Dedicated to the Destruction of America
DAYTON, Ohio -- Glass ball from the top of a flag pole at Irumagawa Air Base (later Johnson Air Base) near Tokyo, a major Japanese World War II training installation used by the U.S. 5th Air Force as its headquarters following the Japanese surrender. An inscription on the monument at the base of the pole stated that it had been dedicated "to the destruction of America." Dr. Elmer Beadles, an AAF dentist, "liberated" the ball one night after the pole had been taken down and the monument overtuned. Donated by Marjorie and Elmer Beadles, Ashland, Ill. (U.S. Air Force photo)