George Mindling (the author of U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles) was recently contacted by NHK Broadcasting (the only public TV network in Japan) requesting contact information for people who worked at “Okinawa and Japanese nuclear weapons and depot sites.” (See the email request from Bob Evans, NHK Broadcasting below.)
If you served at Okinawa and are interested in assisting Mr. Evans with his information request, please contact him directly.
From: Bob Evans (NHK Broadcasting)
To: George Mindling (Author: U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles)
Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2016
Subject: inquiry from journalist about missileers
Dear Mr. Mindling,
I’m an American who works here in the states for the documentary division of NHK Broadcasting, which is the public TV network in Japan (also the oldest and largest TV network in Japan).
We are making an educational/historical program about the period of time when many men from the United States served in Japan at MACE and other sites in the 1950s through the early 1970s, to ensure that nuclear-ready weapons were available for the defense of Japan and the free world.
I understand that your service was in Germany, but that in your book you covered the global effort of Air Force missileers to provide the nuclear umbrella over allies and Americans alike.
I’m trying to talk to as many people who worked at the Okinawa and Japanese nuclear weapons and depot sites as possible, to get an idea about the work they did to keep the Japanese people free – to this day. I’m hoping that you might be able to help me, either by sharing contact information or by contacting any of the people who helped you with your book who served in Japan, and asking them if they would contact me or allow you to give me their information.
Our program is designed to help the people of Japan better understand the history and importance of the U.S. nuclear shield that has kept them safe all these years. Many of those people were not even born when you and others did your work, and we are hoping to educate them about the truth regarding what took place. Many of them also do not understand the extensive training and precautions that were taken to ensure the safety of those operations. Hopefully this program will teach them about these important actions.
To start, I’d like to just talk on the telephone with the people who served in Japan, about their training and anything else they feel comfortable telling me about. I’m not limited to Air Force personnel in my program.
These telephone conversations would be what good journalists call “background only” – used only to do research and get our facts straight. They would not be used in the program, and the names of the people who talk to me, and their comments, would not be used in any program, unless they later agreed to do an on-camera interview. Even then, only the parts done on-camera would be used in any program.
Please let me know your thoughts, and if you’re willing to help us. If you have any questions about NHK or this program you’d like answered first, I’d be glad to do that. Just let me know if you’d like to exchange e-mail or talk. I live in Virginia, so am in the eastern daylight time zone. If you’d like me to call you, please let me know when it would be convenient, what time zone you are in and what telephone number to use.
Thanks for any help you can give, and for your precious time,
Bob Evans
NHK Broadcasting
757-564-6331
bobevans52@cox.net
(NHK is the only public TV network in Japan, and the largest TV network in Japan. For more information on NHK, please see our English language Web site, http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/ )