Trudy Floyd, who was born on Camp Zama in 1959, sits inside the cockpit of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter at the installation’s Kastner Airfield in Japan, Oct. 25, 2024. U.S. Army Garrison Japan organized a tour for Floyd, who wanted to reconnect with her birthplace after her family had lived there decades ago. (Photo Credit: Sean Kimmons, U.S. Army Garrison Japan Public Affairs)
CAMP ZAMA, Japan – More than 60 years after being born on Camp Zama, Trudy Floyd returned here Friday for a nostalgic tour.
While she doesn’t clearly remember her brief time at Camp Zama because she was so young then, Floyd said the visit was sentimental and an eye-opening experience for her and her husband, Ron Cox.
“It’s very special,” she said. “I’ve been talking about and dreaming about this for a very long time.”
The couple had a windshield tour of the installation before first stopping at Kizuna Hall, followed by the chapel, both of which would have been around when her family lived here from 1958 to 1961.
A public affairs representative then showed them nearby sites, such as a historical monument and the inside of the Emperor’s Bunker.
Next, the tour went to the Community Club, where Floyd, 65, of Atlanta, was able to see collages that displayed photos of Camp Zama from decades ago.
The images of yesteryear reminded her of the photo album that her parents, James and Constance, kept of their time in Japan.
James had been a contractor for the Curtiss-Wright Corporation and worked on aviation engines at Camp Zama, she said.
“They had great stories that they would share, and we have a wonderful photo album where some of those pictures came from of all the joyous times that they had,” she said. “So that’s why it means so much to be here, just to experience that.”
The last stop on the tour was Kastner Airfield, where Floyd and her husband had the opportunity to see a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and the air traffic control tower, which provides the installation’s best view of the surrounding area.
From atop the tower, Floyd contemplated where her father had worked on the flightline below and how it must have looked all those years ago.
She said her father, who served in the U.S. Marines during World War II, abruptly left the service after a training accident.
While she said her father had sought to become a pilot, those dreams were dashed after one of his eyes was severely injured when he was accidentally shot by a fellow military member.
“He had aspirations to be a pilot, and that ruined them unfortunately,” she said.
The turn of events later led her father to become a contractor and eventually move to Camp Zama, where she and her younger sister were born.
“I’ve never had a chance to come back and see what it’s like,” she said. “It makes me very emotional to be here knowing that my mom and dad had such a wonderful time and experience while they were here in Zama.”
Trudy Floyd, right, in an undated photo along with her mother, Constance, and sister, Becky. Trudy and her sister were both born at Camp Zama, Japan, when their father, James, worked on the installation from 1958 to 1961. (Photo Credit: Courtesy photo) (Photo Credit: Courtesy photo)
Trudy Floyd, right, in an undated photo with her father, James. Trudy recently visited Camp Zama, Japan, where she and her family lived until 1961. (Photo Credit: Courtesy photo)
Sgt. 1st Class Jimmie Gilchrist, operations sergeant for the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, guided the couple on the tour of the installation.
He said it was a privilege to help Floyd reconnect to her birthplace during the visit.
“We were given the honor to be able to bring her on [the installation] and show her some of that history,” he said, “so that way she could go back to that nostalgia.”
The couple said they appreciated all the planning behind the tour. Cox said he and Floyd, who are both retired, enjoy exploring places around the world together and felt a stop in Japan was long overdue.
“Japan was an empty place on our pinboard map,” he said. “We needed to put a pin there to make sure that we went to the places that were important to us, and definitely part of that was to come back here to where she was born.”
Cox said he found the installation interesting, saying it is like a slice of America hidden in a foreign country.
“It feels out of place, but then it feels comfortable,” he said.
As the couple saw all the services and conveniences offered to personnel stationed here, Floyd shared a similar assessment of Camp Zama.
“This is a little home away from home for everyone that is living on this base,” she said. “And I think that’s what my parents experienced as well — this sense of community.”
