Love the One You're With

c. 1952. Okinawa(?) A young U.S. Army private poses with a charming companion.  Thousands of liaisons were forged between U.S. servicemen and young women in Japan and its territories during the Korean War.  The quality of such relationships varied greatly:  at one extreme were prostitutes (i.e., panpan sanctioned by the host government in Japan); at the other were life-long marriages, a few of which endure to this day for couples now in their nineties.  During the Korean War, the fidelity of most relationships was similar to the example of modern campus co-eds who might endure for a semester.  Most soldiers serving in Korea managed to pass through Japan, where it didn't take long at all to "hook up" with a willing female companion. Many young men, like Pvt. Philip Hughes, requested (and paid for) a girlfriend photo, which he carried off to war, carefully tucked in a wallet or a helmet liner.  Those servicemen opting for marriage faced hurdles. At the time, U.S. State Department policies (not to mention social customs of the day) discouraged marriages of disparate ethnicities.  Nonetheless, perseverance fueled by love won the day.  A stroll through Arlington National Cemetery reveals countless headstones of deceased servicemen buried along with wives bearing given names that are unmistakably Japanese.    

The Epic Journeys Of Philip Hughes

How does a seventeen-year-old kid, over the course of 14 months, go from a boarding school to the opening battles of the Korean War?  The Battle of Turkey Thicket is the new, fast-paced true story of a boy soldier from America's "Forgotten War." Philip Thomas Hughes was an orphan whose coming of age witnessed the civic evolution of Washington, D.C., a boarding school, a reform school, a stop-over in Chicago's Skid Row, and romance in post-War Japan.  Philip was one of the first, and youngest, soldiers committed to the Korean War.  His sacrifice provided unexpected yet life-long benefits to his kid brother.  

Babysan

Identity of this young lady is unknown.
Photo courtesy of the Doug Price Flickr site.

Youtube video preview (100 sec.)

June 1950. Seventeen-year-old Philip Hughes was in Japan long enough to find a girlfriend.  Not to take anything away from Philip, but that feat was not at all difficult for a U.S. soldier with a few bucks in his pocket during the spring of 1950.

"Babysan" was, in parlance peculiar to the Japan Occupation, the term of endearment for any young lady of real or potential romantic interest. An excerpt from The Battle of Turkey Thicket:

Her name – Mitsuko? Kyoko? Sachiko? – has long since been forgotten. She was young, certainly, but still perhaps a few years older than Philip. The Second World War left an indelible impact on her family. It might have been the loss of a brother. Her father. Their home. She was scarred by the past, burdened by the present, and unsure of her future. She was like many other young Japanese women who found themselves on the frontline of post-war reconstruction. Both she and Philip were motivated to connect for a mix of reasons. They shared a mutual need… for someone.