This following letter, written by my grandfather Harry Hughes, was written to his mother shortly after he landed in Japan in September 1945. He was part of the U.S. Army's 33rd Infantry Division where he fought the Japanese in New Guinea and the Philippines. As expected, there are some things in this letter which are not exactly politically correct in accordance to today's terms, so please just remember the context in which he is writing. Dear Mom, I landed in Wakayama a couple of days ago and then drove on over to Kobe by way of Osaka. I am now living in the For Hotel in downtown Kobe. Having fought the Jap for over a year, I can't feel sorry for these people but it is pityful to see whole cities completely demolished. Once can ride for miles and not see enough shelter to protect a fly. In just two air raids on the Kobe area, every building in which anything could be manufactured is flat. I will never understand why these people stood by and watched their homes get destroyed and did nothing to get out of the war until everything was hopelessly lost. Don't ever think the Nips quit because of the atomic bomb or because Russia entered on our side. These people would have starved to death if the war had lasted another six months. They are incapable of producing a toothpick. As for the stories they tell about how the Japs are taking the occupation, you can believe them. The Japs looked at us without any visible expression when we first entered but now that we are among them, they are very friendly and try to do anything to help us. As a whole, they are so much more intelligent and so much more cleaner than the Filipinos that I think most of the boys will get along with them fine. Even though we have build up a great hatred for the Nips, it will be hard to keep fratinizing with them because they are the first civilized people we have met in two years. The railroads and streetcars are still in operating condition which kind of remind one of home. Their trains are nicer than ours. I have a new plymouth to drive now and am getting to see a lot this country as General MacArthur has took the whole business over. I have hopes of getting home much sooner than I told you before. I hope to be on the way by the middle of October. With luck I will get home by Thanksgiving day. Do not write to me any more after you answer this letter. I don't believe I will receive any more mail after that since I will be on the way home. I haven't received any mail since I last wrote to you from the Philippines. I hope things are O.K. around 2210-N. Keep the home fires burning because I expect to be sitting by them in another 2 months. Love, Harry
Did he make it home by Thanksgiving? My grandfather expressed similar sentiments about the Japanese people he was around and of the extent of damage. He did, though, dislike the trains. The one he rode to Tokyo from Nagasaki had hard wooden seats and the seats were too close together for his 6'2" frame.
