720th
Battalion History ~ 1951
~ 720th Military Police Battalion Reunion Association Occupied Japan History Project ~
GHQ
This Page Last Updated ~ 27 August 2008
Roster pages include Company group photographs.
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 1951 all elements of the 720th Military Police Battalion were serving in Tokyo, occupied Japan.
The Battalion motto in 1951 was...... "COURTESY, SERVICE & SECURITY"

        The Battalion was in the process of forming a new C Company and bringing it up to TO&E strength. The core personnel were drawn from HQ, A, B, and D Companies. Many of the new personnel sent to the Battalion had no prior military police training or experience, and were trained by the Battalion at Camp Burness.

        During the year officers and enlisted men of the Battalion participated in training of Japanese Security Guards who are utilized in and around GHQ installations.
1951 Year Book
        Since the occupation of Japan began, the Battalion set a record very few police departments in the United States can equal. Ninety percent of all stolen vehicles have been recovered and the city has one of the lowest crime rates of any large city in the world. This has been contributed to largely by the combination patrols of Military Policemen and Japanese Policemen who have worked together with outstanding cooperation.
A Company, 720th MP Battalion, stand retreat at Camp Burness in 1951.
        The line companies, A, B, C and D, rotated the law enforcement mission in the city of Tokyo. Each company was assigned a specific shift and would relieve the company ahead of them. The shifts were also rotated on a regular basis. The patrol coverage was so extensive that the average call to response time anywhere in the city was less that three minutes.
        The secondary mission was a Battalion alert mobile force (Alert Company) maintained for rapid deployment in the event of an emergency. Because of the two primary mission assigned to the Battalion, the Provost Marshal and Battalion Commander agreed to an eight week cycle and a bi-weekly company rotation schedule for the letter companies. At any one time three companies were standing law enforcement duties in Tokyo, and one company (the 4th) could engage in training. The "coming on" duty company was designated as the Alert Company. Its personnel had to remain in the Battalion compound during the right hours preceding going on the law enforcement shift.
        The old "Boots and Saddles" bugle call over the compound loudspeaker was the signal for the Alert Company to stand formation for deployment. Frequent test were made to insure readiness. Click on bugle icon
        There were also two special law enforcement details; a Traffic Unit and the AWOL Apprehension Unit. They operated under the supervision of the Provost Marshal Office Investigation Section (PMIS). The supervisory personnel came from HQ Company and were assigned as Military Police Investigative Section (MPIS) and the line MP's as PMIS, (2 MP's) from each of the line companies.
AWOL Apprehension Unit The unit was staffed by MSG Huberth and SSG Favale, HQ Company. The line MPs were, A Company- CPL Abel Gonzales, CPL Irvin "Bud" Myers, and later CPL William Turner, CPL Donald Myers; B Company- CPL Bordelon, CPL Shallmo and later CPL Moynihan; C Company- SGT Temlin, CPL Blackburn; D Company- CPL Keith, CPL Seckinger.
        They wore plain uniforms with infantry collar brass. Each carried a small armband that they would put on identifying themselves as MPs when making an 'armed' apprehension, and also carried their identification cards.
        Guard mounts were held in the front court yard of Camp Burness, however most of the duty traffic passed through the rear gate.
        The Battalion also had a Medical and Signal detachment at Camp Burness. Each detachment was squad size, and were subordinate to HQ Company.
February
20 February, Change of Command LTC Aubrey S. Kenworthy passed command of the Battalion to LTC Alvin B. Welsch during a review in the compound of Camp Burness.
March

Exact Date Unknown A platoon of forty enlisted men and two officers were placed on special duty with the Office of the Provost Marshal, Metropolitan Tokyo Area. This platoon was designated a Military Tribunal Guard and performed duties escorting and guarding prisoners being tried for subversive activities in connection with the Korean conflict.
April
11 April, President Truman Relieves General MacArthur  When denied permission by President Truman to risk war with China in the Korean War stalemate, Gen. MacArthur tried to bypass the President by writing the Speaker of the House of Representatives, thinking he could obtain Congressional support for his mission. President Truman removed Gen. MacArthur from his command for violating the chain of command and making unauthorized policy statements. General Matthew B. Ridgeway replaced him as Commander Far East.
11 April President Truman announces he is relieving GEN Douglas MacArthur of command. Click on tower icon.

16 April, General Douglas MacArthur departs Japan The Battalion furnished traffic control and security as General of the Army Douglas Mac Arthur departed for the Unites States after more than five years as Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers in Japan. Hundreds of thousands of spectators who lined the streets along the route between the United States Embassy and Haneda Air Force Base were controlled without incident.

21 April Major General Edwin P. Parker, Jr., US Army Provost Marshal, inspects the 720th at Camp Burness. >

August
29 August SFC Francis J. Freeman (Zanesville, Ohio), a Platoon Sergeant with A Company, 720th MP Battalion, helps a group of American (dependents) children cross the street on their way to school at the Pershing Heights housing compound in Tokyo Japan.
At the end of 1951 all elements of the 720th Military Police Battalion were serving in Tokyo, occupied Japan.