Station HYPO

Kamiseya was a great place to be stationed and orders there were highly coveted. The base was located to the south-west of Tokyo and there was plenty to do during off-duty hours! No wonder Kami had gained a reputation as the “Camelot of the Orient.”

The base began life as a Japanese supply base during the Second World War. After the end of hostilities the base languished, unused for several years. The growing U.S. presence in the Pacific as well as the rise of Communism caused Washington to reassess the needs for fast reliable communications in that part of the world.

A small communications detachment had been located in Ominato, Japan just after the war. It was moved to Yokosuka where communications needs vied with other “Big Navy” requirements and in the end it was decided that a new communications facility would be built. Kamiseya was the ideal location: relatively good transportation between Yokosuka and Yokohama as well as a semi-remote local without electromagnetic interference – just right for a large antenna farm. The concrete “tunnels” the Japanese had built for the war provided a good operations area but the facility was quickly outgrown. Additional building would be needed as the mission grew.

Officially opened in 1952, the base population grew steadily during the rest of the decade. On-base housing (called Kami Seya Gardens) was opened in 1957. Families could now enjoy modern housing built to U.S. standards. Post War Japanese housing was spartan by American standards. The 1950s ended and the calendar turned over to a new decade: the base continued to expand as new missions were added. The organizational chart (see page 20) was continually revised to reflect the latest assignments and a succession of Commanding Officers oversaw the base.

The food was great also. The big galley up near the main entrance produced award winning chow on a daily basis – and there was plenty of it and plenty of hungry mouths to feed. The Marines (in the form of Company “E”, Marine Support Battalion) had “landed” in June 1956 and joined their fellow Sailors at various positions. Later, during Vietnam the Coast Guard would have a small detachment at the base. Later still the base would host other entities as shifting political winds necessitated.

As the base and mission grew so did the need for command and control in other parts of Japan. Kamiseya became the host command for several detachments scattered all over the Japanese archipelago and even onto the Korean mainland. Someone was always coming or going- good thing that the Naval Air Station Atsugi was near by. Atsugi, the place where General MacArthur first set foot on Japanese soil in 1945, became a stepping stone for our personnel; whether arriving or departing PCS, deploying to ships as part of the DIRSUP program or transiting to and from one of the detachments.

Sailors and Marines at Kamiseya have always worked hard and they played hard. The friendly, outgoing servicemen participated in local events and in 1965 the based hosted the first of what became an annual event: the Bon Odore Festival.

It is against this backdrop that summer turned to fall in 1965 and everyone on the base had been lulled into a sense of complacency. Before November arrived that complacency would be shattered, shattered forever!

Source: US NCVA Special Publication, Kamiseya 40^th Anniversary Fire Memorial