Visiting Japan

Bill Schierholz joined Parker Tyler and Bert Collison on the C-46 "Tokyo Trolley" to Japan after the war. “He told us to pack our parachute bags with candy bars and cigarettes to trade.” We took rations for our meals. At some point we found a hotel serving meals and got on line to have something different, but they ran out of food when we were still in line.” “We were in Japan for four or five days.”

Of the trip to Japan, Bert Collison noted that “nobody knew we were gone”. They took a pilot’s invitation and had no orders to go. He remembers landing on a southern island and being taken to a home and given food & sake. “Your dad always had things to trade”, “Always trading something”. First guy they met in Tokyo was an English speaking Japanese from Montclair, NJ.

John Shook went on a different trip to Japan. "When the war ended, everyone was adding up the points needed to go home. Meanwhile, I and four others got a pass to go to Tokyo. We hitchhiked on C-46 planes and rode first to Kyushu Island, where we were stuck for two days, because of the weather.  Then we went on to Tokyo for four days. The people were exceedingly friendly, considering that everywhere I looked, fire bombing had caused complete destruction for miles. We stayed at the Maranouchi Hotel, across from the Imperial Palace, which remained undamaged. We ate seven-course meals and drank good sake beer. The street cars were working. We saw MacArthur and his big entourage come out of his headquarters in the Dai-Ichi building. The Japanese all bowed when he passed by. It was a great experience for a kid from Ellsworth, Michigan."