One of a series of extraordinary home movies shot in Occupied Japan immediately after WWII, this film shows scenes likely shot in 1951, including the transport USS General H.B. Freeman (AP-143) departing Yokohama bound for the USA. The man who filmed these was a Harvard graduate (’43) and U.S. Army Intelligence Officer named Robert Ryan. Ryan may have very well worked for the OSS, although it’s not clear. He definitely worked as an instructor at the U.S. Army’s AFFE Intelligence School, and toured Vietnam in the early 1960s to conduct strategic vulnerability surveys. These films dates to the period July 1947-May 1951, when Ryan served in the Department of Defense in the Geographic Branch, Theater Intelligence Division, Far East Command. During this time he served in Occupied Japan and in the Korean theater.
This film shows the Akakura Kanko Resort (also known as ‘Akakan’), which was one of the first European-style ski resorts in Japan. The resort was established in 1937 and remains one of the most popular resorts in Myoko. During the Occupation of Japan, the resort became a recreation center for members of the Eighth Army and diplomatic guests.
This film begins with images of Japanese couples learning to square dance (:11). At (:25) an American in a silk shirt takes photos of the event. It seems to take place on a sports field of some sort, with a big hill next to it. At 2:19 some Western style cowboy dances are performed. At (2:49), Americans crowd the rails of the USS General H. B. Freeman (AP-143), a General G. O. Squier-class transport ship (3:16). The sign “2nd T Medium Port” designates that this was shot at Yokohama. The ship was part of the Military Sealift Command at this time, and likely carrying Americans back to the States. The film ends with footage (5:00) of a festival that unfortunately was double-exposed.
General H. B. Freeman (AP-143) was launched in 1944 by the Kaiser Co., Inc., in Richmond, California, and operated in the Pacific in 1945, including delivering thousands of passengers to India. In August, 1945 the ship carried more than 1,000 homeward-bound veterans back to the West Coast. After being deactivated, the ship was was reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950 and carried military passengers throughout the Korean War from the West Coast to Korea, Japan, and island bases in the Pacific. She was in the fleet that evacuated Hŭngnam.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
