Base de Datos de Experiencias Militares de Japoneses Americanos
George Edwin Suzuki
Officer Candidate School, Ft. Benning, GA
Allied Translators and Intelligence Service (ATIS), Tokyo, Japan
441st Counterintelligence Corps (CIC), Tokyo, Japan
CIC Met Unit 81, Odawara, Japan; Kanagawa, Japan
338th MI Service Battalion, Ft. Meade, MD
US Army Intelligence School (USAINTS),Baltimore, MD
115th CIC Detachment, San Francisco, CA
441st CIC Det, Tokyo, Japan
Training Division, Ft. Holabird, MD; 108th Military Intelligence Group, New York; 108th MI Group, Ft. Devens, MA
US Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (USCAR), Yaeyama, Okinawa
US Army Intelligence Command, Ft. Holabird, MD
Counter-intelligence Officer within Military Intelligence Branch.
Other Countries: Tokyo, Japan; Yokosuka, Japan; Odawara, Japan; Stuttgart, Germany; Okinawa.
6/1944 Basic infantry at Ft. McClellan, AL.
9/1944: MIS Language Training (Japanese) at Ft. Snelling, MN.
7/1945: Officer Candidate School, Infantry, Ft. Benning, GA.
11/1945:Commissioned 2nd Lt, Infantry.
2/1946: Assigned overseas to Allied Translators and Intelligence Service (ATIS), Tokyo, Far East Command, with duty at War Crimes Division, correcting Japanese translators' English texts.
3/1946: Transferred to Hq, 441st Counterintelligence Corps (CIC), Tokyo, Japan, where career interest as a CI Officer with Military Intelligence Branch of the US Army continued for the next 26 years, interrupted once with a Military Government assignment.
3-4/1946: After a brief 'refresher' course at Hq, 441st CIC Detachment, Tokyo, dispatched to CIC's Metropolitan Unit 81, Yokohama, and placed on temporary duty to Yokosuka Field Office, acting as Liaison Officer to the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI).
7/1946: Designated Officer-in-Charge, Odawara Field Office of CIC Met Unit 81,involved in the repatriation program of German nationals (Diplomatic, Naval and Commercial) stranded in Japan after WW II.
4/1947: Promoted to 1st Lt.
11/1947: Returned to Hq, CIC Met Unit 81, now renamed CIC Area 25 and later Kanagawa CIC, taking over the Special Operations Desk, involved in Japanese Police Liaison and investigations of elements 'inimical to the best interests of the Occupation Forces.' The unit was also known as 8th District, 441st CIC Det for a time.
7/1950: Promoted to Capt.
12/1951: Returned to US with stops at 338th MI Service Battalion, Ft. Meade, MD, and Ft. Riley, KS, participating in Interrogation of Prisoners-of-War Class at the latter station.
5/1952: Reported to Ft. Holabird, Baltimore, MD, to attend CIC Basic Agents Course, US Army Intelligence School (USAINTS), graduating 10/1952.
11/1952: Assigned Complaint Control Section, Hq, 115th CIC Detachment, San Francisco, dealing with Personnel Security Investigations.
3/1953: Rerouted overseas again to Region IV, Tokyo, 441st CIC Det, assuming duties with Counter-Subversive Division, initially the Korean Desk and eventually Labor Section, again involved in investigations of elements 'inimical to the Occupation.'
6/1955: Returned to Ft. Holabird, MD, to attend USAINTS CIC Advanced Course, graduating 5/1956.
8/1956: Assigned Region II, Los Angeles, 115th CIC Det, Complaint Section, Personnel Security Investigations.
2/1958: Overseas again, this time to Europe, assuming duties with Source Control Division, Hq 66th CIC Det, Stuttgart, Germany.
5/1960: Promoted to Major.
1/1961: Returned to Ft. Holabird, USAINTS, as Chief, Training Division, Office of the Director of Instruction, coordinating development of Programs of Instruction for Counterintelligence, Area Intelligence and Combat Intelligence Departments.
10/1963: Overseas for the fourth time, designated Director, Security Division, US Army Pacific Intelligence School, Okinawa, responsible for the coordination of training foreign officers in Counterintelligence subjects. Officer enrolled arrived mainly from Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
1/1964: Promoted to Lt Colonel, prior to assuming above duties.
1/1966: Returned to the US as Commanding Officer, Region IV, Syracuse, 108th Military Intelligence Group, New York. Duties entailed the overseeing of investigations involved with personnel, document and installation security.
4/1966: Transferred to Hq, 108th MI Group, Ft. Devens, MA, as Group Deputy for Operations, coordinating security matters of four Regions of the Group.
3/1967: In a final overseas tour, assigned to US Civil Adminstration of the Ryukyu Islands (USCAR) as the High Commissioner's Representative to Yaeyama, the southernmost island group of the Ryukyu Chain. Ostensibly a Civil Affairs (Military Government) Officer's responsibilities included coordinating and monitoring progress of social, political and economic welfare programs instituted by USCAR for the island group.
4/1969: Back to the US and Ft. Holabird to the US Army Intelligence Command (USAINTC) as Chief, Security Division.
9/1970: Assumed duties as Chief, HUMINT Division, USAINTC.
3/1971: Promoted to Colonel (Reserves).
4/1971: Fulfilled last military assignment as Deputy Director of Personnel Security Investigations, USAINTC.
1/1972: Retired as Colonel at Ft. Holabird, returning to California after 28 years of service.
Army Commendation Medal: 12/18/1963: For meritorious service, successfully serving as Chief, Training Division, Office of Academic Operations, US Army Intelligence School, Ft. Holabird, MD. Responsibilities entailed overseeing the development and administration of Programs of Instruction for Counterintelligence, Area Intelligence, and Combat Intelligence Departments, 10/14/1961 to 12/18/1963.
Army Commendation Medal with 1st Oak Leaf Cluster: 12/27/1965: For meritorious service, serving as Director, Security Department, US Army Pacific Intelligence School, Okinawa, successfully contributing to the coordination and development of responsible curriculum designed for foreign intelligence student officers of 11 Asian and Middle Eastern countries, 2/1964 to 12/1965.
Army Commendation Medal with 2nd Oak Leaf Cluster: 1/9/1968: For meritorious service as Region Commander IV (Syracuse, NY) and Deputy for Operations, Hq 108th Military Intelligence Group, Ft. Devens, MA, US Army Intelligence Command, 3/1966 to 12/1967.
Legion of Merit: 1/26/1969: For exceptional meritorious service as US Governments's representative to the remote Island Group of Yaeyama, Ryukyu Islands, responsible for assisting the High Commissioner and Civil Administrator on economic, governmental, political safety and social fields, 1/1968 to 7/1969.
Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster: 1/31/1972: For exceptional meritorious service, serving as Chief, Office of Security, Deputy Chief of Staff, Intelligence, 8/19/1969 to 7/28/1970; as Chief, HUMINT Division, Deputy Chief of Staff, Intelligence, 7/29/1970 to 4/18/1971; and as Deputy Director of Investigations, US Army Intelligence Command, 4/19/1971 to 1/31/1972, culminating 28 years of active military service.
Others: Army of Occupation (Japan) Ribbon;WW II Victory; Navy Unit Citation for the 441st CIC Det; UN and National Defense Ribbons; and other theater awards.
Duties involved overseeing USCAR's interest in matters of local government, economy, welfare, and social programs for 50,000 inhabitants, which entailed such diverse endeavors as arranging with the US Navy, the evacuation of seriously injured persons to Okinawa for emergency treatment and/or hospitalization; ferrying cattle from one island to another aboard the Unit's landing craft; allocating USCAR funds for the construction of village town halls and clinics; keeping tabs on local politicians in their quest for political office; apprising US Army engineers on Okinawa of WW II unexploded bombs; arranging for women's groups on Okinawa to meet local counterparts; and providing youth with necessary sports equipment, donated by civic minded US families on Okinawa.
To cope with the foregoing, the Yaeyama Civil Affairs Team (YCAT), as the Unit was called, was comprised of 25 local (Ryukyuan) assistants, including 10 engineers, 4 boat crew members for YCAT's Landing Craft, 4 motor pool workers, 3 cooks/maids, and 2 guards with one collie dog for the Unit's compound, one acre in size along the water's edge. Assisting at the office in downtown Ishigaki, Yaeyama's largest city, were one translator/interpreter and an office clerk. There were no other US personnel in the island group, except for a monthly visit by the Supply Officer from USCAR who directed the off-loading of YCAT's provisions and cargo from a US Naval craft.
