Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-14
|Okinowo, ArmedU.S. Suburb
IS Hour Bomb Run From Reds
Okinawa will remain in Ameri-

Okinawa will remain in Ameri-
can hands.
How long? Nobody can say.
It depends largely on how Rus
STA and Red China decide to
twist the dials Of foreign policy.
In any case. everybody on
Okinawa, from the top brass to
the humblest Okinawa laborer,
now knows where he stands. It
was like waving a magic wand
over the island.
In terms of figures, it is eSti-
mated that half-billion dollars
already have gone into the is
land. with another half-billion
to come. New construction ap-
proximates a million dollars a
day.
The southern end of the island
already is a jig-saw Of airflelds
and landing strips. The earth
movers and steam rollers are
building still others. Remember
the description Of England as IAN
unsuitable aircraft carrier?"
Okinawa is one long flight deck.
If 1.-THE Bomb" is cached away
somewhere on Okinawa, people
don't talk about it. There are a
number of things they don't
discuss. You can draw your own
conclusions from looking at a
map of the Pacific. the airline
distances to vital spots in China
| and Russia.
But apart from the military
installations, Okinawa is an in
credible operation. viewed from
any angle.
Sergeant Coon's life is good
example.
His wife. Laura, and the chill
dren. Vicky. S. and Patsy, IN.
arrived last December 10. 1T
was the most wonderful Christ
mas We ever had. after being
separated so long"
They moved into cheerful
new house, with three bedrooms.
two baths, living room, dining
room, and a sparkling, white
enamel kitchen that looks as
though it came right out Of the
pages of slick paper magazine.
Laura Coon brought her own
linen and silver, but virtually
everything else was provided by
the Army.
All she needs at the moment,
she says. is a pair Of real twin
beds for the children. They
are sleeping on Army cots now.
The house fronts on a curving
street that follows the contours
OF the hills. It has sidewalks
and curbs. The neighborhood
is like any American suburb.
The sergeant's quarters. Incl
dentally. are the same as those
provided for officers with fami-
lies. A captain lives across the
street from MIN.
The house, including electric
ity and water. costs him 5000 a
month. The grocery bill runs
around 500 a month. his wife
said-coffee 80 cents a pound,
milk Is cents a quart. bread IS
cents a loaf. margarine 80 cents
pound.
They buy meat and vegetables
at the commissary or the "ap-
proved" vegetable markets which
sell Okinawan produce.
So Sergt. Coon is more than
reasonably certain that he is
going to save money on Oki-
nawa. He is buying an automo-
bile. The children like picnics.
Much of the shopping is done
at the PIX" post Exchange).
and if you have had some ex-
perience with PXs around the
world. hold your hat.
The one on Okinawa lists more
than 10, 900 articles. The total
inventory. said Col. Lawrence M. |
Faith of Philadelphia, runs over
81 million. The store bulges
with every conceivable item a
housewife could want. i
The colonel. an experienced
merchandiser said: I'VE bring
gowns out here from New York |
designers less than 48 hours
after they appear on Fifth Ave-
nue." He is even warehousing
children's toys for next Christ
mas.
Aforementioned PXS.
Now he is planning to build /
four drive-ins around the troop
areas, and to air condition all |
the major PXs.
The action that interested him
most was removing the ration |
from cigarettes. You can buy |
as many as you want now. 1--WE |
decided to give it a try to see
what would happen" he said.
Nothing happened. So we left |
it off"
When Sergt. Coon takes Laura