SHURI GATE

About the Book

SHURI GATE is the second book of fiction written about Okinawa and its people by the author. It was written partly as a memoir and partly to tell about the Americans who were stationed there in the military and their relationships with the Okinawan people. Most of the characters are profiles of real people or composites of several people the author knew on the island. Many of the incidents portrayed as fiction are based on actual occurrences that the author was involved in, or had direct knowledge of or recollection of them. It also tells about the airmen who were flying off the island during the Vietnam war and their relationships with each other and the Okinawans.

About the Author

Herb Blanchard is retired and living in the Puget Sound area of Washington State. He is a Vietnam Era Seabee veteran who spent several years stationed on Okinawa and made many trips to the island during his tours in Vietnam. He followed his six year Seabee tour with an Air Force hitch of four years as a KC135 tanker crew chief flying to and from Southeast Asia. He took every opportunity to return to Okinawa be for a two day lay-over or a 120 day TDY while flying missions to many places in Southeast Asia. Herb made many friends on the island, American and Okinawan. He knew the island and its people well and enjoyed every day he spent on the island.