idk why im touched by this.

Thank you for your service, really hope you can go back and enjoy that restaurant once more

Wow, old man was around for a good while, met all sorts of people, that's pretty awesome

This is such an awesome story! I live in japan now on a military base and I love it here♡ Japanese citizens are so nice

The Japanese may think that they are an occupied Country?!

One of the most eye opening experiences I’ve ever had was how foreign countries showed me more respect than my country ever did

@@Huntmile Sorry you've had such a disrespectful experience.

@@ATBatmanMALS31 haha all good man. That’s how life goes in the military

@@Huntmile So you're in a blue state... you in Cali?

My little brother and sister were born on that base back in the 80s. Sadly, I barely remember much from there. We moved to Kirtland after that and I was only 4 or 5.

The Japanese fought for honor and for country. Not for their leader. And when they realized their leader was using that against them they started to realize they were not fighting for that anymore. So when the sun fell on them and their leader surrendered they were reluctant but knew that what was done was done and they were safer and better off for it.

my grandfather did too but he was a marine. now im a marine and just got stationed here

Thats really sweet!

My brother Wade was stationed in Iwakuni for a few years. Marines - Aircraft fire rescue. The stories he had were incredible. Both of the base and Japan. I remember hearing the jets take off and land while on the phone with him. Couldn’t hear anything else when they were going by. He lost his life earlier this year. Miss you bro.

@@DanielHJeffery Celebrate him, Daniel.

Thank you for you're service and I hope you can visit again someday

I get the feeling camp foster was probably the same back then than it is today one thing that can be said about the corps we don't like new things

Semper Fi brother, I was on Oki (Hansen) 2005, and Iwakuni 2009-10. My two years in Iwakuni were probably the best years of my life!!

@@FungusUSMC -- I went to Hansen for a week of rifle qualification. We still used the M-14 back then.

@@dino7209 When you colonize colonizers I dont see the issue.

A partner exchange for a ship? Were you fluent in Japanese, or what happened to combat the language barrier?

@@brokenordinance english is taught in most schools in japan

@@brokenordinance enough of the ship spoke English where we made it work

@@briansonnenfelt7125 Interesting, thank you.

“Asked me a ton of questions about Hawaii…” Pearl Harbor #2. Intelligence brought to them by Brian Sonnenfelt. Just kidding bro. That’s awesome. Amazing how civilizations can mend so quickly.

If you got family back in puerto rico I hope they're doing alright considering the hurricane. My abuela is from toa baja and we haven't had contact with her in a couple of days

I love and respect the Japanese! They are a whole other culture. Americans could learn from them. I had to go there to help them when the reactor in fukushima happened. I was torn apart seeing such kind and respectful people going through this horrible situation.

May i ask if you went to Zukerean or Bob Hope for school? my family was station thee from 1997-2000 and i was 8 years old at the time there. its been 22 years since i left japan and now im 33. Okinawa is sucha beautiful island and i wish to go bback there and to spend my remaining life there

What a great experience to live somewhere at such an impressionable age. I'm glad there is interaction between the Base schools and the local ones for the cultural exchanges. It also, I think, broadens your acceptance of people who are different from you and so makes you a more tolerant and accepting person of people from other countries that immigrate to the US.

@@WarheadFX I went to Lester middle school and then kubasaki high school for my freshmen year. I do remember those schools though because of my friends having younger siblings though!

I attended Lester Middle around the same time! Moved before finishing!

My pops was stationed there for 8 years from 1999-2007 and I went to Bechtel, Lester and Kubasaki. Lived in Camp McT the entire time.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

There are currently protest outside of gate 1 every Friday

​@@johnbeaman9570 Can you go into further detail about the protest?

Nice read. I didn't know about Okinawa long history as well. I saw some insightful info on KZfaq. And now I'm sharing it with yall & take a grin of salt. Okinawa real name is Ryukyu kingdom it is illegaly occupied by japan and usa. Ryukyu people are not japanese and japan forced assimilation to erase the real language and culture of Ryukyu. Before usa invade Ryukyu and give to japan the kingdom was prosperous and rich. American soldiers have raped many ryukyu women and the japanese government do nothing about ! #FreeOkinawa #FreeRyukyu -Plop Lmao Considering how much damage the US military does to Okinawa. Lost nuclear weapons, aircraft crashes, leaked nerve agents, sexual assaults and other violent crime, soldiers abandoning local mothers and children without paying child support, military bases polluting the drinking water of almost half a million people, occupying large tracts of economically valuable land, and the general negative psychological impact of colonization on locals. The economic dependence argument for continued US military presence is really just you saying American imperialism is justified because the locals are like helpless children unable to care for themselves. Okinawans don’t need Americans to help them out of poverty. They need Americans to get the hell out of the way of their path to self-determination. -Calitalia Republic Okinawa was also an independent country that was invaded and annexed by japan, who then proceeded to completely wipe out it’s unique culture. -Janus Jones Okinawa and the rest of the Ryukyus are their own thing...but unlike Taiwan, Japan isn't villianized so people don't care -Fred Leeland The Dark Side of Japan's Paradise Island | Trouble in Paradise kzfaq.info/get/bejne/r7GTltZezMexiqc.html. mad about this: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Okinawa_rape_incident -F-86 Zoomer Okinawans always wanted the base closed because of all the crimes and disorderly activities by the US troops. But Japan wants the base there because they are far from the Japanese. Okinawans are the Indigenous Peoples of the Ryūkyū Islands. They at best considered mainly ethnic Okinawan, Japanese, half Japanese and mixed. This incident was reported around Christmas but most western media hardly covered it as such. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said that more than 200 people are part of an outbreak at the U.S. Marine Corps’ Camp Hansen. -TA L Sadly, Japan were brainwashed by the US after the end of WW2, Japan isn't allowed to have a militay yet Japanese people think US is their best ally, and some younger Japanese even consider USSR fault for the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, all countries with US bases in them are controlled by the US, the media in these countries is as well controlled by US to make Russia & China the bad guys. But at least there is some opposition from US colonization, for example China & Russia. -Rafael Okinawa mulls emergency measures as Covid-19 outbreak linked to US military bases kzfaq.info/get/bejne/od17ipySrMypp30.html 😁

@@isaiahturner4813 However many holy words you read, However many you speak, What good will they do you If you do not act on them? -Gautama Buddha

@@nss-qs3dz-s1alk22 Typical racist

Marines? Really? Marines are fucking neanderthals dude.

I think he was willing to talk, but self conscious about his few missing teeth.

@@nss-qs3dz-s1alk22 How would you know

5:42 look how his right hand was shaking when he talked. He could be a suspect escaped to Okinawa.

Aren't all of the incidents alcohol-related? (ie: the servicemen were drunk when the bad incidents happened) If so then why not simply prohibit the consumption of alcohol when off base? Can this be done?

@@DaggerSecurity Sadly no. First off, that only accounts for most of the "rowdy behavior" not rapes and murder. In those situations your dealing with truly sick bastards and they typically are criminals with planning as apposed to your average marine or sailor being drunkenly belligerent. Secondly, in my own experiance marine corps bases are already extremely strict with alcohol on base and on top of that going off base is exceptionally difficult and rarely allowed in the first place. this isnt our dads era where shit is laid back and you can just party all damn day- those days are long gone. nowadays its just a lot of drinking and partying in your barracks (if your stateside) and showing up to muster the next morning absolutely smashed EVERYDAY. i served as a navy corpsman ("combat medic" for the marines) and so much of my job was giving my marines IVs because theyre so hungover and puking because theyre "sick" and keeping my marines in line during the rare occasions they let us outside. another thing to consider is that while marines party hard as hell, they generally tend to commit less trouble in modern days- thats usually the less disciplined and more free army, navy, and air force. but that dosent matter- one jackass from any branch will fuck it up for everyone- or at least for the marines anyway. well get punished for everyones mistakes. anyway- i can only speak to my own years in and all of what i observed and knew from my colleges

Nice read. I didn't know about Okinawa long history as well. I saw some insightful info on KZfaq. And now I'm sharing it with yall & take a grin of salt. Okinawa real name is Ryukyu kingdom it is illegaly occupied by japan and usa. Ryukyu people are not japanese and japan forced assimilation to erase the real language and culture of Ryukyu. Before usa invade Ryukyu and give to japan the kingdom was prosperous and rich. American soldiers have raped many ryukyu women and the japanese government do nothing about ! #FreeOkinawa #FreeRyukyu -Plop Lmao Considering how much damage the US military does to Okinawa. Lost nuclear weapons, aircraft crashes, leaked nerve agents, sexual assaults and other violent crime, soldiers abandoning local mothers and children without paying child support, military bases polluting the drinking water of almost half a million people, occupying large tracts of economically valuable land, and the general negative psychological impact of colonization on locals. The economic dependence argument for continued US military presence is really just you saying American imperialism is justified because the locals are like helpless children unable to care for themselves. Okinawans don’t need Americans to help them out of poverty. They need Americans to get the hell out of the way of their path to self-determination. -Calitalia Republic Okinawa was also an independent country that was invaded and annexed by japan, who then proceeded to completely wipe out it’s unique culture. -Janus Jones Okinawa and the rest of the Ryukyus are their own thing...but unlike Taiwan, Japan isn't villianized so people don't care -Fred Leeland The Dark Side of Japan's Paradise Island | Trouble in Paradise kzfaq.info/get/bejne/r7GTltZezMexiqc.html. mad about this: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Okinawa_rape_incident -F-86 Zoomer Okinawans always wanted the base closed because of all the crimes and disorderly activities by the US troops. But Japan wants the base there because they are far from the Japanese. Okinawans are the Indigenous Peoples of the Ryūkyū Islands. They at best considered mainly ethnic Okinawan, Japanese, half Japanese and mixed. This incident was reported around Christmas but most western media hardly covered it as such. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said that more than 200 people are part of an outbreak at the U.S. Marine Corps’ Camp Hansen. -TA L Sadly, Japan were brainwashed by the US after the end of WW2, Japan isn't allowed to have a militay yet Japanese people think US is their best ally, and some younger Japanese even consider USSR fault for the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, all countries with US bases in them are controlled by the US, the media in these countries is as well controlled by US to make Russia & China the bad guys. But at least there is some opposition from US colonization, for example China & Russia. -Rafael Okinawa mulls emergency measures as Covid-19 outbreak linked to US military bases kzfaq.info/get/bejne/od17ipySrMypp30.html

ahh yes, the age old human sociological behavior of the few ruining it for the whole.

@@deslaya7777 sadly I am not sure that helps anyone. But what I don't understand is the picture Timothy is painting. The few bad sheep's there and the hard partying idiots he had to IV as a medic. Idk what to make of it. It doesn't add up. But back to the videos. They are fun for young people. But I sense that the answers depend on whom you ask. And that's what people suggest here in the comments. I am curious if he reacts truly to that...

That was a beautiful story, I hope you get to visit Japan soon!

@@DamnAwesome thank you. I've traveled a lot - but only because I lived in Iran for ten years. Frequent travel by airplane never settled my fear of flying, and I'm not sure I could ever get on another plane. Otherwise, I'd try and make visiting Japan a reality. Instead, I watch videos like this and live vicariously lol. :)

@@amberdusk I have a fear of heights, so I 100% understand your fear, I still hope you'll get to visit one day! ♥

Where did you find the fountain of youth though?

Yep. My grandfather, before becoming a prison warden, was in Japan and that's pretty much what he had to say: Extremely nice and happy people even though they had gone through some seriously awful stuff and it really left an impact on him when he came back to the States and worked at Alcatraz

I know you do and always will but cherish that sword, better not end up on pawn stars lol

​@@Adamz678 Seconded, make sure that thing's maintained properly

What an awesome story

I'm curious as to how that man was still able to carry around his sword during the occupation. I was under the impression that all weapons, including swords were outlawed and had to be turned over to the occupational forces where they were either discarded or brought home by servicemen as souvenirs.

@@rsuriyop Typically officers are allowed to keep their sidearms even when captured as prisoners of war. It's seen as a symbol of office. I'm sure officer's swords were seen in the same light.

Yupp it has changed drastically. Unfortunately many of our guys mess up with the local woman and end up locking the whole base for their behavior. Other than that it’s amazing.

Oh nice you live in Big Bear, I'm in orange county

Yokosuka was pretty great since my father was in the Navy and retired in 2011 so I lived in Yokosuka specifically from 2005-2011 and gotta say; it was one of the best times of my life. Everything I'd want besides maybe hunting or fishing could be done from the base and I actively felt like me moving to the US was a huge downgrade actually hahaha

Yeah, I still live in Yokosuka; I've been here since 2005.

Hello from Yokosuka Japan in the present!

I am gonna go to study in Kyoto University as master student. If you go to Kyoto, it may be interesting to ask local Kyotojin do they any feeling about the moving of Capital from Kyoto to Tokyo. + What do they think about Tokyojin as characters, manners etc.

Why not interview people who r NOT playing basketball with Americans

Interesting interview, thank you. I’m curious if you asked any older people how they felt about the bases and why

I think the idea of the video was good, but I think the people you interviewed should have been chosen more carefully. The 14 year old students aren’t old enough to understand all of the controversy surrounding it and with the one girl having American relatives it’s likely her views are biased. The guys playing basketball with Americans probably don’t want to be overheard saying something bad either, or they might have American friends. The guy who only moved there a year ago could be considered a less-than-ideal interviewee in that his time in Okinawa hasn’t been long enough. Good idea for an interview, but I think you should put more thought into who to interview.

You should've interviewed more veterans or older people who might have better understanding of the whole issue instead just the youths and ppl who only lived there for 1 year.

The Japanese feel really uneasy. Please leave the US military bases in Japan. This is not brainwashing or anything, it's really just my wish. It is a pity that Japan cannot protect its own country without the help of other countries, but Japan needs the power of the United States.

The same is true of any expat community anywhere. Most people are generally well behaved but there are always a few that will totally ruin the goodwill we try to create with the locals. I had this experience in China where anti-foreigner sentiment was always high and could get arbitrarily worse on a dime depending on what state media reported. That said, people were pretty friendly in the small city I was living in and more curious about us than anything else. The problem with small cities though is there are only a few foreigners for around 3 million people. You are making a first impression every day since many people there have never seen a foreigner in person. It really sucks and is harmful to every other expat when someone can't handle their booze and makes an ass out of themselves.

Well now they don't

@@generalmartok3990 i think with military people it's a bit different and can arouse more fear just because if they do decide to do something criminal it might be with guns or something. In general military men mannerisms are a lot different than your usual foreigners. They're a lot more intimidating

A big problem that okinawa residents have is that they carry an overwhelming burden of miliatary presence in japan. The island of okinawa is a small percentage of the land in japan, yet they have are home to the majority of US military presence in japan. Its not fair to them. Not to mention the environmental effects of military bases when it comes to ground water contamination and the destruction of reefs and land

If Googling key words hasn't worked, have you tried contacting the archives department of the local newspaper and TV station?

@@krisgarwood5733 Yeah I did actually. I contacted two different entities in Okinawa but neither were able to assist. I have no idea what news channels to contact though as I couldn't find a way to write to them or let alone even know which ones may have been operating during that time. Posting on here was just a long shot...

@@keth8947 USAF vet...I did a deep search, nothing came up...You need your name and the exact date of the incident...

@@godbluffvdgg I found the medical record. Kevin Thrush 26 Sep 1998 - I was medivac'd to the Naval Hospital on Okinawa

I couldn't find your story, but it appears you're not the only serviceman that's fallen. Another fell in 2017, and they were not as lucky as you.

This dont even sound like something a American would write😂😂

@@ngbvon It's best to word things in an easily translated way, so yeah... This wasn't "normal" English speech pattern

美军喝醉了在日本闹事是怎么回事

@@yichuanwang5581 Unfortunately, we do have soldiers who behave poorly like that. Especially those who become drunk regularly. We should do a better job of teaching our soldiers the proper way to behave in foreign countries, and we are always trying to teach our soldiers to drink alcohol more responsibly! It is very difficult for us, due to the size of our force and the people in it being so different from one another. This is not an excuse for that behavior, and we do not accept it in our military. These individuals are punished appropriately for their actions. I hope that, in the future, we will see less of this kind of thing.

Japan should be allowed to have their own proper military if Americans actually consider them a close ally, rather than just America's bitch vassal state.

What unit was you with I was there also

@@rogerkilburn4732 3rd MEF JRC, Camp Foster. I drove a bright yellow Nissan Skyline 4 door. I went to NCO school on Camp Hanson in March 1990.

@@robertsmith9156 was there from Dec, 90 to Aug 91, 2nd bn 23rd marines. Went to combat squad leader school there.

That was the same time me and my family lived there! My father was stationed there, so we (his kids and wife) were able to go as well.

Semper Fi! Spent a year on Hansen (2005) and 2 years Iwakuni (2009-10). Best years of my life for sure!

I love Japan 🗾 my wife is Japanese so I have family there too I can't wait to go back

Damn, hope you still got to visit

p opo 9

Well now they don't want to friendly

Hopefully as an ordinary citizen, not a soldier or military person:-)

@@irenan6585 I’m not military material

Japan should remain majority Japanese, too much immigration will ruin them like it did Europe

@@cottoncandykawaii2673 true but tbh Western Europe deserved it because they themselves genetically, culturally and linguistically replaced entire continents by killing and imposing their values so no one should respect Western European 'values'. yes Japan should stay mono-ethnic. Japan also tried to do what Western Europe did but its good that they failed. good for the people that were ruled by them and good for Japan itself.

let's go together!

I also think that US military is a global military. They should only send their most professional troops and not immature new recruits who have not been evaluated. The US doesn't need large bases to prove they are strong. They just need a small competent force as a deterrence strategy.

Wow lakers solid player commenting on this youtube channel...... just kidding man you have the same name lol

美军都是为了自己的海外利益 怎么可能保护日本

@@jonlapang3196 Americans don't have large bases to prove they are strong. They have large bases all over the world because they are important for logistics and logistics win wars. The bigger the base, the faster and more efficient they can move ridiculous amounts of troops, equipments, and supplies from the US Mainland to wherever the battles are happening. They keep the bases around even during peace time and even when they are expensive to maintain so they don't have to build them from scratch when they need them and waste time.

So you don't see them as occupying forces?

@Jotaro97 Because his videos provide insight on what the average Japanese person thinks about various different topics. If an American watches these videos, they might find that they share the same viewpoint of someone in a complete different land. This creates the sense of “we’re not so different after all” which of course leads to more traveling abroad. Not to mention people might see parts of Japan and want to travel there on vacation. Hopefully you weren’t born in the year 1997 or else you should’ve already known all of this.

@Jotaro97 You don’t understand. You misunderstand the point of his videos and you misunderstand the point of my comment.

@Jotaro97 Sorry but I don’t get paid to teach Bulgarian kids on KZfaq how intercontinental relationships work.

@Jotaro97 Figure it out yourself.

They don't matter.

Greetings from NAFA! All the planes are gone. Just the helicopters now. I enjoy living in the this area.

@@EJL88 that’s cool to here, missed walking the parks in the local area

Also the missiles will most likely be targeted on our bases and not the civilians of our ally, but that's expecting NK to have some honor.b

Funny hearing an American talk about honor when the Americans bombed millions of North Korean civilians during the Korean War.

@@HC-wo2tz or WW2, or civilian casualties in Iraq Afghanistan etc. or even Agent Orange. Yeah history isn't cute but then again America ain't perfect. We have honor and we don't have honor, just depends on whose in charge and what the method is, and when. Practically any nation is open to this criticism. However in the context of my original comment I was talking about the here and now. "Funny hearing an American" I guess that implies you take us seriously which means what I said earlier. If not you wouldn't of had to say anything...

@@weaselwolf8425 Lol, your last comment just reeks of arrogance. I take history seriously, not you. And it is so telling how you casually dismiss past US atrocities as 'eVerYboDy's dOne iT BrO". Funny enough, I hear the Japanese struggle with making amends for their own past atrocities. But they lost, and the US won, which means America doesn't have to, right?

@@weaselwolf8425 when will you pay for your crimes in Iraq?

are you in Germany? If so are the crimes by US military against natives rampant like in Okinawa? I have family in Dresden, Nuremberg and Berlin but they are kept in the dark about this because of the censorship over there which is why I ask

They have been invaded and culturally genocided. Their sovereignty was never Japan’s yet Japan dictated to build the military bases in their land rather than near Tokyo. This is bully to the minority.

Which restaurant did you like best?

Just casually discussing your occupation of a foreign nation. Only Americans can do this without social consequence

Lol that's the Japanese for you, they will (rightfully) protest such abhorrent behavior but they will also be incredibly polite when they see you around.

It wasn’t a bad base but Fussa was pretty lame compared to pretty much the rest of Japan. It got old really quick lol

You’re opinion doesn’t count. You guys had a Chili’s on base. We all had to suffer hahaha

Gozaimasu,Ijyodesu! Meaning thanks,that's all!

is that a good or bad thing? or it is what it is?

@@sirazriel5620 I think as an ideal it's pretty damaging, the thought of another country taking up a piece of yours as a potential war tool. In reality it's a good thing, It allows a defense force to quickly mobilize at hostile borders without really affecting how your country operates at all.

America occupied Germany in mind, body and soul after the war, the military presence remains there as a tool of US aggression nothing more

The difference between the Japanese base and the German base is that Germany is part of the NATO and the base in Ramstein is more like the Bundeswehr as part of the NATO stationed in Lithuania. Therefore I have no issues with the Ramstein base and in our current situation even less. Just to spread my opinion.

@@stillerfluss7493 Japan may not be part of NATO but they have their own military alliance with the US called the USJ Security Alliance.

I too was stationed at iwakuni from 78-79 and again from 81-83.. as you stated, they were definitely some of the best years of my life.. I had a 79 Yamaha 650 special and I toured everywhere I could and just enjoyed my Japanese friends and sightseeing and the night life..