美保基地のBCOF向けラジオ放送局

https://www.radioheritage.net/Story246.asp

This is Station WLKT Miho

In 1946, British announcer Peter Knowlden introduced radio programs to British Commonwealth Occupation Forces at Miho Airfield in Japan with the words ‘This is Station WLKT Miho operating on 14-40 kilocycles and 2-oh-8 metres’ and played Eric Coates’ “London Again” suite as his nightly signature tune.

His audience included Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Indian Air Force personnel, and he broadcast from a mobile radio station that was originally built in Melbourne, Australia for the AAAS – Australian Army Amenities Service – and had been allocated the call sign 9AM.

WLKT mobile truck studio
WLKT broadcast from a mobile truck studio, like this one which later became the key AAAS station WLKS in Kure
© Argus Newspaper Collection of Photographs, State Library of Victoria

Peter says “I have no idea how that truck got to Miho, the roads were awful, but the railway line was excellent, so maybe it came that way.”

How did a British serviceman become the DJ on an Australian controlled radio station with an American call sign operating in Japan?

“I got involved while visiting my friend who was the DJ and presenter primo. He dropped a record as he was adlibbing the title and added some emotional comments as it went to pieces.

"Our CO was a pious fellow taking tea with the Padre and listening at the time.

"He phoned the truck, dismissed my friend on the spot and ordered him to find a replacement immediately [battlefield stuff!] so guess who was closest?

"I remember having to read a test off air, a whole page out of some anthology of music that had no punctuation whatsoever, so you had to read several words ahead to figure out the inflections and pauses.”

9AO turntable & Mikes
The WLKT turntable and microphones were like these seen here on sister station 9AO which later served in Borneo. © Australian War Memorial

Peter worked at WLKT during his off-duty hours with no pay, but lots of travel to places like Tokyo, Hiroshima and Myajima.

“The signal could be heard in Yonago and Matsue and it was odd to hear Beethoven from a fishing village called Oshinozu where I used to discreetly attend sumo wrestling matches” says Peter.

“We played large 16rpm discs sent to us by the BBC and with plays and comedy from London” he adds.

The mobile broadcasting trucks were built in Melbourne during 1945 and shipped to ports across the western Pacific to provide entertainment for Australian military personnel.

With the surrender of Japan, and the formation of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force [BCOF], a number of these units were then taken to the Kure area near Hiroshima, which is where Australian forces were concentrated.

The main occupation forces radio station at Kure was originally AFRS station WVTV which then moved out of the area to be replaced with the mobile AAAS station known as 9AT.

9AO Control & SW RX
WLKT came with control and shortwave receiver panels like these at sister stations such as 9AO. © Australian War Memorial

Inheriting the entire WVTV record library, this mobile station first took over the WVTV call sign and later became known as WLKS.

Because its 200 watts transmitter was insufficient to provide good coverage for all Australian units, four additional mobile AAAS stations with lower power were deployed to provide localized services.

These were 9AM, 9AQ, 9AR and 9AV. On arrival in Japan, these were allocated the call signs WVTW, WVTX, WVTZ and WVTY, some of which had been previously used elsewhere in the Pacific.

In 1946, the call signs were changed again to become WLKT, WLKU, WLKW and WLKV and this is how the Australian AAAS mobile truck 9AM became WLKT and allocated to Miho Airfield in southern Japan.

9AT studio
How the WLKT studio looked like when Peter Knowlden was broadcasting. This is a publicity photo of Sgt M L Williams testing the studio of sister station 9AT [WLKS] before it left Melbourne.
© Argus Newspaper Collection of Photographs, State Library of Victoria.

Peter says “The radio truck was stifling hot in summer and an ice-box in winter. Large flying insects would interrupt when I was reading the news... all very primitive.”

“There were only three people that I knew, including the Officer-in-Charge running the show. Signals did the maintenance. We did our thing in the evening and on weekends. During the day I think we just acted as a repeater from Kure or somewhere.”

When Peter arrived in Japan aboard the SS Ranchi, he arrived at Kure, formerly a major naval base for Yamato class battleships – “most Japanese maps didn’t name it in Romanji as it was supposed to be secret.” – and there were dozens of wrecked one-man submarines scattered about.

He adds “Miho had been a small Japanese military airport, on a spit of land alongside Miho Bay. Two large hangers were functional and some small bunkered buildings were on the south side. We took over their barracks just as is.”

Miho Barracks
This is how the barracks looked like when Peter Knowlden was ‘in residence’ at Miho Airfield © www.bharat-rakshak.com

Peter concludes “I did not continue radio in civilian life, but did get an offer from Yonago University to stay on and teach English there. I went back to the UK. It’s all a long time ago now”

Miho-Yanago Airport is now a civilian airport jointly operated with the Japan Air Self-Defence Force which retains an operational base there.

After BCOF forces were repatriated, a radar installation of the US Air Force operated at the airfield, providing a key link in the early warning defence system for Japan.

The Far East Network [part of Armed Forces Radio] opened an AM studio and transmitter here in August 1952, known as FEN Miho. This operated independently for some years before becoming a relay of FEN Iwakuni and finally closing down in February 1958 as part of a retraction of US forces in Japan.

For just over a decade [1946-1958], the airwaves of Miho Air Base played host to former Australian mobile radio station 9AM [known locally as WLKT] and later, FEN Miho.

WLKT broadcast with a power of 10 watts at 1440 AM.

9AO generator
WLKT was powered by a mobile generator towed on a trailer similar to this one used by sister station 9AO. © Australian War Memorial

Peter Knowlden now resides in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

For an introduction to AFRS broadcasting in Japan 1945-1960 see our feature AFRS Japan and for an introduction to the AAAS radio stations see our feature Diggers On Air.

For a selection of images of Royal Indian Air Force personnel and equipment based at Miho, Japan, we recommend the website www.bharat-rakshak.com, an independent site preserving the history of the [now] Indian Air Force.

Miho Mess
The WLKT audience included a range of British Comonwealth personnel such as these fellows from Australia, India and the UK pictured at the Miho Mess in 1946. © www.bharat-rakshak.com

 

1946年美保基地のインド第4飛行中隊退役軍人の回顧

The lost stories of Number 4 Squadron: India’s flyboys in post-WWII Japan

以前、ＧＨＱ占領期の鳥取を学ぶ会でも紹介した www.bharat-rakshak.comのインド第4飛行中隊員の回顧記事が、インドのニュースメディア scroll.in にまとめ掲載してあったので、再掲・DeepL翻訳。（掲載元ページに写真あり）

Bharat-rakshak

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/history/ww2/veterans/1047-digby01.html#gsc.tab=0

scroll.in

https://scroll.in/magazine/836466/the-lost-stories-of-number-4-squadron-indias-flyboys-in-post-wwii-japan

The lost stories of Number 4 Squadron: India’s flyboys in post-WWII Japan

Only a few first-person accounts of this fascinating time remain on the personal blogs of Indian Air Force veterans.

Recent news has suggested global concern over the possibility of war – even nuclear war – in the Korean peninsula. Now imagine a coalition consisting of American, Australian, British and Indian fighter squadrons, patrolling the seas around Korea, close to a city devastated by a nuclear strike.

What sounds like a fiction or a new techno-thriller is actually historical fact: 71 years ago, between 1946 and 1947, an Indian fighter squadron operated from a Japanese airbase for 15 months, as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces in Japan.

This was long before the era of globalisation – much of the Indian military experience in the World Wars did, in fact, give Indians unprecedented global exposure. But this episode remains largely undocumented. Only the squadron’s spare, factual Operations Record Book survives.

Two young members of the squadron, looking at their aircraft on the carrier deck. The nearest aircraft (with folded wings) is an American type, possibly one of a number of Lend-Lease aircraft that were disposed of on this voyage by being pushed overboard in the Cochin Channel. Photo Courtesy: Late Wing Commander CHL Digby's family

Arrival in Japan

Number 4 Squadron, of what was then officially the Royal Indian Air Force, arrived in Japan in April 1946. The squadron had served with distinction in Burma during the war. On its return to India, it was based at Yelahanka in Bangalore for a year. Instead of the slightly obsolete Hawker Hurricane aircraft that it had flown in Burma, the squadron now flew the more modern, more powerful Supermarine Spitfire XIV, and was selected for participation in the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces. Selection for this role was regarded as a mark of distinction,in those days and also presented a desirable opportunity for travel.

The squadron commanding officer, Squadron Leader Jagdev Chandra (centre, in shorts) talks to his officers aboard HMS Vengeance. Note that the aircraft have their engines, wing roots and guns covered and sealed, for protection against the sea air. Photo Courtesy: Late Wing Commander CHL Digby's family

In early April 1946, the squadron embarked for Japan on a Royal Navy aircraft-carrier. They arrived at Iwakuni, on the Japanese island of Kyushu, on April 23, 1946. Iwakuni, their port of landfall, was barely 30 km from Hiroshima, still in ruins from the US nuclear strike eight months earlier. On May 7, 1946, the squadron moved to Miho, on the west coast of the Japanese island of Honshu, their base for the rest of their stay.

The weather deteriorates, as the ship nears Japan. Photo Courtesy: Late Wing Commander CHL Digby's family

From Miho, it was an easy 150 km flight to the Korean airspace. One of the squadron’s primary tasks was the surveillance of the seas between Japan and Korea, to interdict smugglers and illegal migrants originating from Korea. Japan was (and still remains) highly sensitive about Korean migrants. The squadron often did flypasts with its aircraft in a formation shaped like the number 4.

Aircraft of the squadron form the numeral 4, in the air over Miho. Photo Courtesy: Captain M Balan via Jagan Pillarisetti

Easy camaraderie

The Indian squadron was billeted alongside RAF squadrons and frequently played sports against them. Royal Australian Air Force squadrons, equipped with North American P-51 Mustangs, also came to Miho periodically for range exercises. The Australian British Commonwealth Occupation Forces squadrons included one which remained at, and flew out of, Iwakuni right up to 1953, participating in the Korean War.

Indian and (possibly) Australian personnel of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces at a meal. Photo Courtesy: Late Wing Commander CHL Digby's family

Personal anecdotes suggest that the Australians got along well with the Indians. The Royal Indian Air Force had a separate mess from the RAF, although within the same building. Royal Australian Air Force personnel were billeted in the RAF mess. But in a sign, possibly, that their palates were already somewhat ahead of the curve, many chose to eat and spend their spare time in the Indian mess.

The squadron spent the entire winter of 1946 to 1947 in Miho. Japanese winters can be extremely cold and Miho was snow-bound for three months that season. Some far-seeing logistics officer had ensured that the Royal Indian Air Force brought along chains for the wheels of their vehicles, which enabled them to drive in snow. As it turned out, the RAF hadn’t, and asked to borrow chains from the Royal Indian Air Force. Squadron personnel also tried out skiing on nearby slopes.

Pilot Officer Cecil Digby, one of the younger members of the squadron, tries his hand at skiing, on slopes near Miho. Photo Courtesy: Late Wing Commander CHL Digby's family

With spring came Japan’s famous cherry blossoms, occasional visitors and travel. Squadron personnel were able to visit Tokyo (where British Commonwealth Occupation Forces personnel stayed at one of the most luxurious hotels in the city) and even Hiroshima. There was, apparently, no concern about radiation exposure in those days. There were restrictions on fraternising between Occupation Force personnel and Japanese nationals, but anecdotes and photographs suggest that some interactions did take place. These might have been interesting – people from one of the first Allied colonies, on the verge of Independence, encountering people from a country still stunned by its defeat in war, both looking for their places in the new post-war world – but sadly, this time remains undocumented.

The squadron remained in Japan until July, 1947. Shortly before they were due to leave, they were asked by the Americans, at short notice, to participate in a major flypast celebrating the US Independence Day. By the time the Americans’ request was received, the squadron’s aircraft had been “inhibited” – that is, engine oils had been replaced with anti-rust oils, exhausts and valves sealed, and other measures taken in preparation for storage. Squadron personnel had to de-inhibit a dozen-odd aircraft within 24 hours. This was no mean task.

For the flypast, participating aircraft flew to Kisarazu, a US base just outside Tokyo. On the actual day of the flypast, there were large numbers of aircraft taxiing and in the air – Spitfires tend to overheat very quickly when their engines are running on the ground, and need to get airborne as quickly as possible after the engine has been started. Stuck in lines of aircraft awaiting take-off clearance on crowded taxiways, one of the squadron’s aircrafts overheated beyond safety limits. The pilot, sensibly, didn’t attempt take-off at all, but he didn’t announce his intentions on the radio – it is likely that all the radios were busy that day. After returning from the flypast the rest of the squadron realised he was missing, organised a search party, and eventually found him, feet up and none the worse, in the parking bay with his Spitfire.

Trophies and tales of the past

Among the trophies the squadron brought back from Japan, is a sample of the Yokosuka Ohka kamikaze aircraft, designed for suicide attack. It is now on display at the Indian Air Force Museum in Delhi.

Number 4 Squadron of the Indian Air Force still remains active, and has participated in virtually all Indian Air Force operations since Independence, including the famous 1971 strike on Government House in Dhaka, which helped prompt the Pakistani surrender. It currently flies the MiG-21 Bison. After their time in Japan, two of the squadron’s Commanding Officers went on to become Air Marshals in the post-Independence Indian Air Force. One of their Flight Commanders, Nur Khan, went on to become chief of the Pakistan Air Force.

The squadron’s time in Japan was a remarkable experience, and veterans who participated treasure the memories. But little was done to capture or reflect on the historical experience (most other participating countries engaged historians and academicians to create a record), and most of those veterans have now faded away. A few first-person accounts remain on the blogs of Indian Air Force veterans. As a result, an encounter between countries, which could easily have provided material for much learning, PhD theses and books on cultural studies, military history, peace-keeping, social history, sociology, and many other disciplines, is left to a few thousand words of personal reminiscences on the internet. Jorge Santayana said “Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat it” – surely, no one wants to repeat a World War.

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第4戦隊の失われた物語 第二次世界大戦後の日本を舞台にしたインドのフライボーイたち

インド空軍の退役軍人の個人的なブログには、この魅力的な時間の少数の一人称のアカウントだけが残っています。

最近のニュースは、朝鮮半島での戦争（核戦争でさえも）の可能性に対する世界的な懸念を示唆している。今、アメリカ、オーストラリア、イギリス、インドの戦闘機中隊で構成される連合体が、核攻撃で荒廃した都市の近くで、韓国周辺の海をパトロールしていることを想像してみてください。

71年前の1946年から1947年にかけて、インドの戦闘機中隊は、イギリス連邦軍の日本占領軍の一員として、15ヶ月間、日本の空軍基地を拠点に活動していた。

これはグローバル化の時代よりもずっと前のことであり、世界大戦でのインド人の軍事経験の多くは、実際、インド人に前例のない世界的な露出を与えたのである。しかし、このエピソードはほとんど記録に残っていない。中隊の予備の事実に基づいた作戦記録簿だけが残っている。

空母甲板で自分たちの飛行機を見ている中隊の二人の若いメンバー。最も近い航空機(翼が折れている)はアメリカ型で、おそらくこの航海でコーチン海峡に押し出されて廃棄された数多くのレンドリース機のうちの1機であろう。写真提供。故CHLディグビー中佐の家族

日本到着

1946年4月、当時のインド空軍の第4中隊が日本に到着しました。同中隊は戦時中、ビルマで優秀な成績を収めていました。インドへの帰還後は、バンガロールのイェラハンカに1年間駐留しました。ビルマで飛行していた少し時代遅れのホーカー・ハリケーンの代わりに、より近代的で強力なスーパーマリン・スピットファイアXIVを飛行させ、英連邦占領軍に参加するために選ばれました。この任務に選ばれたことは、当時、優秀な成績を収めたことの証とみなされ、また、旅行の機会も与えられました。

 HMS Vengeanceで将校たちに話しかける中隊司令官のジャグデフ・チャンドラ中隊長（中央、短パン姿）。機体は海風から守るために、エンジン、翼の根元、砲を覆って密閉されていることに注意してください。写真提供。故CHLディグビー中佐の家族

1946年4月初旬、戦隊はイギリス海軍の航空母艦で日本に向けて出港した。年４月２３日に九州の岩国に到着した。岩国は広島からわずか３０キロのところにあり、８カ月前の米国の核攻撃で廃墟と化していた。年５月７日、戦隊は本州西海岸の美保に移った。

 日本に近づくにつれ、天候が悪化していく。写真提供 故CHLディグビー中佐の家族

美保から韓国領空までは150kmの簡単なフライトであった。中隊の主な任務の一つは、日本と韓国の間の海上を監視し、韓国からの密入国者や不法移民を抑止することでした。日本は韓国からの移民に対して非常に敏感であった（そして今でもそうである）。飛行中隊はしばしば4の字型に編隊を組んで飛行していました。

 美保上空で数字の「４」の形をした飛行隊の航空機。写真提供。Mバラン大尉via Jagan Pillarisetti

簡単な仲間意識

インド中隊は RAF 中隊と並んで配備されており、スポーツでもよく対戦していた。北米の P-51 マスタングスを装備したオーストラリア空軍の中隊も、定期的に射撃訓練のために三保に来ていた。オーストラリア英連邦進駐軍の中隊には、1953 年まで岩国に留まり、岩国から飛び出して朝鮮戦争に参加した中隊も含まれていた。

 食事中のインド人と（おそらく）オーストラリア人英連邦進駐軍の隊員たち。写真提供 故CHLディグビー中佐の家族

個人的な逸話によると、オーストラリア人はインド人と仲良くしていたようです。英国インド空軍は同じ建物の中にあったが、RAFとは別の食堂を持っていた。オーストラリア空軍の職員はRAFの食堂に配置されていました。しかし、おそらく、彼らの味覚がすでにある程度先を行っていたことを示しているのか、多くの人がインド人の食堂で食事をしたり、余暇を過ごしたりすることを選んだのである。

戦隊は1946年から1947年までの冬の間、美保で過ごした。日本の冬は非常に寒く、美保はそのシーズンの3ヶ月間雪に覆われていた。インド空軍は、先見の明のある兵站担当官が、インド空軍の車両の車輪用のチェーンを持参し、雪の中を走行できるようにしていた。しかし、インド空軍はチェーンを持ってこなかったので、インド空軍にチェーンを借りるように頼んだ。中隊員は近くのゲレンデでスキーも試した。

 美保近郊のゲレンデでスキーに挑戦する中隊の若手パイロット、セシル・ディグビー士官。写真提供 故CHLディグビー中佐の家族

春になると、日本の有名な桜の花が咲き、時折の訪問者や旅行にも出かけるようになりました。中隊員は東京（英連邦進駐軍の隊員が市内で最も豪華なホテルに宿泊していた）や広島にも行くことができた。当時は放射線被曝の心配はなかったようだ。進駐軍関係者と日本人との交際は制限されていたが、逸話や写真を見る限り、多少の交流はあったようだ。最初の連合国の植民地の一つで、独立を目前にした人々が、敗戦でまだ茫然自失の国の人々と出会い、戦後の新しい世界で自分の居場所を探していたというのは興味深いことだったかもしれない。

戦隊は1947年7月まで日本に滞在した。出国の直前、アメリカからの急な要請を受け、アメリカの独立記念日を祝う大規模なフライパストに参加することになりました。アメリカ人の要請を受けた時には、中隊の航空機は「抑制」されていました。つまり、エンジンオイルを防錆油に交換したり、排気やバルブを密閉したり、保管の準備をしたりしていました。中隊員は24時間以内に十数機の航空機を抑制解除しなければならなかった。これは決して楽な作業ではありませんでした。

フライパストのために、参加機は東京郊外の米軍基地、木更津に飛んだ。実際のフライパスト当日は、多くの航空機がタキシングをしたり、空中に飛び立ったりしていた。混雑した誘導路で離陸許可を待つ航空機の列の中で、中隊の航空機の1機が安全限界を超えて過熱した。パイロットは賢明にも離陸を試みなかったが、無線で自分の意思を発表しなかった--その日はすべての無線機が忙しかったのだろう。フライパストから戻った後、残りの飛行隊は彼が行方不明であることに気付き、捜索隊を組織し、最終的には足を上げてスピットファイアと一緒にパーキングベイで彼を発見した。

トロフィーと過去の物語
日本から持ち帰った戦利品の中には、特攻用に設計された横須賀「桜花」の神風機の見本がある。現在、デリーのインド空軍博物館に展示されている。

インド空軍第４中隊は現在も現役で、独立後のインド空軍のほぼ全ての作戦に参加しており、１９７１年にはパキスタン降伏のきっかけとなったダッカの政府庁舎を襲撃したことで有名である。現在はMiG-21バイソンを使用している。日本での時間の後、中隊の司令官の2人は、独立後のインド空軍の航空元帥になった。飛行司令官の一人であるヌール・カーンはパキスタン空軍の曹長になった。

中隊が日本で過ごした時間は驚くべき経験であり、参加した退役軍人たちはその思い出を大切にしている。しかし、歴史的経験を記録したり反映させたりすることはほとんど行われておらず（他の参加国のほとんどは歴史家や学者に記録を作成させていた）、退役軍人のほとんどは今では消え去ってしまった。インド空軍の退役軍人のブログには、ごく一部の体験談が残っている。その結果、文化研究、軍事史、平和維持、社会史、社会学、その他多くの学問分野の博士論文や書籍に多くの学びの材料を簡単に提供することができたであろう国家間の出会いは、インターネット上の数千語の個人的な回想録に残されてしまった。ホルヘ・サンタヤナは「自分の過去を覚えていない者は、それを繰り返すことを禁じられている」と言っている--確かに、誰も世界大戦を繰り返したいとは思わないだろう。

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米軍鳥取情報部ニシミ少尉の回顧

米軍鳥取情報部ニシミ少尉の回顧

（ディスカバーニッケイＨＰ）http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/resources/military/365/

In Tottori, my responsibilities in addition to officer in charge and special projects officer, were to maintain liaison with prefecture officials, mainly with the chief of police, the chief prosecutor and occasionally with the governor, and also with our Military Government team and a British unit which was stationed in Tottori prefecture. Our office kept close observation of the Japanese Communist Party activities, including maintaining a dossier of its leaders, and the activities of labor unions which at that time had become very active. To help us carry out our assignment, we received daily reports from the police department. We also hired a Japanese national to translate key news items from the local press. I also developed a trusted interpreter, a former police officer, who was instrumental in developing my contacts with Japanese officials annd other leaders in the community. The assistant chief of police was a constant caller at our office and I developed a good working relationship with him. With this background we were able to furnish headquarters with full and accurate coverage of activities in our area of responsibility.

鳥取県では、担当官や特別企画官のほかに、主に警察署長、主任検事、場合によっては知事との県職員との連絡や、鳥取県に駐留していた軍政部やイギリス軍部隊との連絡を担当しました。私たちの事務所では、共産党指導部の活動や、当時活発化していた労働組合の活動を詳細に監視しました。我々が任務を遂行するのを助けるために、我々は警察から毎日報告を受けた。また、現地の報道機関からの主要なニュースを翻訳するために日本人を雇いました。また、信頼できる通訳を養成しました。元警察官で、日本政府関係者や地域の他の指導者との交流を深めるのに貢献してくれました。警察のアシスタント・チーフは私たちのオフィスでいつも電話をかけてくる人で、私は彼と良い仕事の関係を築きました。このような背景のもと、私たちの担当分野における活動を本部に十分かつ正確に伝えることができました。

Our living conditions in Tottori city were excellent. We took over a private residence where all of the staff had well furnished private quarters. All household duties were performen by indigenous personnel, including the preparation of meals. The US Army Quartermaster which made weekly trips to such remote areas as Tottori, was generous in supplying the unit with provisions (actually sufficient supplies to feed our staff and all our indigenous workers). We were provided with an adequate number of jeeps to meet all our travelling requirements. For entertainment, the army provided us with a movie projector and circulated American Movies throughout the outlying districts. We were also frequently invited to parties hosted by Japanese officials and/or community members and we, in turn, reciprocated with funds preovided by our headquarters. Of course many of these contacts also had a business purpose. We formed a baseball team and had games with some of the local teams. I spent a lot of time skiing during the winter months. There were also numerous bars and night clubs which we could visit.

鳥取市の生活環境はとても良かったです。私たちは、従業員全員が十分な家具を備えた私邸を引き継いだ。全ての家事は、食事の準備を含め、現地の職員が行った。鳥取などの辺境地を週に一度ずつ視察するアメリカ陸軍のクォーターマスターは、部隊に食料(私たちのスタッフや全ての先住民族の労働者に十分な食料を供給しています)を気前よく供給した。私たちは旅行の必要条件をすべて満たすのに十分な数のジープを提供された。娯楽のために、軍は私たちに映写機を提供し、辺鄙な地域にアメリカ映画を配布した。また、日本の政府関係者や地域社会の人々が主催するパーティーにも頻繁に招待され、本部があらかじめ用意した資金でお返しをしました。もちろん、これらの接触の多くは業務目的でした。私たちは野球チームを結成し、いくつかの地元チームと試合をした。冬の間はスキーをたくさんした。私たちが訪れることができるバーやナイトクラブもたくさんありました。