FIRST' U.S. LANDINGS ON JAPAN
Unscheduled Operation (7.30 p.m.i NEW YORK. Aug. 25. The first Americans to land on Japan since the end of hostilities were two Lightning pilots who descended on Kyushu airfield today because of ..uol trouble, says an Okinawa correspondent. The airmen were well received by the Japanese. One pilot said: "The Japanese did not act as though they were defeated. They were meeting us on an equal basis. Nobody showed up when we landed, although from the air we saw men about. We climbed out of the planes and walked about the airfield. Then an officer and several soldiers .came up. We checked our guns and waited. The Japanese officer had a big sword. As he came closer he smiled and saluted. I returned the salute. Then we shook hands and conversed with the aid of an EnglishJapanese dictionary. When a Fortress rescue plane arrived with fuel the crew gave the Japanese a box of rations which thev ate hungrily and then helped to refuel the Lightnings.”
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Bibliographic details
Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23289, 27 August 1945, Page 5
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171FIRST' U.S. LANDINGS ON JAPAN Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23289, 27 August 1945, Page 5
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