The summer of '67

The Summer of ‘67

I waited for almost one year
And now they were on the other side of the glass
They were held by customs because of missing baggage
My beautiful wife and our four animated and anxious children.

We were within the bowels of Haneda International Airport
Tokyo, Japan awaiting the decision for my family to move
To my side of the glass, to touch, to kiss, to cry
With their Daddy, Mommy’s husband, the long missing warrior.

They had come from Colorado in the USA ;
I had been reassigned to Japan from Vietnam -
115 combat missions in my A4Skyhawk.
A family reunion with cherry blossoms in southern Honshu.

We traveled the bullet train, the fastest in the world
From Tokyo stopping in Kyoto for sleeping on tatami and hot baths
And then on south to our summer home in Iwakuni
With a walled garden in which to chase butterflies and play.

We lived off base in the paddies, with Japanese neighbors
Marines were not authorized to have dependants in overseas assignments
But they turned a blind eye at the end of an active combat tour
We settled in with Daddy working but coming home nightly to play.

Our four children ranging in ages from two to eight years toured with us
throughout Japan drawing attention and cameras. We walked the grounds
of Buddhist Temples, stood in rain at the Emperors Palace, viewed the roof tops
for miles surrounding Tokyo Tower and smelled sweet blossoms at Kentai Bridge.

We went fishing and sailed toy boats, we ate tempura and had
Our daily bath, washing on a wooden stool and soaking in a hot bath
We slept on the tatami in our own futon and dined at our table without chairs.
We saw the most memorable 4th of July fireworks, ever.

Constance and the children flew back commercial to San Francisco
I flew military transport hours later and we connected in the city by the Bay
It was September and we headed for Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort, S. C.
For our next adventure, our next separation

Richard D. Acott