Looking back at Misawa's history in May

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Don Koser
  • 35th Fighter Wing historian
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  May 1939: Construction of Misawa Air Base began under the direction of the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force in an effort to shore up defenses in Northern Japan with a 60,000,000 yen budget. The air base was completed Feb. 10, 1942.

May 17, 1942: First Lt. Harvey J. Scandrett of the 40th Fighter Squadron scored the 35th Fighter Group's first aerial victory of World War II over the Southwest Pacific.

May 25, 1962: Sollars Elementary School is dedicated to the memory of Lt. Col. John A. Sollars, former commander of the 531st Tactical Fighter Squadron at Misawa. Colonel Sollars died in December 1961 after ejecting from his F-100 Super Sabre during an instrument approach at Matsushima Air Base near Sendai. He remained with the crippled jet until it cleared a heavily populated area.

May 22, 1963: Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress, visited Aomori-ken. On their return to Tokyo, they left the Royal train at Misawa Station and motored through the city and on to Misawa in their gleaming 1935 Mercedes Benz. At the flightline, air base officials met with them before they boarded their DC-8 airplane. Thousands of spectators lined the streets of Misawa City and Misawa AB to catch a glimpse.

May 2, 1966: The 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron activated at Korat Royal Thai AFB, Thailand. Under the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, the 13th Fighter Squadron initially flew the F-105 Thunderchief and F-4D Phantom II.

May 16, 1968: A major earthquake, measuring a five on the Japanese scale, occurred off the coast of Honshu and Hokkaido at 9:05 a.m. The resulting fires gutted large portions of Misawa City's residential and business sections. The base lost all utilities, several roads to landslides, and suffered severe structural damage to many buildings. At 7 p.m. a large aftershock wrecked much of the cleanup progress made throughout the day.

May 3, 1980: The Japan National Railroad, the Cherry Blossom Express, departed Misawa with 380 U.S. Forces personnel and 10 Japan Air Self-Defense Forces personnel bound for the Hirosaki City Cherry Blossom Festival.

May 11, 1980: The Japanese and American Friendship Club, envisioned by Colonel Stephen L. Sutton and Maj. Gen. Inagawa Shiro, held their first joint activity - a picnic at Leftwich Memorial Park on Misawa.

May 31, 1991: The 432nd Component Repair Squadron and Aircraft Generation Squadron were inactivated as part of the USAF's Objective Wing reorganization. Most functions were realigned under the 13th and 14th Fighter Squadrons.

May 24, 1996: Airman 1st Class Kozo Tahara, 3rd Airborne Early Warning Group, became the first Japan Air Self-Defense Force member to attend the Misawa Airman Leadership School, class 96-F.