MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan –
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and the
beginning of the strategic partnership between the United States and Japan. In
celebration, the theme of the 2015 Bilateral Enlisted Dining Out is "70 years of
friendship."
The local bilateral relationship began in the wake of World
War II. The Japanese Imperial Navy established Misawa Air Base in 1938 as part
of a plan to strike the west coast of the continental United States with
long-range bombers. The plan never came to fruition, and Misawa remained a
sleepy outpost of the war until the U.S. Navy attacked the facility in July and
August of 1945. The August attack resulted in fires that destroyed
approximately 90 percent of the base.
The first Americans at Misawa
arrived under the leadership of Capt. Davis K. Stark, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. Stark received the task of rebuilding Misawa AB and beginning a
relationship with the local community. Initial tensions ran high in the area,
and Capt Stark restricted soldiers to the airbase facilities. Within a few
years, the bilateral relationship with the local community had improved, and by
1948, the U.S. Air Force considered Misawa AB safe enough to host families with
children.
The Korean War, which began in 1950, demonstrated the
limitations of the United States' ability to both protect Japan and conduct
combat operations in the region. As a result, U.S. leadership encouraged the
creation of an indigenous Japan self-defense force, and in 1954, the Government
of Japan established the nation's air, maritime and ground defense forces. The
first members of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force arrived at Misawa AB in
September of 1954 in preparation for Operation Sakura, the establishment of
JASDF air control and warning operations at Misawa AB.
Meanwhile, Air
Force leaders continued to build the U.S. military and Japanese civilian
partnership. In 1953, Misawa AB became the only combined military-civilian
airfield in Japan when Japan Airlines began Monday through Friday stops at the
local civilian air terminal. The base community became increasingly integrated
with the city beyond the fence as Misawa Soldiers, Airmen and families
frequented local businesses and visited sites throughout the region.
In
1952, the U.S. Air Force established the 39th Air Division at Misawa AB, which
was tasked with the command and control of all U.S. and Japanese air defense
assets in the region. In 1957, JASDF established the Japan Northern Air Defense
Force Headquarters at Misawa to facilitate combined U.S.-Japanese
operations.
Through the 1960s, the base's relationship with the local
community remained strong, and both communities increasingly relied on each
other. In July 1960, Misawa AB and City firemen joined together to fight a fire
that destroyed 14 buildings near the City Hall. In the wake of the fire, the
base community began collecting food and clothing to assist the 24 Japanese
families displaced by the fire.
In January 1966, a cooking fire in a
Japanese home near the front gate resulted in the destruction of 440 homes in
the city's central business district. Word of the fire quickly spread across
base, and approximately 700 U.S. and Japanese military personnel left their duty
stations to assist in rescue efforts. Remarkably, there were no Japanese
fatalities; city leaders attributed this fact to the rapid assistance of
military personnel. Only two U.S. Airmen were hospitalized and released as a
result of injuries received while entering burning buildings to rescue
civilians.
Operational cooperation between Japanese and American fighter
aircraft have been a constant feature of Misawa AB since the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1978, JASDF's 3rd Air Wing relocated to Misawa AB bringing with it the 8th
Tactical Fighter Squadron; the 3rd Air Wing also assumed command of the 3rd
Tactical Fighter Squadron, which had arrived at Misawa in December 1971. Eight
months later, in November, 1978, Misawa AB hosted the first Exercise Cope
North. This joint exercise involved Dissimilar Air Combat Tactics scenarios
between aircraft from the 3rd Air Wing from Misawa, the 3d Tactical Fighter Wing
from Clark AB, Philippines, and the 2nd Air Wing from Chitose AB on Hokkaido.
It marked the first full-scale joint aerial exercise between the U.S. Air Force
and JASDF.
In September 1981, and in celebration of the bilateral
relationship, base leadership unveiled the F-86 static display at Risner Circle
during the 2nd Annual Combined Japan-U.S. Air Show. The aircraft had served
with both U.S. Air Force and JASDF military forces, and the static display
featured U.S. markings on the port and JASDF markings on the starboard sides.
Today, the USAF-JASDF F-86 stands as a reminder of the strength of the local
bilateral friendship.
On June 6 of this year, Misawa AB will host a
Bilateral Enlisted Dining Out at the Tohoku Enlisted Club Ballroom to celebrate
70 years of friendship. Social hour begins at 6 p.m. For ticket information
please contact Master Sgt. Kimona Woodard at kimona.woodard@us.af.mil or Master
Sgt. Thomas Capaldo at thomas.capaldo@us.af.mil. The Dining Out organizers are
Master Sgts. Simorrah Majors and Kevin Wasiewski.