Marine Awarded for Saving Elderly Woman from Deadly Viper Attack
Sgt. John James, a motor vehicle operator with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), is awarded the Navy Achievement Medal for saving Tokiko Ahuso, a local Kin Town resident who was bitten by a habu viper on Nov. 6, at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Dec 23, 2020. (U.S. Marine Corps/Cpl. Brandon Salas)
28 Dec 2020
This article by James Clark originally appeared on Task & Purpose, a digital news and culture publication dedicated to military and veterans issues.
After an elderly woman named Tokiko Ahuso was bitten by a deadly viper on Nov. 6 in Kin, a town in the Okinawa Prefecture of Japan, U.S. Marine Sgt. John James sprung into action and rendered first aid. Thanks to his efforts she survived, and on Dec. 23, Ahuso attended an award ceremony for James at Camp Hansen, Okinawa.
. TOKYO – The U.S. military in Japan and South Korea counted 39 new coronavirus cases over the weekend and Monday. U.S. Forces Korea reported the bulk of those, 22 new patients, all but one new arrivals to the Korean Peninsula since Nov. 29. In the capital city, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government added another 392 newly infected people to its pandemic total, according to public broadcaster NHK. The city on Saturday reported 736 people tested positive, its second highest daily measure just two days after the record, 822, according to metro government data. Monday counts are typically low in the city because most testing centers are closed on weekends, nevertheless Japanese media reported Monday’s total is the most ever counted on that day in Tokyo.
By JOSEPH DITZLER | STARS AND STRIPES Published: December 16, 2020
Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See other free reports here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription. TOKYO Japan’s capital city broke another pandemic record Wednesday, recording its highest daily count of new coronavirus infections. Meanwhile, the U.S. military in Japan announced 13 new cases as of 6 p.m. Wednesday. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 678 newly infected individuals, exceeding the previous high of 621 reached Saturday, according to public broadcaster NHK. Nearly 48,000 people have acquired the virus in Tokyo during the pandemic, most of whom recovered. About 550 people have died as a result of the coronavirus, according to metro data.
OKINAWA, Japan
U.S. Marines across Okinawa gather to compete in the 2020 Far East Intramural Matches on Camp Hansen, December 7-18.
Once a year, members from the Marine Corps Shooting Team travel to Okinawa to host the Marine Corps Marksmanship Competition Far East. However, due to COVID-19, the shooting team was unable to travel to Okinawa. Instead, Marine Corps Installations Pacific hosted the 2020 Far East Intramural Matches in its place. The first week of the competition focused on learning the fundamentals and turning the required movements into muscle memory.
“We need to make sure shooters are socially distanced and wearing a mask to keep everyone safe,” said Gunnery Sgt. Roland Moody, the Formal Marksmanship Training Center Staff Noncommissioned Officer with Headquarters & Support Battalion and a native of Staten Island, New York. “This competition is a local match and officiated locally, but it can still give the competitors a chance to enhance their marksmanshi
. TOKYO The home of the 7th Fleet in Japan reported 19 new cases of the coronavirus Friday, as Japan’s capital city logged another 500 new infections. The U.S. military in Japan, as a whole, announced 33 new cases as of 6 p.m. Friday. Yokosuka Naval Base, 35 miles south of central Tokyo, said 17 of the 19 people found to be infected there since Tuesday were discovered during contact tracing. “Most of the locally transmitted [coronavirus] cases can be traced to a single dinner party at an on-base residence,” a base Facebook post Friday states. “Community members are reminded to keep events like these small (10 or less), maintain social distancing, and wear face masks, especially indoors.”