NOTE:Publication of the Occupation Diary, First Cavalry Division (1945-1950) will appear, as installments, on the Historian Corner on a continuing basis as time and space permits. Each installment will be subsequently moved to the History Annex Page when a new installment is published. Therefore, if an installment is missed during the period it was published, it may be viewed on the History Annex Page.

Continued: Installment 8:

At the port of Uraga, repatriation had slowed down to a mere trickle and 5th Cavalry troopers of the 1st Squadron at Camp Drake continued to guard and transport important war crimes prisoners, suspects and witnesses between Sugamo Prison and the courts at Yokohama.

At the port of Uraga, repatriation had slowed down to a mere trickle and 5th Cavalry troopers of the 1st Squadron at Camp Drake continued to guard and transport important war crimes prisoners, suspects and witnesses between Sugamo Prison and the courts at Yokohama.

May of 1947 began with a two day practice alert and command post exercise in which the entire First Cavalry Division participated. The exercise happened to coincide with the Japanese May Day demonstration which was held at the Imperial Palace Plaza in Tokyo. A crowd of 250,000 demonstrators and onlookers celebrated the day without restriction for the second time since the surrender. The crowd was orderly. Singing, dancing, speeches and marches were the activities of the day.

Occupational duties continued to be of prime importance. Patrols and guard posts continued to take up the time of all division units. The daily patrols in search of hidden military supplies, for surveillance of meetings and for military police purposes continued. Eight hundred and forty-eight patrols were dispatched by all units of the division during May. Guard posts remained relatively stable, while reviews and other military ceremonies were at a minimum. Activity at the repatriation port of Uraga during May was at a standstill for the first time in the occupation's history. Not one incoming or outgoing ship was processed.

Complete educational facilities are available to First Cavalry Division troopers both on duty and off duty hours. In the picture above, Cavalrymen are attending one of the many off duty classes held in the evening at the Army Education Center, Camp Drake .

To accomplish the ends of training and occupation missions, June of 1947 saw many organizations of the division moved to new locations. Units of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade rotated between Tokyo and Camp Palmer to affect marksmanship training on individual arms. Other movements saw C Troop of the 12th Cavalry replace B Troop, 12th Cavalry at Hiratsuka. Troop G, 8th Cavalry took over duties of Troop F, 8th Cavalry at Fuchu; Battery C, 82nd Field Artillery Battalion supplanted Battery B at Karuizawa and Troop E, 7th Cavalry, attached to 71st Quartermaster for the purpose of accomplishing necessary missions.

The month of June also saw the replacement of the 4th New Zealand Composite Guard Battalion by 2nd Battalion, 5th Royal Ghurka Rifle, units of British Commonwealth Occupational Forces, as part of the Imperial Palace guard in Tokyo. A brilliant show of color and marching was exhibited by the Royal Ghurka Rifles and elements of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade during one of the now famous guard mount ceremonies held at the Imperial Palace Plaza on June 21.

Club Cavalcade's swimming pool at Camp Drake is a favorite summertime relaxation point for Cavalrymen. Two troopers enjoy themselves at the pool in the company of two attractive Departments of the Army civilian employees. Club Cavalcade can be seen in the background.

On May 31, an airplane crash into the side of a mountain near Hadano, in which 40 persons lost their lives, brought forth a display of resourcefulness from elements of the 1st Cavalry Brigade. B Troop, 12th Cavalry, with the able assistance of L-5 airplanes from Division Artillery, performed excellent work in locating, investigating and evacuating victims of the C-54 accident.

Many ceremonies in the form of reviews and formal inspections marked well the month of June. A review and presentation of troops took place at Camp McGill, home of the 1st Cavalry Brigade, for inspection by General Ryder, IX Corps commander, on June 3. Similar reviews and ceremonies were conducted by Division Artillery and 2nd Cavalry Brigade on the 4th and 5th of June for General Ryder.

June drew to a close with feverish and intensive preparation for the forthcoming outstanding event of the occupation to date, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers Parade on July 4. Plans had been made for a review of representative elements of all military units in Japan by the Supreme Commander, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur.

Highlighting the activities of the First Cavalry-Division in early July, was the mammoth Independence Day review and parade in Tokyo. Weeks of planning by division and higher headquarters had gone into this show. More than 15.000 troops were aligned on the Imperial Palace Plaza, comprising, in addition to the First Cavalry Division, elements of the llth Airborne Division, the 24th Infantry Division and the 25th Infantry Division.

Never, since the beginning of the occupation, had Tokyoites seen such a spectacle of armed might, and never was a more colorful body of troops assembled. Beginning on the white graveled Plaza in front of the main gate of the Emperor's palace where troops were presented by Eighth Army Commander, Robert L. Eichelberger, and the long line formed into a column and marched past the bunting-draped reviewing stand where General of the Army Douglas MacArthur received the honors. With General MacArthur on the reviewing stand, before a backdrop of allied flags, were distinguished members of the Allied Council, representing all countries with missions in Japan.

As the foot troops passed the reviewing stand in solid rank and precise step to the music of the First Cavalry Division Band and the drum and bugle corps of the 5th and 8th Cavalry Regiments, they were joined by the mounted elements of the First Cavalry Division Artillery, with their lumbering howitzers, the 302nd Reconnaissance Troop and 1st and 2nd Brigade Headquarters Troops with their armored cars and a long column of vehicles from GHQ and Service Group. The parade then passed through the downtown district of Tokyo, where crowds of people lined the streets and jammed every vantage point from windows to roof tops along the way. The spectacle was terminated at noon by an impressive 48 gun salute to the union at the Plaza.

New arrivals in the division are given a thorough briefing on available educational facilities by Sergeant William Prussman, a non-commissioned officer of the Camp Drake Army Education Center.

Occupational duties for the month of July consisted of numerous mass meeting surveillances of labor and political groups in Tokyo. This seemed to be a never-ending job for 2nd Cavalry Brigade troopers. No difficulties or violence of any kind were reported. Meetings continued to be orderly and well regulated. On July 18, word came of a threatened riot between rival Korean organizations at Terite, and the 1st Squadron, 8th Cavalry was alerted for the threatened emergency. Patrols which were immediately dispatched to the scene reported all quiet in that sector and the alert terminated the evening of the same day without incident.

Occupation assignments, both routine and unscheduled, were definitely on the increase and the training mission of the division was also receiving increased emphasis. Progress in training was becoming more and more evident.

In the 2nd Brigade area, a big project was underway for the construction, administration and operation of the Far East Command Small Arms Tournament and the First Cavalry Division match which would immediately precede it.

By July 31, plans had been laid and action begun on locating World War II dead. This was to become a major operation in coming weeks.

August was a comparatively quiet month, with training and occupational duties progressing as in previous months. Redeployment of troops within the division area was rather extensive, because of rotation of training and guard duties. Emphasis fell upon the Mobilization Training Program during the month, as IX Corps testing teams were due to arrive in September.

The First Cavalry Division small arms tournament was conducted the week of August 25 at Camp Palmer. This was run according to Far East Command rules and conducted as a dry run or rehearsal for the Far East Command matches. The 8th Cavalry team placed first in the rifle shoot with the 12th Cavalry capturing pistol team honors.

The month of September 1947 proved to be one of the most eventful periods in the occupation history of the First Cavalry Division. The division experienced a renewed acceleration in training and ceremonies in addition to the unusual incidents of typhoon and floods which tested its resourcefulness and ability under emergency conditions. These numerous activities, let alone the routine guard, patrol and other necessary occupational missions which were required to be accomplished, set the stage for the beginning of the third year of occupation.

On September 15, the Typhoon "Kathleen" made its debut in the area of Central Japan, bringing with it rains and winds that eventually caused the inundation of parts of the Kanto plain and adjacent areas, including the metropolis of Tokyo itself. The ravage of the storm and its results upon the farms, cities and people will probably never be told, but, sufficient to say that over the prefectures of Gunima, Tokyo, Tochigi, Chiba and Saitama more than 150,000 acres of land were flooded, 200,000 houses inundated, over 100 persons killed, 700 missing and over 400,000 individuals were evacuated from affected areas. Highlighting the rescue and flood relief operations from the very beginning was the untiring efforts of almost all elements of the division in rendering the required aid to allies and Japanese alike. Outstanding in this work was the 8th Engineer Squadron which worked days and nights repairing levees, blasting strategic points, evacuating the homeless and providing technical assistance in the flooded areas.

Routine checks during the regular night patrol of the First Cavalry Division's 545th Military Police Company includes a visit with a Japanese policeman at his sentry post.

The division bomb disposal teams working in conjunction with the division patrols were able to locate and dispose of a tremendous quantity of bombs and war explosives during September. In addition, patrols located, seized and placed under guard, approximately 30 tons of silver buried in Tokyo, pending removal to the United States vaults in the Bank of Japan. Second Brigade provided guards and patrols for the transportation of about six tons of precious metals from the Bank of Japan to the Osaka Mint.

Notwithstanding the extensive missions and duties listed above, the First Cavalry Division employed some 70 patrol and search teams, composed of officers, enlisted men and interpreters throughout the division area of responsibility in locating the remains of American war dead. These teams traveled to the remote corners of the division's many prefectures in the accomplishment of the mission.

The last major event of the month was the welcome attachment of the 95th Light Tank Company to the division on September 30 by Eighth Army Headquarters.

October 1947, the second month of the third year of occupation in Japan, found the First Cavalry Division the same in spirit, high morale, and purposeful effort as in the days when occupation duties were new. But few were the soldiers remaining from those first days when the division landed at Yokohama. Redeployment and replacement of personnel had accounted for more than 42,300 officers and men during this period, or a complete turn-over of personnel on the average of at least once each year.

This day room, like all those of the First Cavalry Division, has its pool tables. Three men of Company "A." 71st Heavy Tank Battalion at Chigasaki muse over a difficult shot.

To Be Continued...