AMATEUR HAM RADIO ON OKINAWA
1946 TO 1948 QSL CARDS

For the duration of WWII no ham radios were allowed to be operated, but with the end of the war a lot of the servicemen who were ham radio operators wanted to start up their operations again and with a lot of military radio equipment now setting idle they started using that equipment to get back on the air. The government started operator licensing and for ham operators on Okinawa they allowed them to use their old call signs with the addition of J9 to the old call sign. Within a short period of time they divided the Far East into additional call sign codes and assigned operators in Okinawa the J9Axx call signs. In a 1947 military phone book for Okinawa was a list of amateur radio operators on the various bases on Okinawa. Normally a phone book would not have these types of phone numbers but because of the demand for communications with family and friends in the states, and the lack of and expensive of calling back to the states it was felt that these amateur radio operators would be able to fill the need for contact with family and friends. Whenever ham radio operators made first contact with another ham around the world they would exchange what are called QSL cards which gave the contact information. I was able to connect one call sign J9AAI and phone number in the phone book to a 1947 photo of the J9 radio club on Okinawa and then find a QSL card from Capt. Van Corzine with the 623rd AC&W Squadron on Okinawa. I even have a photo of the 623rd AC&W Sq. camp at Camp Bishigawa near Kadena AB. On 1 January 1949 they again changed all the call signs for Okinawa to KRxxx.