I thought, 'What a horrible thing! Could anything be worse?' But before I could speak, he said, 'We had been taught and had believed that our emperor was God, but losing the war disproved that and has even shattered my belief in life after death. So I'm left with nothing for which to live and nothing for which to die!' His lonely, empty, hopeless despair touched me deeply. I reached out, took his hand, drew him close to me and looked into his eyes. I said, 'This horrible war has killed and devastated millions of good people throughout the world! In the United States, I live among kind and loving neighbors who are Native Americans, or have immigrated from Japan, Korea, Germany, Italy, Albania, France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, England, Wales, Scotland, Africa, and Mexico. We are a diverse group, riding together as passengers on spaceship Earth. However, we have learned we are much more alike than we are different. If you are looking for a reason to love, start spreading the word that every passenger on spaceship Earth is entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Hating, mistreating, injuring, or killing each other is an evil, senseless waste of time, energy, resources and lives. Our challenge is to convince all people that the most efficient and effective way to destroy our enemies is to make them our friends. Meeting this challenge will require time, strength, effort and the self-control of all people.' THE PLANE AT SADO SHIMA - Later, I was sent to inspect the forced landing of a C-47 plane on the beach of Sado Shima off the west coast of Japan near the city of Niigata. My Japanese interpreter and two infantry bodyguards accompanied me. We discovered that the plane had belonged to a British air marshal. He had been flying from Hong Kong to Tokyo. The pilot had been blinded by a heavy snowstorm and become disoriented. They had run low on fuel and were forced to land the plane on Sado Shima's beach. Fortunately, there were no injuries and the plane was only slightly damaged. It was apparent that the plane was repairable; the main problem would be to smooth a stretch of the beach long enough for the plane to take off. At Haneda Air Force Base, I reported that the plane could be repaired and there was sufficient beach space to smooth out an airstrip. My orders to return to Salt Lake City for discharge had arrived while I was away. I left Japan without knowing what had happened to the plane. However, several years later, Readers Digest printed an article entitled, 'The Night My Number Came Up.' The article was written by the British air marshal and contained a detailed description of the flight from Hong Kong to Sado Shima and the rest of the events that followed. The plane had successfully taken off and returned to England. KEEPING A COMMITMENT - I was discharged from the Air Force on March 19, 1946. The Gl bill made it possible for me to keep the commitment I made that night on the edge of my foxhole. I enrolled at Weber College the day after my discharge and graduated on March 23, 1947, with an Associate's credential. Immediately, I enrolled at the University of Utah, and graduated on June 14, 1949 with a BS degree. I began my graduate work at Utah State University and earned an MS degree on June 1, 1953, and a Doctorate in Education Administration on June 4, 1960. Along with these degrees, I qualified for certification as an elementary school teacher, a secondary school teacher, a public school administrator, a psychologist, and a counselor. I served as a teacher, a counselor, a psychologist, and an administrator in the Weber School District and as the Director of Pupil Personnel in the Utah State Department of Public Instruction. The commitment I made that night on the edge of my foxhole increased and broadened my intellectual horizons and greatly increased my opportunities to develop eternal friendships. Even after twenty years of retirement, hardly a day passes without someone approaching me and saying, 'You don't remember me, but you turned my life around! Blair A. Johnston Blair Johnston was a lieutenant in the Air Force, receiving the Air Medal. He was a B-24 pilot during the liberation in the South Pacific and New Guinea. 38 Charles Lyle Killpack, Jr. Charles Killpack, a staff sergeant in the Army Air Corps, served in the European Theater of Operations and received a ribbon with one battle star. He also received a Meritorious Unit Service insignia with one star, a good conduct medal, and the Victory Medal. He served in battles and campaigns in Rome, Arno, and Africa. During the military occupation, he was a technical supply clerk with the 11th Air Depot Group. James B. Knighton James Knighton, a First Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps, was en route to the South Pacific when the atomic bomb was dropped. He returned home shortly thereafter. Vern F. Koldewyn Vern served in the Army Air Force from September 30, 1942, to September 16, 1945, and earned the rank of staff sergeant. He earned six Bronze Star medals while serving in Italy, Germany, and France. He was an electrical specialist in the ground crew and had several planes to watch over, one of which was the Norma. One Saturday evening, he was on top of the left wing doing some last minute electrical maintenance work. The plane had been refueled and had just been loaded with 500-pound bombs for the next day's mission, when a fire broke out. He jumped off the wing Just before the plane exploded. William A. Lee William A. Lee, an Air Force captain, served in the Pacific with the Fifth Air Force, Fifth Bomber Command Headquarters in the flight section as a navigator. John A. Lindquist I, John A. Lindquist, report my services during World War II as a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps. I was inducted into military service 1 May 1942 at Ft. Douglas, Utah and served at Abilene, Texas, Camp Barkley for my basic training. While there, I applied for and received an appointment to the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet training. I was then transferred to San Antonio, Texas, for pre-flight training, with additional training at Muskogee, Oklahoma; Independence, Kansas; and Childress, Texas, where I was commissioned as a second Lieutenant (#0-696028) 1 October 1943 as a Bombardier/ Navigator. My next station was the 18th Replacement Training Wing at Salt Lake City (fairgrounds). I was subsequently ordered to Biggs Field, El Paso, Texas for B-24 combat training. Next was McCook, Nebraska, where our crew was assigned to the 493rd BG(H), where we all received additional training. On 5 May 1944, our group left Lincoln, Nebraska, after a short survival training program and departed for Debach, East Anglia, England. Each crew flew a new B-24J over the Northern route to England. We arrived in Debach approximately six days later, at Station 152, 8th Air Force. We immediately 39