~ 720th Military Police Battalion Reunion Association Occupied Japan History Project ~
 
GHQ

Camp Burness, Tokyo
Z & 20th Streets , Occupied Japan ~ 1948-1953
720th
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       13 March 1948 The Battalion moved from their camp in the outskirts of Tokyo at L and 48th Streets, to a former Japanese Paymasters School located at Z and 20th Streets, on the Sumida River, in downtown Tokyo. The facility had previously been occupied by the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. Battalion work details were begun to improve the facility.
1st Cav
 
MAIN GATE CAMP BURNESS-Tokyo 1949

12 April 1948 The Commanding General of the United States Eighth Army authorized the temporary naming of the 720th Military Police Battalion installation as "CAMP BURNESS," in honor of SGT Frederick A. Burness of B Company, killed and missing in action during WWII on 23 April 1943.

       The memorial statue to Battalion staff (dedicated 30 May 1947) who were killed during WWII was moved to their new camp and placed in front of building #100 (see camp diagram to right), just inside the main gate.

31 August through 1 September 1949 Typhoon "Kitty" struck the Tokyo area and left considerable damage of of Battalion equipment and facilities at Camp Burness in her wake. From reconnaissance reports the maximum sustained winds were near 110 knots 12 hours prior to landfall, but had fallen to minimum typhoon strength by the time it reached Honshu. The death toll reached 123 due to rainfall induced flooding and landslides (NY Times, 9/3/1949), and caused about 15 billion yen in damages. The contents of the Post
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Exchange building, later converted to the gymnasium, had to be moved because the tidal wave from the Sumida River and Tokyo Bay tore off a part of the building and undermined the foundation.
CAMP PHOTOGRAPHS   1948-1953
 
 
1953 (Exact date unknown) The Battalion was ordered to vacate Camp Burness and move to some upper floors in the NYK (Nippon Yusen [Kaisha] Biru) high rise building in the center of Tokyo.
 
No record has been found by the Reunion Association on the fate of the statue after the Battalion departed Japan on 21 February 1955. If you can provide any information, please use the Email Link at the top of this page.
 
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