Miyako Jima Photo Gallery by Ed Johnson at pbase.com

Miyako Jima

Miyako Jima - 1958-1959

Miyako Jima is an island in the East China Sea at the southern end of the Ryukyu group. It is a generally flat roughly triangular island about 9 by 15 miles (14X24 kilometeres) across. It is a tropical island with beautiful beaches, lush vegitation, and a warm tropical climate. The main subsistance for the people was fishing and raising sugar cane and sweet potatos. The population of the island was at that time about 40,000, of which over half lived in the city of Hirara. The culture of the people was similar to that of rural Japan about 100 years eariler.

At the oppisite side of the island from the city of Hirara was the village of Bora, population about 700. I lived about a half mile from Bora.

This gallery contains photographs that I took during my year and a half on the island, from 1958 to 1959.

Sunset1.jpg	Bora house	Workers.jpg	Cliff - tunnel
Inter Island Ferry	Children in Bora	Typhoon Damaged Building - Hirara	Hirara Boatyard
Hirara Dock	Kite Flying	Hirara Street	Huey and me
Leper Colony	Leper Colony	Little girls - lillies	Kids
Horse plowing	Boats in lagoon	Island Sentinel	Long point
Northeast Bay	Going to Work	Boat	Rice paddies - Kume-Shima
Rice Paddies - Kume Shima	Lagoon Bridge	My Beach	More Boats
Miyako Boy	Cliff	Tori	Long Point.jpg
Quiet Lagoon1	Rocks.jpg	Village on Southwest Side.jpg	Huey and the Goats
Huey	Goat

post a comment

Guest		12-Jun-2009 16:23
11-Jun-2009 14:13 Great pictures and great memories. I served under a fine skipper, Lt Gilbert, and worked for Redeye. The people were wonderful. The Father Martin visits brightened our our day, the crew was the best ever and don't forget MamaSan, Jimmy, Haneji and Fang. B.J. Muse June 68-June 69 37013

glaird		05-Mar-2009 23:00
Garry Laird Beautiful Island. Service with the Air Force 2152nd Comm Sq Det 1 as a Tropo Tech. Hope to revisit some day. BEAUTIFUL pictures. I see John Green, one of the comm mob has visit the site. glaird2@everestkc.net

Kimi Bronson		27-Jan-2009 14:46
Our father is Bill Bronson and still lives in Missouri. Our mother passed away a few years back, but we still stay in close contact with our family in Japan. My grandmother still lives in the same house, on the same street from when my parents first met. I grew up hearing all the wonderful Coast Guard stories and am so glad that Miyako was such a lasting and positive memory for so many people. I did not see your name on the last post dated Jan 19th. If you give me your name I can pass it along to my dad. I'm sure he'd be glad to hear from one of his old Coast Guard buddies. If you were at their wedding I am sure you are in one of the old pictures. My dad also has a picture from that time w/ all of the guys on base plus the staff. If anyone is interested I can try to email a copy.

Guest		19-Jan-2009 15:08
Great photos! I recognized "my beach" immediately. I was on Miyako at the CG Loran Station in 1966-67. The typhoon I experienced was Cora. The island was beautiful, the people were wonderful. If you watched the last episode of the TV show Mash, you know what I felt when I left there - a turmoil of emotions as the Air America C-46 lifted off the dirt runway and I looked down at the passing, then disappearing, landscape of the island. As Alan Rosenberg said in his post, it was a life-changing experience, one that provided a wealth of memories. To the person(s) who posted on 22-23 Aug 2007, if your father was from Missouri, I knew your parents and send them my best.

Frank Gremaux		06-Jan-2009 00:07
I too would like thank you for the pictures and memories from Miyako I was there from April 63 to 64

jim ledwith		19-Dec-2008 08:15
Thanks Ed. for the wonderful photos. I was stationed on Miyako from junw 1966 to june1967 with the 623 AC&W Sqd.The photos brought back many fond memories of the people of Miyako

John Belo		28-Nov-2008 15:31
I was stationed there from Jan. 1964 til Jan. 1965. I was a radio operator with the 2152nd Comm. SQ. Det. 1. I loved that island. One of my fondest memories was the boat ride on a LST from Naha to Miyako. Couldn't sleep so I got up and and went out on the bow and sat there most of the night til dawn and watched as the island grew larger on the horizon. Quite an experience for an eighteen year old. Every time I hear the song "Southern Cross " by Crosby STills and Nash it reminds me of that ride. Best buddy a guy named Rodney Horton from Ada Ok. we had a ball on that island.

Guest		16-Mar-2008 10:20
It is great to see these photos. I will be leaving for my fith trip to Miyako tomorrow. I am in the U.S. Navy and have just returned from Camp Fallujah Iraq and will be taking a vacation to Miyako because that is where my wife is from. I meet her on Okinawa while I was stationed there. I will make sure to show this gallerie to my in-laws when we get there and maybe try to recreate some of the photos in the picture if anyone is interested.

Masao Shimoji		08-Mar-2008 00:32
Amazing pictures!! All of the pictures bring me childhood memories. I was born on the island (1951 in Taira City) and grew up there. These incredible pictures are exactly how I remember my childhood. Even to this day, I still don't quite understand why the island people were so poor. I remember spending all afternoon with mom hunting snails for dinner (I understand giant snails, native of Africa, were released on the island to supply protein source to the islanders). Every 3-4 years, thatched homes were blown away by a typhoon. I remember neighborhood adults taking turns building each other's homes. Thank you Mr. Johnson for these wonderful pictues. What is most amazing is that one of the men in the piture (top row, second from the right) looks like my dad (now deseased). I will be showing the picture to my family (my mom, 85, still lives in Miyako) to see what they think. I would also like to take this opportunity to ask anyone who was stationed in Miyako to please drop me a line (masao@ymakgroup.com) and share your experiences. I would really like to communicate with you.

Guest		21-Feb-2008 16:09
I was stationed at Miyako Jima '64 - '65. Peter Joseph was the skipper. Beautiful island and some good memories. Jack Beith

Bill Edwards		16-Feb-2008 15:47
Bill Edwards, I was stationed with the 2152nd Comm Sq. 64-65. I remember some of the spots in your photos. I ran the Mars/Ham station in 65 running phone patches to the states for the AF guys and Coasties from the Loran site. Really some beautiful scenery there. Developed our own color slides in photo lab that we took. Thanks for sharing.

Gene Holt		03-Feb-2008 22:45
Thank you for posting these great pictures. It has been many years since I was stationed there (1957-58) but, I can still see the MIGs as they came over the barracks on their way back to China. Our planes would be right on their tails. I guess it was a fun time for both sides even though we had to go on real alerts every time. I had the use of a 10 boat from one of the fisherman and an outboard from the resident Army Governor. There are a lot of good times in the memory bank. I bought a old ford station wagon from 4 sargents and got it running. I had the only privately own vehicle for as long as I was there. I always wondered what happened to it after I sold it to another GI when I left.

Rich Agnusich		03-Feb-2008 00:04
I was Stationed There Oct 65-Oct 66. Bravo Crew. I have Very Fond Memories Of the Island and the People there. (I Returned On My Own In 1992)I Was Given a VIP tour By the Japanese Base Commander) I remember a Charlie Smith From Alabama. Kyoko Who served Us Our Coffee And Dessert's (She Had A Front Gold tooth) In Our Chow Hall. The Worst Typhoon In History Of the Island (I beleive August Of 1966? It Tore Off the Steel Shutters That we Used To Protect the Windows In The Event Of a Typhoon)) Then The Okinawan Bartender In The NCO Club Who Had Massive Nodules On His Fist From Being a Karate Black belt. The (Tox On Skivy) Party's we Had at The NCO Club With the Lady's From Downtown. I can Honesty say.... It was The best Year Of My Life while On that PEARL!

Guest		23-Aug-2007 02:31
What beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing them. To the "Guest" post from Peter Joseph, My mother was from Miyako, and my father was stationed in the Coast Guard there; Father Martin actually performed their wedding ceremony. He became a dear friend of the family and visited us in the States many, many times. He died several years ago, but it's so wonderful to see what an impact his life had. Your post and these pictures brought a tear to my eyes!

Guest		22-Aug-2007 21:38
My father was stationed on the Miyako Jima Coast Guard base back in the mid 60's. He met my mother in front of the library and married her less than 6 months later. Although I haven't been back in 9 years I've was fortunate enough to spend 6 summers there growing up. It's changed so much since then and we don't have many pictures of what it looked like back in the early days so these pictures mean alot. My niece and nephew went a few years ago, but I think it's important that they see what the island was back then so they understand where they came from. Thank you so much for posting these wonderful pictures!

Tom Atkinson		31-May-2007 18:26
I was at Miyako 623rd AC&W 1969-70. Ran the Power Plant, Tech and Base. Visited the Coast Guard Base a couple of times and had a great time.It's my understanding that the old Orderly Room Medical Bldg and Theater are being razed May 2007. I don't have a clue whats replacing the site. I remember the Typoon in 1969 and we did not have a power outage and all our cable trenches were spouting water at the pits. Lots of snakes to dodge and those large African snails !

Terry Rohse		23-May-2007 03:08
I was in the Air Force on Miyako "Charlie Crew" from Oct 1968 through Nov 1969. We had aparty at the Coast guard LORAN station and had a great time..... I've always wanted to come back to Miyako.... It was a great year.... We went through a Typhoon in 1969 also... I think it was Betty, can't remember... Della took our RADAR out and it was still down when I arrived in Oct '68.. Wonderful photos

Bill Bever		13-Apr-2007 13:32
Miyako Jima is a beautiful island. I was stationed there with the USAF during 65/66. This was my first tour of duty in the Air Force. What a place to find myself in life. Miyako Jima gave me the opportunity to plan my future. Memories forever.

John Green		07-Apr-2007 18:10
I was stationed on Miyako from Nov 66 to Nov 67. I was with the 2152nd Comm Squadron (Detachment 1) and worked on the Transmitters and Receivers used by thee 623 Radar Squadron. The cliff and tunnel photo is nice. Been there lots of times.

Guest		09-Feb-2007 17:42
I was CO of the Coast Guard loran station from June 1964 -May 1965. We went through two typhoons, one of which blew me through a closed plywood door, but we never went off-air even though we had rain water in the cable trenches. It was a long year and I appreciated the perioidic visits of Father Martin, the New York fireman who became a catholic missionary and was posted to Miyako. I also appreciated the support and friendship of the Air Force personnel stationed on the other side of the Island. My crew, with but one exception, was superb! Peter Joseph

alan rosenberg		30-Jan-2007 14:53
I was stationed on the Coast Guard Station at one end of the island from 1968-1969. It was a life-changing experience for me. Miyako Jima is a wonderful island full of great kids. Life is hard compared to our U.S. standards but they are unaware of them. I was amused to see typoon damage in your prints since we went through typoon Della in 1968. Thanks for the memories.

Jeffrey Cummings		29-Jan-2007 04:07
Wow, I am in Miyako right now as an English teacher with the JET Program. It still feels like Miyako is in some ways stuck in the past. There is still a "closed off" sense of thinking here, too. I often here children say, "why would I want to go somewhere else? This is all I need. I've never even thought of leaving Miyako to see the rest of the world." No joke. Yet, the people are incredibly nice. I'm enjoying my time here and will continue to do so for a couple of years before I go to work on the mainland. I just can't picture this place, the feeling, from fifty years ago.

Fredio Samples		15-Jan-2007 23:02
Yes, very nice pictures. Remember very well. Was stationed with the US Air Force 623rd ACW at Nobaru hill on Miyako 1964. Visited again in 2004. Not a great lot of changes have been made out away from Hirara City. (E-Mail me sometime.)

Frank Odell		26-Nov-2006 19:00
In spring of 1958 I was a young USAF Airman in AACS and I was TDY for three months on the hill top on Miyako. Repaired and maintained the MYE Non-directional beacon for USAF. My Miyako experience affected my continuing understanding of the world, mostly in a very positive way. Your pictures are wonderful. All I have are some black and whites and they are not nearly as interesting as your pictures. Had just finished a Miyako page for my web site and my hard drive crashed before back up. Will redo the page very soon and have it on the web. Thanks for the good memories.

Barry Weiss		18-Oct-2006 17:54
I was stationed on Miyako Jima from 1961 to 1962. Just wondering if you have any pics of the installation at the top of the "mountain"? It was a small hill, but it was the highest point on the Island. I remember an almost complete 360� view from there. Thanks for these pics. They brought back fond memories.

Hernan Contreras		03-Aug-2006 00:57
Great pictures. Brought back good memories. I was stationed there 1964-1965.

Peter Hollinger		03-Dec-2004 03:11
Wonderful gallery! I wish PBase were working properly so I could go through them all -- it's just too slow now. I lived on Java from 1954-56, so I had some very early exposure to tropical paradise! http://www.pbase.com/image/35103387

Bill Pruitt sr.		03-Dec-2004 02:49
I found where it is Ed.Thanks, Nice gallery too.

D.Wong		03-Dec-2004 01:52
Lovely series. Thanks for providing a glimpse back into the past

M.J. Hevezi		02-Dec-2004 07:50
Ed, these are great ... any background on this shoot? Matt

click on thumbnails for full image