European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 9, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday novembers 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 9 Over her coming to azores the howling islands winds reach Peak frenzy in Winter by j. King Cruger Mediterranean Bureau americans stationed at Lajes Field in the azores Are enjoying the Calm before the inevitable storms. Any Day now winds will shriek through Lajes Field on the Island of Terceira. While winds May howl like wolves at any time of year in the azores they Are at their fiercest in Winter. A High winds will begin to blow about now and will really Cook in december january and february a said senior master sgt. Skip Evans station chief of det 19 of the air forces 15th weather so. There is a lot of weather in the azores. By some divine misjudgment the volcanic islands seem to get two Days quota every 24 hours. Clouds of every shape swirl past with astonishing Speed bringing Winter one moment summer the next. Lajes to which 1,200 air Force 450 Navy and 45 army service members Are assigned is on two Levels. The runway is on a Plain 180 feet above sea level while a Large part of the base is atop a High adjacent Bluff. The bases highest Point the control Tower is 250 feet above the runway Ana 430 feet above sea level. A the highest recorded High Elevation gusts last Winter hit 130 Miles per hour while we were having 84-mile-per-hour winds on the runway a said maj. William Sjoberg the detachments commander. The azores a portuguese archipelago of nine islands scattered from East to West Are Way out in the Atlantic. They begin roughly 850 Miles from Lisbon and 2,200 from new York City. Hurricane Force winds a at least 74 Mph a Wallop the azores regularly. A we had six Days last Winter when we recorded winds of More than 115 Miles per hour and issued weather warnings 23 times for expected winds in excess of 98 Miles per hour a the 35-year-old commander said. A we had several instances last Winter when storms inflicted substantial damage on the base. Power lines were downed and roofs blown off. One Barracks was so heavily damaged by a storm in february that it has been unoccupied Ever  its not easy to make predictions in the azores. Forecasting is difficult because being surrounded by water in the vastness of the Atlantic Lajes Hasni to Many observation posts from which to get an idea of area weather conditions. Most of the weather fronts that slam Lajes originate from the West but the closest major weather station West of Lajes is in Bermuda 1,000 Miles away. Ships operating in the Atlantic Send weather data to Lajes and the detachment also receives information from buoys in the Atlantic. Some of the weather stations More extensive info portuguese aircraft Fly against a backdrop of Clouds Over Lajes Field in the wind Batt Rcd azores. A amps tile Dave Dudlo mation comes from regular updates from satellites. These help fill the void where surface data Are lacking. With the satellite data and information funnelled to it by Lajess 1936th comm so the detachment can pinpoint fronts and other major weather features in the often tempestuous North Atlantic area. The detachment has 10 observers All portuguese civilians and 11 air Force forecasters. The detachment shares the weather station and works closely with a portuguese air Force meteorological Section. An upgrade last summer of satellite related equipment provides the detachment with a significant improvement in its forecasting ability said Sjoberg a resident of Indianapolis. A with our new equipment we give people considerable Heads up a said Evans 36, from Perry a. Big blows called a wind events by the weather watchers usually come out of the Southwest. A wind event May last for two Days or More during which planes and ships can to Call on the Island. Mail does no to come in or go out. Supplies run out. People Are marooned for Days at a time. A everybody gets a Little bit of Cabin fever during the wind events Sjoberg said. A everybody would much prefer that they did no to exist. At times the wind creates serious problems for us and really have an Impact on the Quality of life on this base. Because the High winds occur Many times around Christmas time people try to make. Azores Lajes Field Terceira is o 2,200 mites to new York &s0 mites a amps Susan Harris sure Christmas gifts arrive on  but such events probably wont Deal a blow to the bases major role in supporting operation desert shield maj. Randy Baxter said thursday. A in the event of High winds Here strategic Airlift can bypass us and go straight to Europe or can take a different route to Europe a said Baxter the chief of operations for the 1605th military Airlift support so. A we Are at a Point now a Baxter added a where most of the troops Are in the theater and most equipment is going there by fast  the base has served As a vital link on the Airlift route to saudi Arabia and in the first month of operation desert shield handled three times the number of planes that usually  allowed War because he feared coup Tokyo apr the late emperor Hirohito told aides that he did not oppose the military a plan to attack the United states in 1941 because he feared a devastating civil War according to documents released wednesday. In an eight hour conversation with aides about his role before and during the War Hirohito also denied in perhaps the clearest terms Ever that he was a living god according to a transcript reported by japanese Media. The conversation was held in the Spring of 1946, when Allied occupation forces were considering whether to charge the emperor with War crimes Ana appeared to be part of preparations by aides for a possible trial. The Japan broadcasting corp. Nhok said the transcripts were recorded by hire Nan Terasaki a former Diplomat and translator for the emperor in some of his meetings with Gen. Douglas Macarthur supreme commander of the Allied Powers during the postwar occupation of Japan. A if i had tried to veto the beginning of the Pacific War a coup do eat would have occurred and my trusted aides would have been killed. My life also could not have been guaranteed a Hirohito said referring to a meeting in december 1941 when the decision was made to attack the United states. A even if that were acceptable a violent civil War would have occurred resulting in a tragedy several times worse than the recent War world War Viand leading to circumstances that the War would not have ended. I believe that Japan would have been destroyed a Kyodo news service quoted the transcripts As saying. Nhok quoted Hirohito As saying he did not halt the War because he feared the Public might believe the government had Given in to the United states despite a Strong army and Navy. Hirohito made few Public statements about his role during the War before dying in january 1989. However he consistently said he did not intervene in the War plans because he could not As a constitutional Monarch interfere in decisions made by the government. A to my knowledge i have not heard him say that refer to a possible coup before a said Otis Cary a professor at Kyoto a do Shisha University and an acquaintance of the emperor. In contrast Cay said Hirohito took a Strong role in 1936 in putting Down a coup attempt within the army. A but by december 1941, the situation was so tight. The military had Complete hold on the government a Cary said in a Telephone interview. A the emperor just held his  the transcript quoted Hirohito As telling the five aides that it was a a troubling for him to be referred to As a living god. A biologically i have the same body As Ordinary people so i am not a god a Kyodo quoted the transcripts As saying. Although Hirohito is considered to have renounced his divinity in a new years message in 1946, japanese rightists maintain that the japanese translation of his remarks which were originally written in English and probably intended primarily for Western consumption does not explicitly deny his prewar status As a shinto god. A the ties Between us and our people have always stood upon Mutual Trust and affection a the remarks said in English. A they Are not predicated on the false Conception that the emperor is divine and that the japanese people Are Superior to other races and fated to Rule the  critics charge that enthronement ceremonies planned next week for Hirohito a son emperor Aki Ito violate Japan a postwar Constitution by once again linking the emperor with the shinto religion. Akihito a formal Coronation has been delayed for More than a year by an official period of mourning. Nhok said that when Terasaki died the transcripts of the conversation were Given to his daughter Mari to Terasaki Miller who lives in the United states and recently rediscovered the documents