Mother, daughter of Navy chaplain stop at Travis as part of Operation Pacific Passage

Published March 29, 2011
By Nick DeCicco
60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE,Calif. -- One of the first luxuries Bethany Metzger enjoyed upon returning stateside Monday was something she never thought she would treat as such: tap water.

The 19-year-old Navy chaplain's daughter and her mother, Becky, were on their way to Wichita, Kan., arriving at Travis as part of the final flight of phase one of Operation Pacific Passage. The operation brought voluntarily relocated personnel and their families to the United States following the 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami March 11, which ravaged northern Japan.

Restrictions following the temblor made some items such as food and water a rare and precious treat for families such as the Metzgers.

Dozens of members of the Travis community were on hand at the passenger terminal Monday to greet the Metzgers as well as more than 100 other returning passengers.

For the Metzgers, it was a long journey home. After spending several hours processing at United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka in Yokosuka, Japan, the pair traveled by bus to an air base.

The Metzgers left Japan at 5:30 p.m. Monday and, because they crossed the international dateline, landed first in Anchorage, Alaska, at 7:10 a.m. Monday.

"We're just having two Mondays this week," joked Becky.

The duo arrived at Travis a little before 2 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time Monday, where they went through a visitors check-in that included stops at U.S. Customs, a TRICARE table and a check-in with Naval officials.

A little more than two weeks earlier, the Navy wife and daughter were standing together under decidedly different circumstances.

Becky, a Department of Defense-employed teacher at Yokosuka, and Bethany were spending time together in a classroom when the ground began to violently shudder beneath the school as the 9.0 quake shook the building.

During the rumbling that Bethany estimated lasted three minutes, the Metzgers along with approximately 150 students in after-school programs had enough time to walk downstairs and go outside.

Once outdoors, however, no one was able to stand because the ground was so unstable.

"It was kind of like riding a subway," said Becky. "We weren't standing. It was sit or fall."

Because Yokosuka is bordered by water on two sides, the teachers and students were directed to higher ground in anticipation of tsunami waves. The water receded, but Becky said the larger waves never arrived.

The pair were able to return home, where they rode out the hundreds of aftershocks with their husband and father, Chaplain (Cmdr.) Barry Metzger, the command chaplain at Chapel of Hope on Yokosuka.

"Our house rocked us to sleep often," said Bethany.

Outside their dining room window, they could hear explosions at the local refinery.

During the past weekend, the Metzgers made a weekend trip to Tokyo and found the city eerily empty.

"The traffic was sapped," said Bethany. "There were businesses boarded up."

Seeing Tokyo, a vibrant city of 13 million, turn into a ghost town helped drive the Metzgers to voluntarily return to Wichita.

After nearly 11 hours in the air, Becky Metzger said she was tired, but was appreciative of the efforts the Department of Defense had made to make it a smooth transition.

"The reception has been overwhelming," she said. "We weren't expecting anything like this. The Air Force made this as painless as can be."