama, Japan - Sept 25, 1945. Troops of the 1st Bn/130th Infantry Regiment board a train to Kobe following their amphibious landing earlier in the day.

33rd's Japan Occupation Sept '45 - Jan '46 - Everyone has their own memories of the day. The landing - the train to Kobe - the reactions of the civilians - the malaria (for those who didn't take their attabrine tablets aboard ship) - and others recall the agony of dysentery.

Shortly after arriving in Kobe, it was pack up and move out! For the troops in the above photo, it was Himeji. On the way to the train one of the troops in 130's 3rd Battalion who had dysentery was about to drop when a major came alongside and took his pack! For years I wanted to know who it was so I could thank him. Never was able.

Back home, The World Series was about to get under way: the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago Cubs. Innovation saved the day, when enterprising GIs ran twin lead from the communications room over partitions and across each room in their side of the barracks. From the twin lead, drop wires came down to which a single earphone was attached. Although the signal progressively weakened it was a touch of home.

(In case you don't remember, the first game was played at Briggs Stadium. It took seven games for Detroit to win the Series 4 to 3.)

It didn't take long for the black market to rear its ugly head. A carton of cigarettes would command as much as $45. A staff sergeant in K Company, being the enterprising person he was, set up a Japanese girl in a village some distance away to "retail" his goods.

Colonel "The Ripper " Collins determined to put a stop to this underground commerce. He took a Jeep, a driver and an interpreter to the village, suspecting it might be the center of activity. He went ojosans house, she wouldn't let them in. The colonel had the interpreter tell her she had no choice. "Joto mati, " she said, quickly returning with a note that read: "I'm the property of (sergeant's name), so keep your hand's off!"

True to his reputation the colonel returned to the regiment and promptly summoned the enterprising marketer, who once again became a Private.

By the time the 3rd Battalion of the 130th had everyone off sick call and back on duty, word came we would be moving - this time to Maizuru. It had three zones: Naka Maizuru, Higashi Maizuru and Nishi Maizuru. Perhaps another which I forget.

Maizuru had been a Japanese naval base during the war. Some said it was the equivalent to our Annapolis.

This was destroy the Japanese weaponry time.

Every available GI was mustered and assigned an area where they would transform Japanese guns and shells into junk. Each team of GIs would have a crew of Japanese laborers who would do the grunt work.

The 130's 3rd Battalion had the task of destroying depth charges and torpedoes; all with warheads removed.

Others would supervise loading shells and munitions onto barges which were then taken out to sea and the junk deep-sixed.

The Japanese were mostly compliant. Although one day a recalcitrant Japanese refused to cooperate. A lieutenant's flat side of a.45 barrel along side the temple, changed the former enemy's mind.

This old grunt (who was a young grunt then) had a crew of laborers whose job it was to attach a chain from an overhead crane to torpedoes and direct them into a hydraulic press where one end would be crushed. Then, draw it out, do the same to the other end, and then into a trash heap. Another laborer's task was to take a T-wrench and open the valves of those torpedoes full of compressed air.

One day he missed one - as the press compressed it, the nose cone came sailing off past the GI and through a corrugated metal wall. Imagine a telegram saying "your son was torpedoed."

Through it all one will make friends with one of the former enemy. I remember Hidao Uwaizumi, a former lieutenant in the Japanese Navy. He kept the laborers in line and was fluent in English.

Fall went very quickly as those with a high point count said their goodbyes and boarded a train that would take them to a ship and the trip home.

For some it was not smooth sailing. Those on the Marine Falcon encountered extremely rough seas and many thought after living through the war it would be hell to die at sea aboard a ship. But they did make it Stateside and were home by Christmas.

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