This is the fourth chapter in a journey from Phoenix, N.Y. to Yamagata, Japan. It begins in 1946, the war was over and allied troops were being stationed there to insure an orderly transition from an ancient feudal system to democracy.

The original intent of this treatise was to compare the status of male high school graduates of the forties with those of today. Basically pointing out that youths of the earlier era had little choice of what their immediate future would hold as the draft was still in place. The nation was learning that the war may be over but a new one was beginning to evolve, the cold war.

Last week’s episode began with my arrival to the docks of Yokohama. Graphic evidence of the damage the air raids had caused was visible from the moment we entered the bay and proceeded on into the dock.

After docking we were moved to an Army depot, processed, and boarded trains bound to our respective units. My destination was to the north of the port of entry to the mountains of Yamagata Prefecture.

I do not recall how long it took the train to get there but the trip was far from boring. The passenger cars were austere compared to those in the states. The seats were basic and practically devoid of padding. I soon learned that the railroad was unquestionably the major form of travel. At every station hordes of passengers descended on the cars exiting and entering through every existing entrance including windows. Our cars carried only soldiers since the official policy of the military was there was to be no fraternization with the Japanese citizens as a whole.

Rural expanses proved to be much more interesting to me than the settled areas. I was not expecting, after my initial viewing of every day life, to find the rural areas anywhere near as advanced as the US’s. They were primitive compared to the rural area I grew up in. One difference was that every tillable inch of fertile land was being utilized. The use of mechanized vehicles was totally nonexistent and the further north we traveled the greater the divide became between the standards of living.

I was struck by the evidence of poverty compared to what was considered poverty level in the US. The lack of mechanization was not only limited to agricultural projects but, across the board, to all types of construction. Proportionately a greater percentage of laborers, both men and women, took the place of machines than in the states.

Yamagata turned out to be a small city compared to those the railroad passed through on the trip from Yokohama. It was located at the base of a mountain range not unlike our Adirondacks. The weather was similar, with cold and snow. The mountain tops were covered with spruce and fir. The roads were narrow and winding mostly dirt. There were very few motor vehicles. I saw 30’s era Ford taxies powered by wood burners mounted on the rear bumpers. The valleys were level with fields of sweet potatoes, rice and all kinds of other garden vegetables.

I assumed that we would be quartered in camps and barrack’s the same as we were in the states. Instead schoolhouses were used to house us. We were housed eight men to a room. The bathrooms were located in the locker room adjacent to the gym. We mustered in the gym and did calisthenics there for an hour every morning. We even had a barber shop staffed by a Japanese barber. He was kept busy because regulation hair length was only equal to the thickness of your finger.

We had gone through twenty weeks of basic training back in the states and immediately started twenty-six more weeks of advanced training. The physical training was rigorous since we were destined for airborne training in both parachute and glider operations. We ran everywhere we went on foot. Our unit was a 105 MM Howitzer battalion with each battery consisting of six howitzers. The Howitzers were special models designed for transport in gliders. I took my training in the last glider class as they were discontinued for use at the end of the training.

The time went by very fast as we were kept busy with one advanced training session after another. I have often said I wouldn’t give a cent to go through it again but would not take a million for the experience. One could easily write a book about the average military enlistment and it is hard to do it justice in four columns. I will end this narrative in next week’s column with my thoughts on the Japanese people and what I gained by my role in the military occupation.