Jack Sokol: Okinawa during the Korean War

Jack Sokol was born and raised in the Southwest side of Chicago.  Initially living in the area of 36th and Damen, his parents, Frank and Julia, built a new home at 52nd and Normandy in which they moved in when Jack was a junior in high school.  Jack described the move as uneventful as he still remained at DeLaSalle Institute.   “DeLaSalle was an all-boy Catholic High School which was operated by Christian Brothers.  Most of our teachers were Brothers, but there were a few lay teachers at DeLaSalle,” Jack explained.  He related it was a great introduction to life in basic training. 

Jack was also a gifted baseball player during his latter high school years.  Though not playing with his high school team, Jack played a lot of lot games in the neighborhood.  Jack related that the neighborhood was small and everyone knew everyone else.  “If you were good and had talent, you were noticed.”  Jack excelled at second base and he was noticed, so much so that he was invited to play second base with the “Huskies” that made up the SAC Club in Chicago.  “The teams were very well organized, we had leagues, uniforms, scheduled games and practices,” he explained.  Being seventeen years old, Jack was one of the youngest players in the league as most of the players were older and many held full-time jobs and were raising families.  One of Jack’s lay teachers at DeLaSalle also played in the league and knew of Jack’s prowess as a ball player.  “I played ball with my teacher Len in the league, I think he was the only teacher to give me an A in high school.”  

Despite his love of baseball, Jack had his sights on serving in the military when he was in high school.  His intent was solidified when he met Al Owca, an acquaintance of his who was in the Navy at the end of WWII.  “Al had his uniform on when I saw him at the local bowling alley one evening while I was in high school.  He told me about his military adventures, which included being on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay when Japan surrendered.”  Jack was sold, and knew his choice was going to be the US Air Force.  Jack explained his rationale in enlisting as compared to staying home and trying to get a good job.  “The Korea conflict was still continuing and everyone was getting drafted, pretty much as a sure thing before you turn 20-years-old.”  He explained that it was senseless to apply for a good job out of high school as the employers did not want to spend a lot of time and effort in training an employee who was draft age, “they would hire someone and then in a few months they would be drafted.”

Jack visited the local Air Force recruiter and then discussed his intentions with his parents.  Jack, still 17-years-old, asked his father to sign for him for early entry into the Air Force.  “What if I don’t sign for you?” Jack recalled his father stating to him, “Well then, I will just wait till I am 18 and then I don’t need you to sign” Jack said with a smirk.  With that, a date and time was set when Jack would enlist with the Air Force. 

Upon arriving at the recruiter’s office with his father, his birth certificate in hand, the recruiter noticed that Jack’s enlisted papers had his first name as “John” and his birth certificate had his birth name as “Jack.”  Jack explained to the recruiter that he always attended Catholic schools and “Jack” was not a Saint’s name, so he was given the name of “John” for school and church purposes.  “I thought that was my “legal” name for a very long time.”  After the recruiter corrected the enlisting papers, Jack and a few others were driven to the Polk Street train station and were ushered into a small room where they were given the Oath of Enlistment by an Air Force Officer.  From there, it was a day and a half train ride to New York for basic training.  

Jack’s basic training was at Sampson AFB in Geneva, NY.  “The Drill Instructors were all former Army Air Corp. personnel from WWII, so we were “Army” trained.  Jack said training was not so tough as some other recruits experienced.  “Others thought the discipline was extremely rigid” but coming from an all-boy Catholic High School, “I was already used to the discipline!” The one thing Jack and others did not like were the Air Force training uniforms – Green one-piece coveralls!  Fortunately, the training officers allowed the recruits to purchase separate shirts and pants at a local Army-Navy surplus store which Jack jumped at the opportunity.  “Just the change in the training uniform made basic training a little better as we did not feel like ‘garage mechanics’ in green overalls” Jack explained. 

Completing his basic training, Jack was given an aptitude test and then was asked what he would like to do in the Air Force.  Jack stated he would like to learn electronics, and with his test results, he was off to Scott AFB located near Belleville, Illinois.  Jack’s electronic school was completed in nine months.  “I wasn’t a school person so being in class close to six days a week for nine months was pretty grueling on me” Jack explained.  

Ready to move on, Jack learned that his new duty assignment was going to take him to Okinawa.  After a 30-day leave, Jack boarded a plane and he was off to Oakland, CA where he boarded the USS Billy Mitchell, with approximately nine hundred fellow airmen, for a 16- day cruise across the Pacific.  “It was 16 days of utter boredom!” Jack related.  To keep the airmen busy, they placed them on watch duty on the bow of the Billy Mitchell.  “I remembered that it just didn’t make sense, I would be on watch during the night and looking at the dark ocean.  I would then turn around and see all of the radar equipment spinning on the ship and wondered what I could see that the radar couldn’t see?”  Jack still remains perplexed on that duty till this day.

After a short overnight stop in Formosa, now known as Taiwan, they arrived at Naval Base White Beach in Okinawa.  Boarding a 6×6 truck, Jack was transported to Kadena AFB for further duty assignment.

Reporting to the 13th Communications Squadron at Kadena AFB, Jack was assigned to a transmitter site approximately seven miles from the base.  Boarding another 6×6 truck with his driver, they left the main road and onto a dusty, dirt road where they traveled up a very high mountain to the site.  Arriving at the site, Jack observed that the site was a small compound with communication towers, a Quonset hut with all of the electronic equipment.  For quarters there were four plywood shacks that housed six men and two two-man shacks.  For the airmen’s personal needs, there was an outdoor six-hole latrine, two showers and a wash basin.   “Okinawa had similar weather as Miami, Florida, and with the outdoor latrine, the stench became overwhelming, especially during the really hot summer days!”  

The site was powered by two Caterpillar diesel engines located approximately 75 feet from the barrack shacks.  “When an engine would falter and stop running, the electrical airmen really scrambled to get them up and running again, it was the only source of power for the whole site,” Jack recalled. 
There were 22 men stationed there and there were no officers and the site was overseen by a staff sergeant.  

Jack’s duties included operating a teletype and transmitting on a BC610 Transmitter.  “We would communicate with other radar sites  and bases located on the island.  Our job was to relay aircraft flight information, friendly or foe, to others for monitoring flight movement in our designated area.” Jack explained.  When we weren’t in the communication room, we would rotate guard duty for the site.  “It wasn’t much of guarding, but more watching the incoming road, and we were assisted by a few local dogs who would hang around the transmitter site.”

As crude as the site was, there were some benefits to being at an off-base site.  “We ate really well, we had two Air Force cooks in camp, who were assisted by three Okinawan cooks, who prepared very local cultural food for us!”  Jack stated that each of the twenty-two men at the site would chip in fifty-cents a day and the Okinawan cooks would travel to town to pick up fresh ingredients for their meals.  “There was an abundance of local food, including fresh strawberries and whipped cream for desserts!”

Jack recalled that the locals were very pleasant.  The Okinawans were basically farmers in general but many were being employed by the United States Government.  For leave, there was a village about a mile or two from the site were they could visit a bar and meet up with some Marines from their base in the area.  “I made the right decision in enlisting in the Air Force, the Marines told us that they would always be marching to somewhere and back again – I was very happy in my communications room after hearing that!”

After nine months, Jack was reassigned to Naha Air Base.  He stated he was ready to leave as the constant rumble of the diesel engines running twenty-four seven was taking their toll on him.  “On top of that, the headphones to the BC610 transmitter had no squelch reducer, when the equipment failed, the screeching in the headphones were excruciating and we would throw the headphones off of our heads to eliminate the pain we endured in our ears.”  Jack speculated that those issues would eventually lead to his loss of hearing in the future.

Reporting to Naha was like moving into a new home for Jack.  No more shacks but nice new barracks with two-man bunk bedrooms, tables, chairs, desks and toilets with doors!  He was assigned to the communications center at the Air Defense Control Center.  Jack related that it was a state-of-the-art control center where all air traffic, friendly or foe, was monitored on a large Plexiglas board.  “Aircraft movement was tracked on the board with grease pens which was all monitored by a weapons officer and a captain who controlled the center.”  Jack recalled that when an “unidentified aircraft” was spotted, which usually was a Korean or Chinese fighter jet, two F-86 jets would be scrambled to intercept.  “They were always testing us with their fighters to monitor our responses and capabilities, after all, it was the beginning of the Cold War,” Jack commented. 

After four months at Naha, Jack was sent to Johnson AFB in Japan for schooling in preparation for a special assignment.  Returning back to Okinawa, the special assignment led him to the 313th Air Division Headquarters.  “It was a top-secret assignment in which I gave an oath never to discuss, even after leaving the Air Force,” Jack stated.  He knew it was a very special secret assignment when he received a letter from his father stating that the FBI had been calling and visited with his parents while in school in Japan.  

Completing his two year overseas duty, Jack was granted permission to report to Willow Run Air Station near Ypsilanti, Michigan.  “Willow Run was not an active aircraft base, but it was an Air Station and the Central HQ for the US Air Defense operations,” Jack explained.  Being again assigned to communications, his station was located in a building the size of a large two-car garage.  Jack was amazed at the state-of-the-art equipment that was in use there.  “It was good duty and close enough to Chicago that I could hitch hike home when I had leave.”

While stationed at Willow Run, the Staff Sergeant was reassigned and the airmen stationed there just continued operations as usual without a Sergeant. While on duty one day, Jack received a phone call from a 1st Lt. who informed him that the General from Central HQ wanted a specific hook-up for communications.  Jack respectfully informed the 1st Lt. that the General’s request was not technologically possible.  When word of that got to the General, who was not used to being told it couldn’t be done, he decided to pay Jack a visit.  Jack said the 1st Lt. and the General drove down to Bong so he could inform the General that his request could not be completed.  “The meeting went well as I explained to the General why his request could not be met and at the end of the meeting, the General said ‘thank you Jack’ and I responded with ‘no problem George!’”  

Still without a Staff Sergeant at the Communications Center, Jack was summoned for a meeting with the First Sergeant in personnel to discuss early separation options for airmen.  Upon meeting with the First Sergeant, and ready to accept early separation, Jack was informed that he was promoted to Staff Sergeant by “General George” as a result of his visit with the General.  Jack, on the one hand, was grateful to the General for the promotion as he did not have the usual time-in-grade to be promoted, but on the other hand, he was not happy as early separation from the Air Force was not available to Non-Commissioned Officers and higher ranks.  Having his sights set on early separation, he asked if the 1st Sergeant could have the promotion rescinded so he could take advantage of the early separation option.  A few days later the 1st Sergeant called Jack to his office and informed him that the same General who promoted him rescinded the promotion and that Jack could take an early separation.  Jack’s last day in the US Air Force was June 6, 1958.  

Prior to leaving the Air Force, Jack was concerned about his hearing and asked to be tested.  Being placed on sick call, he was sent to a civilian audiologist for testing.  The results were not good as there was a loss of hearing and there was nothing that could be done.  Returning to base, he met with the doctor who documented the testing results in Jack’s personnel file and gave him a packet.  Jack was informed that when he got home, to go to the VA Hospital for more testing.  As a result of the testing, it was determined that has hearing loss was service connected which would make Jack eligible for hearing aids for the rest of his life.  Jack still expresses gratitude to the doctor at Willow Run for making him get tested before leaving the Air Force. 

Returning to Chicago to his parent’s home, and as a US Air Force veteran, he sought gainful employment. He first met with an Executive Director at IIT to discuss his possibilities in electronics.  After much thought, Jack decided that he wanted to go to and from work with clean hands.  With his military experience and training, at 23 –years-old, he became the District Credit Manager of the Credit Department with Mack Trucks.  Leaving Mack at 31-years-old, he entered the food service industry as a credit manager.  Over the years, Jack held various positions in the food industry including food service manager, sales manager, and eventually running a company as a general manager.  Jack formally retired in 1999 as a Division President with the Nedlog Company located in Wheeling, Illinois.  

Jack now enjoys his retirement with wife, Adrienne, their two children, Cathy and Dan, and playing his passion sport, golf!

Thank you Airman First Class Jock Sokol for your dedicated service to our country.  Enjoy your well-deserved Honor Flight with your fellow veterans!