This week, the military officer I was married to passed away. He had a distinguished military career in the United States Air Force, and was a veteran of three wars: World War II, Korea and also Vietnam.
He was an outstanding pilot… one of those people his fellow officers described as having a natural born ability to fly. He learned to fly at age sixteen at Riddle Field in Florida. His mom and dad bought him a small piper cub airplane while he was still a teenager.
It seems as far back as I can remember I have always loved Freedom and wanted sovereignty of myself, but for many years, I had a different concept of it than I do now.
I married a military officer who was a command pilot towards the end of World War II. When he was released from the military, he remained a reserve officer. Consequently, he was recalled for the Korean conflict. We were living in Clewiston, Florida when he was assigned to an airbase in Biloxi, Mississippi. I waited about six months before moving there to join him. We lived in a small apartment in the rear of a grocery store.
His military salary was quite small, so I decided to get a job in a local photography studio to supplement his income. I loved that job. I started out as a proofreader, then the owner taught me how to use the camera and strobe lighting and for a time, I did the photography.
Our move to Tokyo would be our last move while in Japan. We remained living in Grants for the remainder of the tour of duty.
We left to return to the States in 1960. In the 15 years since the end of World War II, Japan was emerging as an economic global power . . . like some sleeping giant awakening from hundreds of years in an isolated feudal society. I found the people to be hard working, ambitious and creative. Steeped in historical tradition, the land of the Rising Sun was forging a new path, merging with Western World Culture, while still retaining so much of its past culture.
With a total land area of less than California, a population of more than 120 million, and a democratic form of government, today Japan is high-tech with its futuristic super fast trains, modern skyscrapers and a worldwide competitive economy. Things are quite different in this 21st century than in the 1950s. They were just emerging from a feudal society cocoon.
By the time we moved to Tokyo, I had become more accustomed to Japan’s strange language, different society, and unique way of thinking. However, I had not become accustomed to frequent earthquakes and tremors. When our house started shaking, so did I. And despite the fact there were no major ones, there were still frequent small ones that usually lasted a few minutes.
While living in Japan I decided to get out more among the natives and involve myself in all the military activities at the officers’ club. I don’t recall how it started, but began doing some Japanese TV commercials, which led to some modeling jobs.
Copyright 2008-2012, Anne Cleveland. Feel free to quote me or use snippets of my text with attribution – but please refrain from reusing entire posts without first procuring written permission.
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