Re: Wonderful R & R

Janet; I got to the front in January of 51, then in August of 51, my number came up for R & R in Japan. You had to fill out a slip stating what city you were interested in. Tokyo was the most popular and I was lucky to draw it. Two others from my company and I found a nice hotel and settled in for the week. We were issued almost new kaki uniforms as well as a blue piece of cloth with an out line of Korea and the word in Korea in white. ( have a set of them)   It was said to us, that if MP's saw that blue cloth on our epaulets, we would not be bother too much.   I found that to be true when I was out after curfew, which I was never told about.   I had no idea that the hotel was locked up tight after 2300 hours. The MP's got the owner to open up and let me in or I would have spent the night sleeping on the front ste! ps.

I spent my time shopping, calling home, drinking real milk, sleeping in a real bed, eating out every night, steak every chance I got. The owners daughter took me sight seeing, so in return, I bought the worker a water melon one night. What I paid for it was a weeks wages for the average worker.

The worst part of the trip was when the MATS plane lost 3 of its 4 engines while on the way to Japan. When we touched down, one engine was running, others were dead two of which had caught fire as we approached Japan.

   John Sonley Korea 1951