Nobuo Izumi Obituary

Nobuo Izumi
September 18, 1925 - November 7, 2023
Nobuo Robert Izumi was a Japanese American born September 18, 1925, in Los Angeles, CA to Ryozo Izumi (father) and Tome Izumi (mother). He was a man who dedicated his life to serving his country including in three wars: World War II (WWII), Korea and Vietnam. He passed away quietly in the small hours of Tuesday, November 7, 2023, at the family home in San Carlos, California.
Over the last two decades, the man known to most as Bob had become well-known in many countries as a WWII veteran during frequent returns to Europe and via social media. Like many of his peers, he was subject to the bright lights of fame and scrutiny after film and television shows brought to attention the actions of the 101st Airborne Division, of which he was a member during the last year of that tumultuous and tragic conflict. But to define him merely as such would be to ignore his many other attributes, actions, and achievements in the many years after.
Those familiar with the Japanese American experience during WWII know that the events of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 meant that the only country he knew decided to treat him and his kin as the enemy within. They were unjustly imprisoned in a camp called Manzanar. The beautiful Sierra Mountains in the distance created a jarring juxtaposition to the barbed wire enclosures, the basic amenities and especially the guard towers pointing their machine guns inward at these Americans now labelled aliens. Bob was just a teenager when he was interned with his family. As such he wasn't fazed by this treatment, preferring to treat the concentration camp as one big adventure, challenging himself to come and go in private, his burgeoning sense of adventure and positivity foreshadowing attitudes that would become obvious to those meeting him in later life.
After some time in the camp, Bob was offered the chance to finish High School and went to live a long way east in Des Moines, Iowa, where he enjoyed the love and support of a well-intentioned couple, whom he came to call Mom and Dad in due course. His sole focus was to 'do his bit', so when he was old enough to sign up for Army service, he quickly did. His enthusiasm for action far outweighing any thoughts of self-preservation. After the war ended, demobilization didn't suit him, not least because the society he returned to was still demonstrably contemptuous of anyone who looked like they came from the Far East. He may have fought for his country and its flag, but many of its so-called civilians lacked the civility to recognize this.
Undeterred, Bob soon reenlisted and this time in Air Force. Over the next two decades, he applied himself to work in Air Traffic Control and achieved many promotions through the ranks until he reached Chief Master Sergeant-the highest level for nonofficers. His overseas deployments took him to air bases in Greenland, Turkey, Korea, and Vietnam. Some deployments were hot in the military sense; he was not unfamiliar with mortar attacks and enemy fire, all the while doing his best to keep his flying colleagues coming and going safely via the runways. During the Vietnam war, it was his "sound managerial techniques applied to the stringent requirements of a combat situation" that earned him the Bronze Star Medal from the Air Force. Stateside, Bob became a tower controller and was responsible for training the next generation of ATC staff. He was also intricately involved in controlling the movements of many experimental craft and their brave test pilots. Though Bob was denied the opportunity to become a pilot during WWII due to his ethnicity, he still went on to make substantial contributions to the global flying mission of the Air Force. For example, the Air Force awarded him the Meritorious Service Medal for his "exemplary ability, diligence, and devotion to duty" and "instrumental factors in the absolutely superior air traffic control support furnished to the 60th Military Airlift Wing, tenant flying organizations, and the global flying mission of the Air Force."
The Chief Master Sergeant was a consummate professional and a strict disciplinarian. Combining all these attributes is a tricky balancing act, and he found getting the right mixture not easy to do. His high-stress roles in the tower occasionally overwhelming him-especially when the unavoidable deaths of test pilots hung heavy across his shoulders. Inevitably, he would sometimes return home with their last words ringing in his mind and dark clouds overhead.
During the process of his long and varied life, he had very historic encounters and friends involving famous names like fellow High School student Norma Jean Baker (who would later be known globally as Marilyn Monroe), soon-to-be spacemen like Neil Armstrong and Gordon Cooper, and even U2 spy plane pilot, Gary Powers, who in 1960 took off from their shared Incirlik Air Base in Turkey before being shot down by the Soviets, causing a famous rumpus between the superpowers.
However, a few less well-known activities of Bob during his service include his compassion for less fortunate individuals. Korea and Vietnam were hostile war zones that produced many orphans, of whom the local adults seemed indifferent-an observation so bitter to Bob that he set about changing their young, bleak lives. He wrote numerous letters to anyone and everyone he thought could help. Duly, with donations from many institutions and celebrities in the US, he was integral to the creation of new orphanages in both countries, which were recognized by medals and awards from their grateful authorities.
Bob would not allow himself to be defined by the hatred, the vitriol, or the ignorance he faced as a Japanese American living through the 20th century, preferring his response to such tests to be the benchmark of measurement instead. As such, he was always learning and teaching. After retiring from the Air Force in 1975, he took a position as the manager of the Wood and Rock Hobby Shop at the Marine Corps Logistic Base in Barstow, CA. There he taught the Marines woodworking and lapidary for nearly three decades.
Bob was capable of great humor and camaraderie with his men, as seen in hundreds of photographs and slides found recently in long-term storage. This part of his personality was evident even in his final weeks as he would stick his tongue out at his nurses and joke around with his doctors while in the hospital. He was a humanitarian in war zones, an adventurer in simpler times, a raffish rogue who became diligent and hard-working; he was a craftsman and a joker; a didactic and a perfectionist; an artist and a dedicated servant to a country that, for a long time, did not recognize any of those attributes.
Like everyone, Bob made mistakes in his personal relationships, something he admitted to and took ownership of. After divorcing his first wife, Maria, with whom he had three children, Bob was determined to get a second shot at love. As fate would have it, a friend at Travis Air Force base introduced him to woman from Colombia named Romelia. As she walked away from their brief encounter, he told his friend, "I am going to marry that woman." As expected, his friend just laughed. About a year later, he married Romelia and adopted her young daughter, Raquel. Romelia was the love of his life and remained at his side until his last breath. They were married 47 years.
We will miss his warm, infectious smile and charismatic, gregarious nature that made him speak and joke with everyone he met. While the vast empty space his passing will leave in our lives will never be filled, we are eternally proud of his service to this nation and cherish the bonds he formed with friends from around the world. Nobuo Izumi is survived by his wife Romelia Izumi, his children, Raquel Izumi, Rex Izumi, Christine Crews, Robin Izumi, his grandchildren, Austin Izumi Covey, Lucas Izumi Covey, David Crews and Christopher Crews, and his great grandchildren, Alexandria Crews, Xavier Crews and Zoey Crews