TL:DR I experienced my first ever earthquake when I was on Okinawa in the 1980s, but never felt another or heard of another one there in my three years. Just wondering how common they are and whether or not any of you living there now have experienced one
I was on MCAS Futenma in Okinawa from 1982-1985. During one of those years, I don't remember which, but I wasn't an NCO at the time, so it was likely 1982/1983, I drew a month of guard duty. I got posted in the armory, which was at the site of a large paved area that could be used for parking but was often empty. In the center of the pavement, there was a flat, heavy door set into the ground. When you open this door, it reveals a long stairway that descends deep underground. At the bottom of these stairs is a heavy, steel door and, beyond that, the armory. Once inside the armory, there is a wide area with a desk and many tables. These tables are used by Marines to clean their weapons. Then there is a fence all the way around that area, behind which are all the weapons, lined up in a standing position along the walls. The guard on duty can see the weapons, but doesn't have access to them.
While on guard duty one night, I was sitting at the desk with a shotgun by my side when I started hearing a faint tick, tick tick. This room is usually deathly silent at night, so the noise startled and confused me. At first I thought it might be mice tearing or nibbling at something. Then it gradually grew louder and louder and faster and faster. The noise was coming from inside the cage, so I walked over to it and looked inside. I could see the rifles were all shaking and vibrating, doing a kind of dance. At that point I was thinking ghost, because no mouse was doing this.
A couple of seconds later, the entire room started shaking violently; it lasted just a few seconds. By then, I was sure I had figured it out. I had never experienced an earthquake before in my life but I thought, "this must be it."
Once everything subsided, the phone rang. It was the Sergeant of the Guard. "Everything OK down there? We just had an earthquake!"
I was on the island for three years; other than that one experience, I never felt another earthquake, nor did I hear of anyone else who had. Have any of you who live there now or lived there in the past had an earthquake experience?
by BWWJR
