720th
Battalion History ~ 1949
~ 720th Military Police Battalion Reunion Association Occupied Japan History Project ~
GHQ
This Page Last Updated ~ 26 August 2008
If you were a veteran of the 720th MP Battalion or any of its subordinate units, and recognize any of the events listed on this page, or you are a surviving family member of a Battalion veteran from this era and would like to contribute Information, personal stories, documents, media articles or photographs, please take a moment to contact the History Project Manager at the Email Link provided above for instructions or assistance. Your contributions are extremely important to the Battalion history and always welcomed.
At the start of 1949 the 720th Military Police Battalion was serving in Tokyo, occupied Japan.
C Company standing retreat at Camp Burness, Tokyo, occupied Japan.
January

        The Battalion still quartered at Camp Burness, Z and 20th Streets, Tokyo, performed normal military police functions, and the maintenance of a mobile alert force for use in the event of emergencies.

        During the year... The personnel turnover problems remained the same. The Battalion gained twenty-six officers and three-hundred forty-six enlisted men, and lost eighteen officers and two hundred ninety-five enlisted men.

1949 Battalion Year Book (PDF)>

        The Battalion was very active in athletics, tied for second place in the Tokyo Basketball League, and winner of the championship in the Baseball League. In the first half of the 1949-1950 basketball season, the Battalion was eight and zero.
17 January MAJ William C. Smith passed command of the Battalion to LTC Aubrey S. Kenworthy. LTC Kenworthy was the former commander of the International Military (War Crimes) Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE).
July
5 July The infamous "Tokyo Rose," Iva Ikuko Toguri d’Aquino, an American citizen, was put on trial in the United States from 5 July through 29 September, for treason. It was alleged she was one of several American speaking women who made propaganda broadcasts under different aliases to the Allied Forces in the Pacific Theatre of War. (Original 23 July 1944 Tokyo Rose broadcast audio file included).
August
31 August through 1 September 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 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.
At the end of 1949 all elements of the 720th Military Police Battalion were serving in Tokyo, occupied Japan.