Evening star., 1946-09-01

| new TO Atsuel airport a year ago FrldaTD
TOKYO.-The empty, broken streets
stretched ahead like gateways to a de-
serted city. Only the trains were alive
filthy rickety coaches jammed with drab
and dumbly frightened people.
Among them were hundreds of de-
modified soldiers scuffling their way
home in defeat too abject for any
thought save to take food to their fami-
lies
That was Tokyo a year ago-a once
proud and boastful capital cringing at
the approach of the first foreign con-
| queror.
| The calm everything Tokyo seemed
/ ominous. Every member of the first
American occupying force flying in that
day thought of past battlefield treach-
cry, of prisoners emerging from caves
and blowing up themselves and their
captors.
what if this should BE a gigantic
doublecross?" was the one question
We came in with the Rising Sun to
extinguish the sun of conquerors as IA
| natic as any since the hordes of Islam.
| over the mighty United States Third
Fleet, riding far below on the CLASSY
sea.
The ocean nibbled with it's white teeth
at the fingers of fertile land. Past the
| green of farms unchanged for genera
| tions the planes swooped low and
| landed at Atsugi Airfeld, near Tokyo.
This was a kamikaze or suicide pilot
| base, the center of final spasm of de-
| fiance by pilots who had threatened to
shoot down the Japanese surrender en-
voys returning from the conference
with General Macarthur at Manila.
Two days before, an advance party
of Americans had landed at Atsugi
to repair its cracked and short rum
ways for transport planes of the main
headquarters force. The party had
been met by silent japanese bringing
sandwiches.
We found at Atsugi a feet of in
credibly aged automobiles and trucks,
ordered beforehand by the Americans.
The drivers stared without expression
as American soldiers greeted each other
cheerfully
Some Japanese turned away when
the American flag was run up a make
shift staff atop peeling hangar.
Planes landed and departed on split
second schedules. their occupants tum-
bling out in full battle dress. 1t was
dangerous work on the unkept field,
ringed by propellerless japanese fighter
planes originally intended as crash
dive destroyers.
But 1t seemed necessary at the time
to jam every one in on the one field,
for there were more armed Japanese
troops around Atsugi alone than in the
total original occupying force.
I wandered down a lane toward a
streetcar station on an expedition
viewed with such misgivings by the
Japanese police that they ordered an
| Interpreter to accompany and protect"
me.
We boarded a regular local electric
train to Tokyo and found standing room
in an odoriferous coach from which the
seats had been stripped to make space
for more passengers.
1t was jerky, three-hour ride to
Tokyo. Women in ugly baggy, war
time pants and demobilized soldiers
loaded with food and blankets from
their billets flowed in and out at each
station.
They banged each other-and us
with their bundles each time they turned
around but it was an impersonal bang
ing. Children cried. The stencil pyra-
mided in the heat.
The people seemed too woe-begone
for curiosity. They stared only briefly
at me. Soldiers paid little attention
to me. Some of the fierce Kempei
tai-the unscrupulous military police
looked me over with slitted eyes.
AT the stations I saw the people
plodding past, their faces masked but
their eyes betraying crushing be-
wilderment.
I passed colonel in shiny boots
and banging sword who saluted smartly.
An army private borrowed match
from me as impersonally as If I were
fellow commuter.
No one made a hostile gesture nor
an antagonistic comment.
At the Imperial Hotel, where I had
| lived before the war, things were
changed. The hotel chung feebly to
Its past comfort, but it was as patched
as 1t was proud.
Luncheon was grudging compromise
-watery barley SOUP macaroni and
bread made from coarse North China
| grain. The coffee was of undetermined
origin. 1t all was served, however, with
| the oldtime flourish to a few Americans
| and several obviously wealthy Japanese.
Outside the hotel the city was deserted
--forsaken by people who feared the
American occupation might begin like
those of Japanese troops. The city
| still was off limits.
1t was city streaked with war.
| Vast areas, burned by past firebombs,
| sprouted with rusty tin shacks. Bubble
| clogged many streets.
Whole blocks of fine Office and finan-
cial buildings remained undamaged,
however, and the Imperial Palace still
sulked behind its ancient moat
Life slowly seeped back into the city
OF the half dead and by late AFTER
noon the curious walked along the
| streets. But it was weeks before the
| gloom faded.