PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
The following Reflection represents SPC 3C Salvatore Lorio’s legacy of their military service from 1954 to 1956. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you to remember key people and events from your military service and the impact they made on your life.
Where Was Your Favorite Place Visited, Either Through Deployment or R&R, From Your Time in the Service? Can You Recall Any Memories of This Place You Found Particularly Impressive or Enjoyable?
Looking back many years into my Army days, I recall my R&R memories, and what I found most particularly impressive and enjoyable was the City of Tokyo, Japan.
Recalling my memory of my Army stint from 1954 to 1956, comes to mind when I received my orders and was shipped to North Camp Fuji, Japan. The highlight of my Japanese experience and the most memorable time was my R&R in Tokyo. It was a wonderful experience. Tokyo was a city still recovering from World War II, rebuilt from wooden shanties to modern buildings.
I was so taken in and enjoyed seeing and experiencing that the traditional Japanese values and customs were still very much alive. Japanese clothing style was a combination of both traditional and Western cultures. The kimono, Japan’s most iconic garment, is still very much in use along with the Japanese wooden clogs. The click-clack of wooden clogs is a typical part of Japanese summer. Throughout Tokyo, there are Pachinko slot machine parlors, which are often recognized by neon lights and exciting noises. The game uses small steel balls, which are launched onto a playing field and then bounced around by pins until they fall into one of several catchers. Pachinko is a recreational game, and the prizes that can be won are limited to tokens that can be exchanged for cash at a separate location. Today, Pachinko parlors are popular throughout Japan.
Another highlight during the same R&R was a day at the Imperial Palace. The Palace was undergoing reconstruction after the damage sustained during World War II, and the grounds were open to the public for the first time, with access restricted to the main area of the Palace. From the large plaza in front of the Imperial Palace, you can view the Nijubashi, two bridges that form an entrance to the inner Palace grounds. Emperor Hirohito made it a special day by making a public appearance. I was able to take some pictures. From that public appearance, Hirohito began to make numerous public appearances and approved the publication of stories of his personal and family life.
I can say my most enjoyable Army memory was at my R&R in the City of Tokyo, Japan.
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