Stephen Harding wrote:
George Z. Bush wrote:

Stephen Harding wrote:

George Z. Bush wrote:

Stephen Harding wrote:



We ended up being stationed in Tachikawa, Japan with him for
3 years and got there via SS President Roosevelt, a President
lines luxury cruise ship (without Dad since he had to fly the
plane there)! My mother should have spoken up much earlier!]


Just out of curiosity, when were you there? I spent amost 4 years in
Japan, the last three of which were at Tachikawa.

Yeah I remember you said you were there.

We were in Tachi from ? 1962 through August 1965. My Dad was
LtCol with the 22nd TCS flying the C-124. He retired on coming
home.


After my time. I was there from '51 through '55. I was with the 344th TCS,
a tenant outfit flying C-46s. The rest of my outfit were at Brady, down near
Fukuoka (Kyushu). We moved up to Tachi in Dec. '51, when the 124s were all
grounded due to inflight generator fires. For a while, our 46s and the 54
squadron were all there was available for intra-theater traffic in and out of
Tachi. The 344th deactivated in '55 and became a Flying Training Squadron
which eventually turned our aircraft over to the Japan Air Self Defense
Force. We had the distinction of being among the very few AF people in the
world who ever flew airplanes with the Rising Sun insignia on them.

Sorry if I've rambled.....thought you might be interested in some of the
stuff that happened before your time there.

Not rambling at all! Much appreciated George.

In fact, my Dad flew out of Japan for a while during and after the
Korean War in the time frame you were in and about Tachi. Didn't
know the 124's were around in 1951.

They certainly were. Originally (before my time), the entire TCWg at Tachi was
a C-54 unit. I think they replaced three 54 squadrons with two 124 units,
obviously with no loss of airlift capability.

I was on base at the time one of the 124s crashed on the outskirts of the base,
with a loss of 129 souls. It was the worst air disaster in Japanese history up
till then. Did you ever hear anything about that one?

Were there guys flying in the squadron who flew against the Japanese?
I'd presume at least some since this was only 10 years after the war.
Must have been a weird experience for them flying aircraft with the
hinomaru markings.

It was weird, whether or not you flew against the Japanese. I know that it felt
awfully strange to me even though I had flown in Italy during WWII. It must
have been more so for those who flew in the Pacific theater.

I'll ask my mother for info as to where my father might have been
flying during the 51-55 time frame. Could be another "small world"
episode in the making!

Please do....who knows where our paths may have crossed?

George Z.