Military Occupation of Japan

May 2, 2005 • Harry K. Fukuhara

In August 1945, I was attached to the 33rd Infantry Division in northern Luzon. I had reason to be happy. I was a brand-new 2nd lieutenant, thanks to a battlefield commission, and our unit had recaptured Baguio City after five months of fierce fighting. But I had just received word that my request for a transfer had been turned down. I was not looking forward to our upcoming invasion of Japan, and had hoped to be assigned to another theater. …