After 10 miserable seasick days on a troop ship from Seattle, via the
north Atlantic, we arrived in Yokohama. I was assigned to the Japan Signal
Battalion at Camp Zama, about 25 miles from Tokyo.
We were initially billeted at the Shoto Hotel in downtown Tokyo. Our
room was a Japanese style room with straw mat floors. I had not yet gotten
over my sea sickness and needed something firm under my feet. On our second
day, while I was sitting in a small adjoining room, we experienced our first
earthquake. You never forget the first one.
To get to work I had to take the subway, change to a train and then take
a shuttle bus. It took over an hour to get to work. If you have never
experienced a ride on a Tokyo subway, you have really missed an experience.
They had pushers. A pusher job was to push as many as possible into the
subway car so that the doors would close. I know what a sardine feels like.
After six weeks we were able to obtain a very small private rental near
Camp Zama. The interior was about the size of a small trailer home. This was
extremely cramped for two adults, two preschool boys and a live-in maid. We
lived there for about two months. By then our car had arrived and we now had
transportation.
I do not recall what I did during these early months but the remaining
time in Japan is crystal clear.
I was transferred to Sendai to command Company C. Sendai is about 200
miles north of Tokyo. I was fortunate to have a very competent group of men
and officers. My First Sergeant, Maurice Evans, was a survivor of the Bataan
Death March. He had been a POW in Japan and had been stationed in Japan most
of the intervening years except when he went to the Philippines to testify
in the War Crimes trials. He was one of the best First Sergeants I have ever
known.
The mission of Company C was to operate three parallel AN/TRC-24 Radio
Relay systems (12 channels each) from the Tokyo area to Chotose AFB on
Hokkaido Japan's northern island. Our company area covered over 500 miles.
There were 10 isolated sites and three terminal sites, Sendai, Misawa AFB
and Chitose AFB. There was no commercial power at these isolated sites and
the provision of diesel fuel was a constant problem. Initially we manned all
of the sites while later some were manned by employees of the Japanese
National Telecommunications Public Corporation (NTPC).
Although normal logistics were a major problem, the winter weather made
it worse. In the winter the snow at some sites was so deep that the only to
get to the site was with a snow cat, a tracked vehicle slightly larger than
a jeep. One site was extremely bad. I initially visited the site in the
summer. As we drove up the mountain I notice large gashes on the trees near
the edge of the road. These gashes were 10 to 15 feet in the air. I ask what
caused these gashes. My driver said that they were caused by bulldozer
blades in the winter. This was hard to believe until I visited the site in
the middle of the winter Even in a snow cat we could not reach the site. We
had to climb a steep slope for the last several hundred yards pulling on the
top limbs of trees to help us climb.
The
AN/TRC-24 antennas were large structure. There were two side by side diploes
that used a large flat screen as a reflector. This was an excellent
collector of snow and ice that had a major effect on the system performance.
This problem had been reported to our headquarters prior to my arrival. HQ
US Army Japan had awarded a contract for dozens of adjustable Yagi antennas.
We expected that these smaller antennas would solve our winter weather
problems. The calculated gain was the same as the AN/TRC-24 antennas. We
quickly that these new antennas, when adjusted according to the
instructions, had much less gain than predicted and were not usable.
We undertook an investigation of this problem. I had read in an Amateur
Radio magazine of a book on the Yaga-Uda Antenna that covers the design of
Yagi antennas. I was able to find this book in a Tokyo department store. The
book was written by Dr Uda, Professor of Engineering at Tohoku University in
Sendai. Dr. Uda was the co-inventor with Dr. Yagi of the Yagi antenna.
We
quickly determined the documentation on these new antennas not correct. We
determined that the adjusted length of the driven element was greater than
it should be. We made calculations and extensive propagation experiments in
order to develop the correct set of antenna adjustments. We were then able
to replace the AN/TRC-24 antenna with these new Yagi antennas and improve
the systems performance during the winter months.
The main unit in Sendai was the Army 5th Calvary Regiment. During early
1957 the 5th Cavalry Regiment was transferred and Sendai was closed as a
major US base. Our Company Headquarters was moved to Misawa AFB about 200
miles north of Sendai. We retained a small detachment in Sendai.
We had good relations with the Air Force. The main problem I had in
Misawa was to keep our soldiers from being sloppy in their dress and
military courtesy. Our soldiers always looked sharp and stood out over the Air
Force men. We had a lot of complements on our soldiers.
After about 18 months I was transferred to Camp Zama where I became the
Radio Officer of the Japan Signal Battalion. Our offices were in the
Headquarters US Army Japan. Our Commander was Lieutenant Colonel Larry
Bengel (later Colonel and my mentor in Washington). My boss was Captain
Ralph Keefer (later Lieutenant Colonel).
We worked extensively with the US Army Japan Signal Office. The chief of
the branch we worked with was Lieutenant Colonel Kinji Hino (later Chief of
the Engineering Division, STRATCOM). In this office there were three
Captains, two of whom I would later serve with in Vietnam. Captain Charles
"Bob" Myer (later Lieutenant Colonel in Vietnam still later a Lieutenant
General) and Captain Clarence "Patty" Driscoll (later Lieutenant Colonel in
Vietnam).
Not long after I arrived in Zama, both Captain Keefer and Captain Myer
were promoted to Major.
During 1958 there was a decision to phase down US Forces in Japan and we
were directed to convert all of our communications to leased service. This
was accomplished and all of our sites in the old Company C area deactivated
and all equipment removed.
During the winter of 1958 learned that Nippon Electric Company (NEC) was
developing an "over the horizon" communications system. I arranged a trip to
NEC and met the Chief of the Radio Branch, Dr. Morita. During the next
several months I conceived the Japan Tropo System which is described in
detail in an accompanying article, Japan Tropo System.
The remainder of my tour in Japan was dedicated to getting this tropo
system approved. Prior to my departure from Japan I was awarded the Army
Commendation Metal.
My replacement was Captain Richard Talley who I knew later in Washington
and who served with me in Vietnam.