Some years back I was looking at some of the memorabilia from my fathers time in war. That would have been WW2. It isn’t a great deal of stuff, just a few miscellaneous items. One item caught my attention as it was a pamphlet of some type. The writing is all in Japanese and so I had no idea what it was exactly. Doing a minimum of research I discovered it was a pay record for a Japanese soldier. I don’t know how my father came to be in possession of that. He wasn’t a ground soldier, he was a member of an air crew in B-24 Liberators. Among his photos there is a picture of a downed Japanese airplane, perhaps that is the connection.
As I held that booklet I thought about the man that had once owned that and how his family may wonder what happened to him. I would assume he was killed in action but I don’t know that. Somehow, I don’t really remember now it was years ago, I sent that booklet to the Japanese consulate in New York City. I was hoping it could be reunited with the family. Some time passed and I did hear back from that office. The family had been located and the article returned to them. The family did not want their name known and they offered no “thank you” or anything else.
I can respect that, I wish I had a chance to explain to them how I came to have that. I would have liked to tell them I’m certain my father didn’t cause that death. I just believe he got it somehow, possibly traded for it, as a souvenir of the war. We all have to remember at that time he was just 23 years old, quite possibly scared and those type of things give you that sense of bravado. Young men engaged in a fight for life. But my father wasn’t killing anyone! He just dropped bombs on targets, doing his duty. He rarely spoke of that and there was a sadness in his eyes when he did.
I am happy that it was returned to the family and I hope they treasure that. I certainly had no need or want for that. It was a relic of a time gone by, a real person held that, hoping for the day he would go home. Probably just another young man doing his duty, doing the best he could. Did he make it home? I will never know the answer to that question. I returned what little I could. I’m not certain how I would react but I certainly hope they got some measure of closure or possibly it was even returned to the man who owned it. That’s what I like to believe anyway.
This is the front cover of that booklet. No idea what it says.
An aging man living in a confusing world. I was born and raised in East Hampton, yes “the Hamptons” but not rich, not famous and definitely not woke. These are my thoughts, my memories and my opinions. Just the stuff of the regular Joe.
Some years back I was looking at some of the memorabilia from my fathers time in war. That would have been WW2. It isn’t a great deal of stuff, just a few miscellaneous items. One item caught my attention as it was a pamphlet of some type. The writing is all in Japanese and so I had no idea what it was exactly. Doing a minimum of research I discovered it was a pay record for a Japanese soldier. I don’t know how my father came to be in possession of that. He wasn’t a ground soldier, he was a member of an air crew in B-24 Liberators. Among his photos there is a picture of a downed Japanese airplane, perhaps that is the connection.
As I held that booklet I thought about the man that had once owned that and how his family may wonder what happened to him. I would assume he was killed in action but I don’t know that. Somehow, I don’t really remember now it was years ago, I sent that booklet to the Japanese consulate in New York City. I was hoping it could be reunited with the family. Some time passed and I did hear back from that office. The family had been located and the article returned to them. The family did not want their name known and they offered no “thank you” or anything else.
I can respect that, I wish I had a chance to explain to them how I came to have that. I would have liked to tell them I’m certain my father didn’t cause that death. I just believe he got it somehow, possibly traded for it, as a souvenir of the war. We all have to remember at that time he was just 23 years old, quite possibly scared and those type of things give you that sense of bravado. Young men engaged in a fight for life. But my father wasn’t killing anyone! He just dropped bombs on targets, doing his duty. He rarely spoke of that and there was a sadness in his eyes when he did.
I am happy that it was returned to the family and I hope they treasure that. I certainly had no need or want for that. It was a relic of a time gone by, a real person held that, hoping for the day he would go home. Probably just another young man doing his duty, doing the best he could. Did he make it home? I will never know the answer to that question. I returned what little I could. I’m not certain how I would react but I certainly hope they got some measure of closure or possibly it was even returned to the man who owned it. That’s what I like to believe anyway.
This is the front cover of that booklet. No idea what it says.
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Some years back I was looking at some of the memorabilia from my fathers time in war. That would have been WW2. It isn’t a great deal of stuff, just a few miscellaneous items. One item caught my attention as it was a pamphlet of some type. The writing is all in Japanese and so I had no idea what it was exactly. Doing a minimum of research I discovered it was a pay record for a Japanese soldier. I don’t know how my father came to be in possession of that. He wasn’t a ground soldier, he was a member of an air crew in B-24 Liberators. Among his photos there is a picture of a downed Japanese airplane, perhaps that is the connection.
As I held that booklet I thought about the man that had once owned that and how his family may wonder what happened to him. I would assume he was killed in action but I don’t know that. Somehow, I don’t really remember now it was years ago, I sent that booklet to the Japanese consulate in New York City. I was hoping it could be reunited with the family. Some time passed and I did hear back from that office. The family had been located and the article returned to them. The family did not want their name known and they offered no “thank you” or anything else.
I can respect that, I wish I had a chance to explain to them how I came to have that. I would have liked to tell them I’m certain my father didn’t cause that death. I just believe he got it somehow, possibly traded for it, as a souvenir of the war. We all have to remember at that time he was just 23 years old, quite possibly scared and those type of things give you that sense of bravado. Young men engaged in a fight for life. But my father wasn’t killing anyone! He just dropped bombs on targets, doing his duty. He rarely spoke of that and there was a sadness in his eyes when he did.
I am happy that it was returned to the family and I hope they treasure that. I certainly had no need or want for that. It was a relic of a time gone by, a real person held that, hoping for the day he would go home. Probably just another young man doing his duty, doing the best he could. Did he make it home? I will never know the answer to that question. I returned what little I could. I’m not certain how I would react but I certainly hope they got some measure of closure or possibly it was even returned to the man who owned it. That’s what I like to believe anyway.
This is the front cover of that booklet. No idea what it says.
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