June 2

An afternoon at Carlos Creek Winery . . .

[But first, a visit from our Canada goose families . . . ]

[Then out to the winery for a beautiful Sunday afternoon with the Salty Dogs . . . ]

[A quick visit to the Northmen Brewing Co., scheduled for a June 15 opening . . . ]

[Then back to the performance area where the Super was holding fort . . . ]

[‘Twas such a lovely day we spent the whole afternoon there for the 4-hour gig . . . ]

[And afterwards, joined the half the band w/spouses at Interlachen for dinner . . . ]

For your dining and dancing pleasure . . . 

[Annie, Greg, Erik, and Tom . . . ]

[The hats were in memory of Leon Redbone . . . at least that’s what we told them . . . ]

Until we meet again . . . 

It’s easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.  ~  Johann Sebatian Bach

Up Next:  Dunno

June 2

Going home . . . 

[There ultimately comes a time when it’s time to go home.  Surprisingly, it’s an event met with mixed emotions.  These are peope with whom you have spent the past 18 months – at a place that’s been pretty darn nice.  But after that much time, island (or in our case, “rock”) fever also sets in.  I know it’s happened to people who have lived in Hawaii.  You ultimately feel isolated and trapped in a small space.  Here the boys are gathered at Kadena AFB to say good-bye to Lu Scronce (from North Carolina, in dress greens on the far right) and, I assume, me . . . ]

[And on the way home I get to pay my first visit to Alaska . . . ]

[And at the Anchorage airport – it felt great to step out into cold air for the first time in a year and a half . . . ]

[Looks like a famous Alaska bush plane . . . ]

[The snow-capped mountains were beautiful . . . ]

[The cars really date the picture . . . ]

[In 1955 the ‘San Francisco Port of Embarkation’ became the ‘U.S. Army Transportation Terminal Command Pacific’, and the Oakland Army Base became the Oakland Army Terminal. In 1964 the headquarters of the command moved from Fort Mason to the Oakland Army Terminal, and in 1966 the terminal was renamed back to the Oakland Army Base. During the Vietnam War, Oakland Army Base served as a major transit station for U.S. soldiers en route to and returning from all deployment locations in East Asia—such as Vietnam and Korea. The base decommissioned on September 30, 1999 (Wikipedia).  And this is how we were greeted there when we were honorably discharged from the service.  Separation happens when you reach your ETS (Expiration of Term of Service) date . . . ]

[And now leaving the Bay Area for . . . ]

[Las Vegas?  Yes!  Remember Vegas from the early ’70’s?]

[Hard to believe all these casinos, famed in song and story, no longer exist . . . ]

[And all the stars from 50 years ago – makes one feel really old . . . ]

[At this time Ceasar’s Palace was the numero uno at the end of the Strip . . . ]

[What was the “biggest” then would be dwarfed by what’s there now . . . ]

[And, of course, the desert.  Hey, you’re gonna run out of water!!]

[Circus Circus was pretty new at this time . . . ]

[Fortunately, as a returning GI, I had no money for gambling, or for seeing shows . . . ]

[Now the real reason I stopped here on the way home.  This is where Grandma and Grandpa Obert wintered for many years . . . ]

[The end of Vegas in daylight . . . ]

[To the more famous Vegas by night . . . ]

[And then after all that excitement, I arrived back home.  Home then was with Mom and Dad Obert in Arlington, Virginia.  After gathering my resources, I was soon back to Mpls. to finish my degree at the ‘U’ under the GI bill.  Little did I realize at this time that I would later be back in the D.C. area for my extinguished career as federal bureaucrat and who would some day retire back to dear ole Alex . . . ]

[Must have been March 7, Mom’s 49th birthday . . . ]

[And with her favorite son, Baron . . . ]

[A Happy Birthday toast!  Baron thinking, “Where’s mine?”]

[Brother Chris, then 19, sporting his Manson look . . . ]

[Brother Cam, then 17, helps Mom read her birthday cards . . . ]

[Then photo bombs their smooch . . . ]

[Dad always bought Mom’s clothes – she was never much interested in shopping . . . ]

[Dad sporting some rather exotic sideburns . . . ]

[OK, Natalia, get cracking on these scrap books!]

[All worn out from the day’s excitement, Dad usurps my papasan chair . . . ]

[A final tour of the nation’s capital before returning to Minnesota.  Beginning with the Smithsonian Castle on the mall . . . ]

[The Washington Monument . . . ]

[The Capitol . . . ]

[The Capitol dome . . . ]

[Looking down the Mall from the Capitol steps . . . ]

[And again, a classic scene . . . ]

[Ending in the National Gallery of Art, which amazingly turned out to be kitty-corner from my long time place of employment, the Department of Labor.]

[This wraps up our two-year exposition of the life and times of soldier Obert.  Hope you enjoyed, or at least endured, the tour.  Say goodnight, Dick!]

I can resist everything except temptation.  ~  Oscar Wilde

Up Next:  Only the devil knows

May 31

Saying good-bye . . . 

[Of course, in the military people are moved all the time.  Okinawa was an 18 month tour of duty.  After 18 months you moved on to a different duty station . . . or you were discharged and went home.  Whenever somebody left, friends would see them off at the airport, which you now know from your readings was Kadena AFB.  Here I’m saying good-bye to my first hang-around-with buddy, Wayne Coleman . . . ]

[April 1971 . . . ]

[And, unfortunately, as often happens – this was the last time I saw him . . . ]

[A Lockheed C-5A, virtually brand new at this time.  The first C-5A was delivered to the USAF on 17 December 1969.  The C-5’s first mission was on 9 July 1970, in Southeast Asia during the Vietnma War.  C-5s were used to transport equipment and troops, including Army tanks and even some small aircraft, throughout the later years of the US action in Vietnam.  In the final weeks of the war, prior to the Fall of Saigon, several C-5s were involved in evacuation efforts (Wikipedia).]

[A group of three going home.  I remember all 4 guys here, but Tom Morris on the right is the only name I remember . . . ]

[April 1971 . . . ]

[THE SIGN, everybody’s goal to be photographed here . . . ]

[The motorcycle guy, whose name of course I can’t remember, had just greeted some deplaned then known as stewardesses . . . ]

[Now we’re saying good-bye to the Billy Crystal look-alike guy.  I think both he and motorcycle guy were with from New York or Jersey . . . ]

[May 1971 . . . ]

[The bro hug long precedes modern times . . . ]

[Sayonara to you . . . ]

[The plane to take us home . . . ]

[The Vietnam transfers are going home . . . ]

[May 1971 . . . ]

[Bill Petronus, guy in the middle, and Terry Bess depart the barracks for the last time . . . ]

The above photo reminds it’s time for some editorial comments.  Lest you think duty on Okinawa was all peaches and cream – well, it was, most of the time.  But the above photo reminds of the times we went through water rationing.  In such times, after eating, you went outside and dunked your metal eating tray in a series of  garbage cans filled with heated water.  And in such times, there could go several days between showers (meaning no beaches, unless you enjoyed being covered in a salty crust).  We called Okinawa, “The Rock,” because literally that’s what it was.  There was no natural water other than what could be collected in rain water reservoirs.  So, during the dry season, water could become scarce.  There were also typhoon seasons.  I believe I previously reported that during a typhoon we would be stationed at our work site until it was over – some times a couple of days.  And finally, like all operations, we were always dependent on available personnel.  There were times when the number of people leaving exceeded the number of new people coming in.  During those times, which I recall happened several times, we worked 12-hours shifts, 7 days a week.  Now we return you to our story . . . 

[And sayonara to these guys . . . ]

[And then to my roommate, Webbo, lost forever in the sands of time . . . ]

[And then so long to my life-long buddy, Roy . . . ]

[I remember the other, but of course not his name . . . ]

[Webbo and Roy, December 1971 . . . ]

As long as we’re saying good-bye, we’ll wrap up this portion from where we started – the Free The Army show presented in Part I in black-and-white.  I don’t recall how I have identical photos in both color and black-and-white . . .

[I’m moving Donald Sutherland to the last photo – the photo that will be featured in the Facebook posting . . . ]

When you join another village, follow the rules.  ~  Japan idiom

Up Next:  Sayonara Okinawa

May 28

No matter where you live, sometimes you just have to go to town.  For the GI’s in Sukiran, “town” was either Koza (now Okinawa City), 6 miles north of where we were stationed in Futema, or Naha, the capital of the Ryukyu Islands, 7 1/2 miles south of Futema . . .

[Okinawa [nee Koza] is the second-largest city in Okinawa, following Naha, the capital city. It is located in the central part of the island, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Naha.  As of December 2012, the city has an estimated population of 138,431 and a total area of  49.00 km².  The city of Okinawa was the site of the Koza riot on the night of December 20, 1970 [yes, I was there then but all were confined to base].  Roughly 5,000 Okinawans came into violent contact with roughly 700 American MPs.  Approximately 60 Americans were injured and 75 cars were burned.  The Koza riot was considered a symbol of Okinawan anger after 25 years of US military occupation. The riot was unexpected, and strained the ongoing negotiations on the end of the United States administration of Okinawa.  The city of Okinawa was founded on April 1, 1974 with the merger of Koza and Misato (Wikipedia)].

[Of course the above photo could be from Division Street in St. Cloud, but the sign below shows where we actually were in relation to the rest of the world . . . ]

[The strip through Koza.  On the left is the Mikimoto Pearls store.  Lest you did not know Mikimoto discovered the way to make consistent cultured pearls – as an irritant for the oysters, he inserted shell fragments from Mississippi River clams.  Amazing, eh?  I went back to Japan’s main islands about 10 years later and bought a Mikimoto single pearl necklace for the significant ladies of my life . . . ]

[“The Rievers” with Steve McQueen was a current flick at the time so Okinawa was getting first run movies.  This and following photos from on high are from the rooftop of the East & West Gift Shop . . . ]

[A neighborhood . . . ]

[When you come to the fork in the road, take it . . . ]

[Big city life, looking uptown . . . ]

[And downtown, or vice-versa . . . ]

[And under the bridge, or overpass . . . ]

[And down the side streets . . . ]

[And the mighty East & West Gift Shop, from whence all the overhead shots were taken in this and other postings . . . ]

[If you remember old Las Vegas, you should remember the Dunes Hotel marquee covered here mid-photo . . . ]

[Long before the bridge to nowhere, we had the highway to nowhere.  We are now in Naha. Naha, Naha-shi, is the capital city of the Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture in Japan.  As of December 2012, the city has an estimated population of 321,467 and a total area of 38.99 km².  The modern city was officially founded on May 20, 1921.  Before that, Naha had been for centuries one of the most important and populous sites in Okinawa.  Naha is the political, economic and education center of Okinawa Prefecture. In the medieval and early modern periods, it was the commercial center of the Ryukyu Kingdom (Wikipedia).]

[Where the nowhere highway came from . . . ]

[Pedestrian walkways over busy city streets . . . ]

[Now here’s some kinda rush hour traffic!  Probably why we seldom visited Naha . . . ]

[You know you’re in a big city when . . . ]

[If you’re looking to rekindle your passion for Major League Baseball, the answer may be 6,000 miles away in beautiful Japan, where Nippon Professional Baseball, the country’s highest level of pro ball, will have you viewing America’s pastime in a whole new light. I started my journey in Tokyo, setting out for Jingu Stadium, less than half an hour by train from Shinjuku Station. (English is used throughout Tokyo’s transit system, making travel a breeze.)  Perhaps most surprising: Japanese baseball fans did not stare at their smartphones during the game or mill about the stadium looking for distractions.  A particularly enthusiastic young boy next to me remained seated for all nine innings, cheering, singing and even offering me a few of his squid snacks. There was no booing or yelling at the umpires — even when a call was reversed against the home team — and the crowd roared in delight when a batter laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt.  ~  Gregory Leporati, LA Times, 2-14-19]

[The rain, the park, and other things . . . ]

[As the sign notes, obviously a destination site.  I don’t recall ever going in?]

[Major construction underway . . . ]

[The ever popular benjo ditch!  In case you’re not familiar with the term “benjo ditch,” it is a shallow, gently-sloping ‘ditch’ that was once used to funnel water and human waste from the cities in Okinawa (and Japan) out to the fields for use as fertilizer  (http://mickmc.tripod.com/benjoditches.html).]

[Meanwhile, back at the baseball game, we have a catcher without any protective equipment, as well as a coach or bystander in the direct line of fire?]

[City life, again reminiscent of St. Cloud’s Division Street . . . ]

[My car parked next to the barber shop, though I’m sure I wasn’t getting a haircut.  Come to think if it, I don’t remember where or when getting haircuts there?  And also on the street, a female gaijin.  Gaijin is a Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese. The word is composed of two kanji: gai (外, “outside”) and jin (人, “person”) (Wikipedia).]

[A blurred Tom Morris in the foreground, as I recall haggling over the price for a chess set?]

[And wrapping up here with the previously posted photo from the top of the East & West Gift Shop . . . ]

Eight-tenths full keeps the doctor away.  ~  Japanese idiom

Up Next: Just about done with Okinawa

May 27

Leave, a/k/a, R & R – when most stationed in the Far East would visit Japan, Thailand, South Korea, or Australia.  I, however, had not been home in 18 months, so in August 1971 that’s where I went . . . 

[When you traveled, best to go in uniform.  Sometimes you could “hitch” a ride on a military flight or you could fly commercial stand-by at half price . . . ]

[So, here I am, in my pushing the limits of an appropriate army haircut, in Kadena AFB waiting for my “ride” home . . . ]

[And we’re airborne . . . ]

[I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now . . . ]

[America!  Mt. Rainer, I believe . . . ]

[The Cascades . . . ]

[Wing clearance brings Rainier back into view . . . ]

[I hadn’t seen snow in a year and a half . . . ]

[Western Washington, the arid side . . . ]

[And here, I believe, Mt. Helens (9 years before the eruption) and Mt. Adams have joined Rainer for the photo . . . ]

[Somewhere in Minneapolis with high school classmates – Little Mayo on the left was already discharged from his army tour in Vietnam; Professor Doctor Colonel Tom graduated from West Point in 1969 so he may have been home on leave from Germany?]

[So, we went to a Twins game.  Remember Catfish Hunter for the Oakland A’s?]

[Decent seats, eh?  Well, it wasn’t exactly a full house at the old Met.  But weren’t both of these teams really good at the time?]

[Sir Rodney Carew . . . ]

[Prince Tony Oliva, best hitter I’ve ever seen live . . . ]

[Jim Kaat hurling for the Twinks . . . ]

[And the baron, Harmon Killebrew . . . ]

[And I stop by the U of M campus . . . ]

[The view from the pedestrian bridge over Washington Avenue on the U’s mall.  We’re on the East Bank of the campus looking across the Mississippi to the West Bank.  The two buidings middle left are the Social Science Tower (SST), where I had most of my classes, and the Business Adminstration Tower (BAT) – they were almost brand new in my day.  The building on the right is the Foshay Tower in downtown Minneapolis . . . ]

[In front of Coffman Memorial Union, which would be just off the left side of the above photo.  The Mpls. skyline in the day was pretty much the IDS Building, on the left, and the Foshay Tower . . . ]

[Dad and little brother Cam in front of Coffman Union, whose name recently has come under review (how ’bout Wellstone Union?).  Dad was dressed for a meeting with some of his old journalism professors (as I recall?) . . . ]

[(Cam thinking, “Oh, to have that 16-year old waistline again?”)]

[We arrived in the folks mobile, the folks getting out of such mobile, at Grandma and Grandpa Obert’s house in north Minneapolis, on the grid on Humboldt Avenue, where Dad grew up . . . ]

[The grandparents’ back yard.  Gramps was a rose gardener, par excellence . . . ]

[Dad also was a rose gardener, Cam is a gardener, and I, at least, ignored those family DNA patterns!]

[A beauty!]

[In Minnesota, Gramps always had to bend his roses over and then cover them for the winters . . . ]

[That’s one tall rose bush!!]

[Gramps was retired, but he supplemented their social security as a part-time security guard at a nurses’ dormitory.  His employer told him he had to wear a gun.  Gramps would have none of that!  (We’re a multi-generation no guns family.)  They told him he couldn’t have the job if he didn’t.  The compromise was he would have the gun, but with no bullets – probably made it more dangerous for him . . . ]

[He had to monitor the dorm parking lot at night.  If saw some boy-girl activities going on inside a car, he’d go up and shine a flashlight in the window.  Then he’d walk away giggling.  That was Gramps . . . ]

[John, Cam, Natalia, Evelyn, and Chet in the front yard . . . ]

[Cam lovingly embracing his mother . . . ]

[We’re heading up . . . ]

[Along the Mississippi River to . . . ]

Alexandria

[Gee, but it’s great to be back home.  Home is where I wanna be . . . ]

[Above, Lake Geneva; below Donatelli’s Geneva Beach Resort where we stayed . . . ]

[Canoeing on the lake . . . ]

[College friends Libby and Steve Hansen (though I can’t remember if they were married yet) joined us for an overnight . . . ]

[Long time residents of South Minneapolis . . . ]

[The resort from the lake.  My guess – I’m in a boat . . . ]

[The landing, i.e., public access on Lake Victoria, in the neighborhood where we Obert kids grew up in Victoria Heights . . . ]

[The view from the landing toward the east side of the lake . . . ]

[Our neighborhood ball park and playground . . . ]

[When we first moved here, 1950, it was all dirt roads.  At this time, the pavement ended before it got to the lake landing . . . ]

[Heading past the landing . . . ]

[Up the big hill, which provided for long speedy sled rides in the winter . . . ]

[6th Avenue back in the day carried all way to the highway – then US 52, now MN 27. This is the duplicate Runestone, then on the busy side of the city – now it’s 4 miles from the interstate so it doesn’t get much action anymore . . . ]

[Victoria Heights from MN27 . . . ]

[The first entrance in Victoria Heights from MN27.  I don’t believe the streets were named yet . . . ]

[Our old house, the 2nd story was added in the early 60’s.  Laura and Larry McCoy bought the house from us in the 1967, and lived there until very recently when they downsized . . . ]

[Up a slight hill from our old house to a view of the lake landing and our ball park . . . ]

[Looking back from the where the previous photo was shot.  Every house seemed to have 3br’s, one bath, and an average of four kids.  Everybody literally knew everyone else . . . ]

[Down to the park . . . ]

[The railroad tracks across the highway from our neighborhood.  Parents didn’t want their kids to play on them – so, of course, we all did . . . ]

[From the railroads tracks looking into Victoria Heights . . . ]

[Jefferson Senior High School from which I graduated in 1965.  It no longer exists . . . ]

[Big Old, then at the intersection of 3rd and Broadway . . . ]

[Ole was later moved down by Lake Agnes (a block and a half to the left on this photo), as drivers wearied of swerving around tourists who would run out on the street for photo ops . . . ]

[Photo op night at the resort.  The folks do not appear to be dressed for a fish fry . . . ]

[Dad back playing at the Alexandria Golf Club.  He would get a month’s worth of  vacation time every year – every year he and Mom would go back to Alex from D.C. for the whole month of August.  His schedule had to pretty much coincide with that of Congress, and Congress always shuts down for August . . . ]

[With Dick Dyke, the general manager of the Park Region Echo when Dad was the editor, and Dick’s son Perry who was, and is, a very good golfer, and now a retired TV sportscaster from Mankato . . . ]

[Arrowwood almost 50 years ago.  In a way, it doesn’t seem like it could be that old?]

[Dad doing a little work while on vacation . . . ]

[He could see it better if I used the flash . . . ]

[Looks like it’s time to leave . . . ]

[Them to Arlington, VA, and me to . . . ]

Back to Okinawa

[Back again over the Rockies . . . ]

[Or Sierra Nevadas . . . ]

[Looks like into L.A.  Then the EPA was invented . . . ]

[Next stop, Honolulu . . . ]

[My first visit to the Aloha State . . . ]

[Hey!  There’s Diamond Head . . . ]

[I had an overnight in a Tokyo hotel before the final leg to Okinawa.  This night will also be remembered as the first time I saw naked people on TV.  No, not porn (unless naked people alone are considered porn), but there was a Japanese film maker at the time who would choose various spots to shoot hundreds of naked people.  On this night, on my TV, they showed hundreds of naked people running out into a baseball stadium . . . ]

[Looks like the final leg into Okinawa.  I thought I would have one more year of service when I landed – little did I know I would be leaving in six months (February) and eventually work in Washington, D.C. . . . ]

[Could this be all the Ryukyuan Islands?]

Tomorrow’s winds will blow tomorrow.  ~  Japanese idiom

Up Next:  More Japanese idioms

May 25

It seems somehow appropriate that on this holiday weekend I’ve finally been blogging my life and times as a soldier on Okinawa almost 50 years ago . . . 

[Fun at the winery with Jeff James and several thousand of our close personal friends.]

[We left Jeff a little early to watch the Gopher softball team win its way to the college world series . . . ]

[That night was the first time we’ve had late evening sunshine since 1923. The lighting around Lake H2Obert was just lovely . . . ]

May 26

Saturday was a gorgeous day. We spent 3 hours with Josie, the first outside performance at Carlos Creek Winery this season, beginning at 10:00 am for the Awake the Lakes 5K and 10K races.  This was not the first photo op of the day, but why not lead off the day with Josie doing one of our favorites songs.  And Budapest is one of our favorite cities – but now Hungary is being ruled by  white nationalist, so . . . 

[But early that morning, “the fog crept in on little cat feet.” Then mom, dad, and the babies returned again for breakfast . . . ]

[And again for brunch . . . ]

[On a calm, sunny morning, the lake mirrors its surroundings . . . ]

[Then, it was off to the winery.  Apparently there were 150 more competitors running this year, so there was quite a crowd when we arrived.  Josie was already performing.]

[The Northmen Brewery grand opening is scheduled for June 15 . . . ]

[The background building is where the wine is made; the corner of the building on the left is the tasting room . . . ]

[Can you spot the Super in our front row, box seats?]

[The Super shooting her “Missing U at . . . ” photos for Facebook . . . ]

[The Super’s photos of Josie . . . ]

[Not to be outdone, I took some from my videoing position . . . ]

[She sang Landslide.  I mentioned to her that Stevie Nicks turned 71 on this day, making her a mere 8 months younger than me . . . ]

[We left (the brewery on the left, tasting room on the right) hoping to pay our first visit to The Lure for lunch, but at 2:00 the place was packed. So we went on down to the golf club for a lovely lunch outside . . . ]

[And here we are at the golf club where we spent enough time for me to get a sunburn.]

[Then back home to spend the lovely late afternoon watching the neighbor using a long pole to fend off floating islands from crashing into our dock . . . ]

May 27

And today, because it is the holiday, the weather is foul making it another perfect day for blogging, and not much else . . .

The only reason why we ask other people how their weekend was is so we can tell them about our own weekend.  ~  Chuck Palahniuk

Up Next: Trying to finish Okinawa

May 24

Where we lived and worked . . . 

[So, by now I suppose you’re wondering what we really did there? WWII had been over for 25 years – why did we still have so many troops on Okinawa?  Well, for one thing, when you stay that long you become part of the local economy . . . ]

[The shot above and the shot below are taken at the end of the entrance/exit to USASTRATCOM Long Lines Battalion, where we communication guys worked.  Looking up the street (top) you can see the headquarters campus for the United States Army for all of Okinawa.  Well down the street in the other direction is Fort Jiro.  And when I saw this again, I now realize I mislabeled it some previous blog.  Anyway, Fort Jiro was a local private enterprise that we knew mostly as the bakery (1st floor).  Also on the street in both directions were local businesses that basically existed to serve the Army’s presence here.  Hence, our presence, while not desired by the locals, created jobs . . . ]

[The street closer to our entrance gate . . . ]

[Typical of what you’ll find immediately outside of any U.S. military base anywhere in the world – the ubiquitos pawn shop.  Our communications center is just off this photo to the right.  GI’s are usually very young, aren’t making a lot of money, don’t know how to manage their money, so every month they come up short of cash before pay day so hock their guitar, trumpet, gold watch, whatever, and then “buy” it back on payday . . . ]

[The work place – up the hill to the guard post, show your ID, and then down into the complex . . . ]

[But first, a little shopping on our strip.  At an art gallery, with Wayne and Redlands, whom you’ve met in previous posts . . . ]

[They would expect you to barter in the local economy.  I never did, made me feel uncomfortable.  I’m not sure if Redlands did here, but both sides seem happy with the result . . . ]

[Home, James!  Ye ole Daihatsu provided yeoman’s service while we were there.  I’m not sure how we got his artwork in the car – let alone both him and Wayne.  But if we had encountered hunger after our shopping, we could have gone next door for a pizza . . . ]

[Back on the street that basically paralleled our military area – that’s family housing on the left . . . ]

[And here a shot into the military family housing area . . . ]

[And here looking past the family housing down into the area where the barracks were, and kind of center right specifically our area . . . ]

[Our Sukiran base area from on high . . . ]

[This is Fort Buckner, the communications center where our guys worked, from an adjacent hillside outside the compound.  The big white ball housed our satellite dish. Satellite communications were in its infancy then (wow, does that make me feel old) and was used mainly as a backup system.  Most of the communications then were by tropospheric scatter (basically bouncing communications waves off “the sky”) or by undersea cables.  We could call home, unlike most overseas GI’s, because we had the means.  It was technically “illegal,” but it was generally ignored if you didn’t abuse it.  I called home maybe 3 – 4 times in two years.  And then it was like Radar on M*A*SH – by a relay system.  You’d “call” Hawaii, have them patch you through to San Francisco, and then have them pass you through to, in my case, the Pentagon because my folks lived in Arlington, Virginia.  You knew it was OK to do then, because the receiving person in the Pentagon actually had to telephone dial my folks . . . ]

[Panning further left, the Daihatsu from which I walked up to this position for photo ops.  Right in the center is the building where I worked, right below the water reservoir above.  On the left is the guard post we saw streetside from a previous photo.  This also is the road home to our barracks . . . ]

[The satellite ball positions us as we go down the hill . . . ]

[Preceding further down the road to our barracks, I stopped about halfway down for this shot into our neighborhood . . . ]

[And turning right before the barracks to our commercial area.   You can see Fort Jiro up on the right . . . ]

[There’s our NCO Club.  I actually didn’t go there very often, applying the Woody Allen principle that I wouldn’t join any club that would have me as a member . . . ]

[And our two USASTRATCOM barracks . . . ]

[From our PX area to our upper barracks mid-center . . . ]

[The same barracks with the communications logo on the sign . . . ]

[Again, our personal supplies and entertainment area.  Judging by the looks of the grass, this is the late in the year dry period . . . ]

[Familiar sights and sounds again – “Top of the Rock” on top of the hill . . . ]

[Looking across other barracks, through the sports area, to the East China Sea . . . ]

[The movie theater is center right, and a storm is coming at us . . . ]

[A telephoto shot taken through our room’s window to the water . . . ]

[And this appears to be a drive through the neighborhood.  Places I seldom went, because I seldom needed to . . . ]

[Obviously family housing from a different vantage . . . ]

[I think this is the main army complex . . . ]

[Must have been a weekend, or a holiday . . . or a typhoon – no one’s around?]

[Even Minnesota Street is vacant . . . ]

[Just to make it easier for you to read the street name . . . ]

[And, as the sign says, United States Army Headquarters Ryukyu Island.  The natural lighting makes it look pretty impressive . . . ]

[Back through the deserted neighborhoods . . . ]

[May as well go to “the site.”  “The site” is what we called the workplace.  Microwave towers were used for intra-island communications . . . ]

[Taken from up near the guard post apparently – Fort Buckner, a/k/a, “the site” . . . ]

[And another microwave tower shot . . . ]

[The main island headquarters from our site . . . ]

[There’s are guard booth entrance . . . ]

[The work place – you may enter that door only if you have a top secret crypto clearance – or were going to clean the bathrooms . . . ]

A frog in a well does not know the great sea.  ~  Japanese idiom

Up Next:  Okinawa

May 24

Let’s go golfing . . . 

Editor’s note:  While I can certainly understand why people could get the idea that soldiers on Okinawa had to struggle between the options of going to the beach or going on geographic field trips, we occasionally would visit Awase Meadows, once the home golf course for Lee Trevino . . . 

[Nothing could be finer than to be on Okinawa in June 1971 . . . ]

[Our cute little course . . . ]

[This is Dick Frook, likely the guy who got me into golf again.  Dick was a super golfer, likely a 1 or 2-handicapper, and he was looking for guys to play with him . . . ]

[I bought my first set of golf clubs ever here, Wilson X-31’s, and started playing again for the first time since high school 6 years previous.  Luckily, I still remembered to swing as hard as I could in case I hit it . . . ]

[And this is oft previously mentioned Terry Bess, the 6’3″ football player for Purdue.  Obviously a very good athlete who could hit the ball a mile, and a golfer good enough to give Dick a run.  I was just happy to tag along for levities sake . . . ]

[The side effects of golfing here were the scenic distractions . . . ]

[And there I go, heading in a direction golfers prefer not to go . . . ]

[And here if you trend off the beaten path, you may run into a Habu (波布), a Japanese name used to refer to certain venomous snakes.  OK, I never did see on there . . . ]

[Dick checks out his flight plan . . . ]

[A real trend setter with white crew socks with black golf shoes . . . ]

[Another distraction . . . ]

[Dick bombs one . . . ]

[As you check the scorecard, there were several par 4’s the three of us could reach in one.  Yes, even me, if I could hit it straight enough . . . ]

[This one, however, looks a little long to be reached off the tee . . . ]

[Here, maybe, if you avoid the bunkers.  And remember, we were playing with wood-headed drivers in those days . . . ]

[Distraction . . . ]

[And fortunately, we weren’t stuck with the hardship of only having one course to play.  Kadena AFB was just up the road from us, and they had a golf course too . . . ]

[This was its signature hole – hit it through the gap in the “mountain” . . . ]

[Kadena was a bit more of an open course than Awase.  We usually played Awase because it was closer and it was the Army course . . . ]

[They did have the fancier club house . . . ]

[This is a round in December 1971, and we’ve picked up Ferdinand “Frendo” Suarez as our regular 4th member.  Frendo outranked us all – he was a staff sergeant (E-6), meaning he was likely career military (lifer).  He was a good guy and a lot of fun . . . ]

[The 1st tee . . . ]

[As a really good golfer, Dick could really get down on himself if he wasn’t playng well.  At least he always dressed well – the original Rickie Fowler . . . ]

[I could smack them pretty good in those days too.  But while Dick and Terry would usually hit them straight as well, mine could go all over the place . . . ]

[Fore!!  Anywhere and everywhere!!]

[I remember this guy but not his name . . . ]

[Tom Morris again, from Fridley.  Tried to find him a couple of times, but no luck . . . ]

[A good golfer always looks like he/she knows what they’re doing . . . ]

[Fore on the left!!  Looks like a pull hook . . . ]

[Yup, opening up a little quick . . . ]

[Oh-oh, Dick’s in the bunker . . . ]

[Star of stage and screen and a favorite of the group.  All the caddies there were women.  While we likely could have, we lower paid NCO’s thought them an extragance we couldn’t afford.  But Frendo was a staff sergeant, so he went first class.  His caddie we named “Hollywood.” Both for her looks, her sunglasses, and her smile (I guess that’s more than “both,” is it “troth” then?).  She always seemed to be available for Frendo.  I don’t remember if I ever heard her talk – don’t know if she understood English (though she almost certainly did).  But she was always part of the group, treated her as such, and always called her Hollywood . . . ]

[Now here’s a hole – obviously an old rice terrace.  You hoped to get your tee shot up to the 3rd terrace . . . ]

[At this time of year, things were pretty dry, the fairways a little hard . . . ]

[Frendo and I trudge up the hill with another distraction in the background . . . ]

[Dick follows his flight . . . ]

[Frendo and Hollywood . . . ]

[Don’t go right! You’ll be in Habu land . . . ]

[And yet another view . . . ]

[Sayonara to Hollywood and Frendo . . . ]

[As I recall, the house in center, on the edge of a cliff, was a GI’s who likely married and retired here . . . ]

[OK, this really is sayonara to Frendo and Hollywood . . . ]

[And this is sayonara to Awase Meadows . . . ]

Spilt water will not return to the tray.  ~  Japanese idiom

Up Next:  Okinawa

May 24

Hedo Point . . .

Time for a road trip, to the most isolated, least populated part of the island – the far north.  The island north of Yaetake Peninsula is mountainous, mountains that extend right to the waterline, there are no beaches, roads had to be carved out and at this time were not paved for the final several miles.  The island may only be 70 miles long, making it only about 50 miles from our starting point (about Ginowan on the map, what we called Futema) to the north end, but you plan for a multi-hour trip . . . 

[The team gathers for the assault. It would be a two car safari – the two guys in the little red convertible; and Webbo, Redlands, and me in the mighty Daihatsu.  Looks like a nice, comfortable January day . . . ]

[Somewhere down the road.  We pulled off for a little picnic snack at an overlook.  Webbo appreciates all the comforts of home.  It appears the design on the Pepsi can hasn’t changed in 50 years?]

[Camera wars . . . ]

[The view . . . ]

[This time we go on through the city of Nago at the base of the Yaetake Peninsula.

[Nago is a city located in the northern part of Okinawa Island.  As of December 2012, the city has an estimated population of 61,659.   Nago had always been one of the major settlements in Northern Okinawa, and a major port along with Unten.  Nago Magiri became Nago town in 1907.  Nago was upgraded to city status on August 1, 1970 with the merger of nine smaller towns and villages (Wikipedia).  Communication with the dog failed when we finally realized it probably only understood Japanese . . . ]

[Admittedly, a miniskirt shot . . . ]

[Past Nago we ran into a sugar cane harvest . . . ]

[Shots along the shoreline hugging road . . . ]

[My guess is that this is looking back at Yaetake peninsula . . . ]

[A remembered all-time favorite shot from Okinawa.  A farmer taking a smoke break along the side of the road.  Since Okinawa is a Blue Zone, this guy is probably still alive.]

[This is pretty much the entire road north of Nago, so you’ll be traveling at a top speed of about 30 mph . . . ]

[Based on about where we would be, this appears to be Izena (see map) . . . ]

[I can’t over abuse “the long and winding road” theme . . . ]

[The topography creates the need for an occasional tunnel . . . ]

[And here we are . . . ]

[Known to us as “the road eating monster” as someone painted an eye . . . ]

[The possibilities are Ogimi or Kunigama . . . ]

[We’re nearing the end of the island . . . ]

[It’s dirt road time . . . ]

[A red convertible guy up ahead of us . . . ]

[Two locals, shy models so I used a telephoto lens from afar so not quite focused, or obtrusive . . . ]

Editor’s note:  This is an example that reminds I was stationed on Okinawa a mere 25 years after the end of WWII.  The island suffered one of the longest and most brutal battles of the war.  And now it has been almost 50 years since I left the island.  A lot has changed in that time.  When I try to find places where I had been 50 years ago on the Google machine, those places are hard to identify.  Much new construction into modernity, some of the closer islands have been connected by bridges, the “skylines” have changed.  The photo below looks like a “modern” overlook by its structure, but I can’t find it now.  There isn’t much up here but this appears to no longer exist . . . 

[Raw nature up here . . . ]

[Japan, and Okinawa, are part of the Pacific Rim of Fire that extends around and down the west coasts of the Americas.  I never experienced an earthquake in the two years I was stationed there, but Hedo Point reminds this island was created by volcanic action.]

[Redlands tries to balance in the wind on volcanic rocks . . . ]

[This would be a tough climb out of the ocean . . . ]

[Magnificent wave action here . . . ]

[Natural and isolated . . . ]

[Webbo takes it all in from a comfortable perch . . . ]

[Redlands getting a little too close to the action . . . ]

[We continued on a bit around the point down the Pacific side . . . ]

[Aftermath of a fire – there were periods of drought when I was there . . . ]

[Webbo admires the cable car over the river.  The Pacific side was largely undeveloped and as I recall the road ended here.  We must have driven back the way we came and lived to fight another day . . . ]

Child of a frog is a frog.  ~  Japanese idiom

Up Next:  Okinawa

May 23

Sunsets and castles . . . 

[Just to show a soldier’s life wasn’t all golf and beaches . . . ]

[This photo, and the ones above and below, must have been the start of a roll (you remember film, don’t you?) . . . ]

[The below photo . . . ]

[So, here’s where we begin the subject matter.  Again, over the East China Sea . . . ]

[When you have a new toy (i.e., a legitimate camera), you tend to experiment with lenses and filters and stuff.  I should point out, though from the follow photo should be obvious, red filters are generally used for special effects in black and white photography.]

[Though sports fields were just down the hill from our barracks, I don’t recall ever using them.  They may have been reserved for MP’s and paratroopers who actually had to be in shape to do their jobs . . . ]

[And now a visit to Nagakusuku and its castle.  If you recall from the preceding post, Nakagusuku is just slightly north of Yonabaru . . . ]

[Nakagusuku Castle is a ‘gusuku’ [castle or fortress] in the village of Kitanakagusuku.  It is one of a number of castles built on the island of Okinawa by the Ryukyu Kingdom now in ruins. The legendary Ryukyuan commander, Gosamaru, built the fortress in the early 15th century to defend against attacks from the east by Lord Amawari of Katsuren Castle. Amawari attacked the castle in 1458 and defeated Gosamaru shortly before his own castle was attacked by Uni-Ufugusuku. The castle was visited by Commodore Matthew C. Perry in 1853, who noted that the walls seemed to be designed to absorb cannon fire. The six courtyards of this fortress with stacked stone walls make it a prime example of a gusuku. It was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2000.  It is regarded as one of the 100 most famous castles in Japan (Wikipedia).]

[This is the overgrowth around and about the castle . . . ]

[No idea what the pink structure is, or was?]

[Here’s no-name guy and Roy . . . ]

[A film crew arriving at the castle.  Did they hear we were there?]

[The castle came with a view . . . ]

[Absolutely no explanation . . . ]

[This pool likely was part of the pink building complex . . . ]

[Roy on the castle wall . . . ]

[Oh, so here is why the film crew was there . . . ]

[Aiming the camera 90 degrees to the left from the previous shot – the castle . . . ]

[But back to the MTV video.  Oh, there was no MTV then?]

[‘Twas a bit of a production number, but we couldn’t hear her from our position . . . ]

[So, for rather obvious reasons, I asked her if she wanted to be Facebook friends . . . ]

[She queried, “What’s Facebook?”  I replied, “Good point . . . “]

[Then we went cave exploring . . . ]

[The castle from the cave entrance . . . ]

[We never found out who she was because, well, we didn’t have Google in those days.]

[Next it was on to a judo tournament . . . ]

[This was obviously in the base fieldhouse . . . ]

[For good community relations, it was a tournament for the locals as well as the Americans.  A couple of local grandmas had front row seats . . . ]

[And away we go . . . ]

[Future stars practicing . . . ]

[And now more sunsets . . . ]

[These are all from mid-1971 – well before Mayor Pete was born!]

[And now boats provide nice props . . . ]

[Particularly going telephoto . . . ]

[And now for that other major celestial body . . . ]

[Maybe the MTV star’s boat?]

[Now a couple of neighborhood shots . . . ]

[A local brew, but I preferred Sapporo Dark . . . ]

[And now for more fun with the technology . . . ]

[And with Bill and Terry and their new contacts, which always seemed to be bothering them . . . ]

[This seems to be the closing photo in every file.  It works out OK, because when I post on Facebook it always presents the last photo . . . ]

If you do not enter the tiger’s cave, you will not catch its cub.  ~  Japanese idiom

Up Next:  Okinawa