Okinawa

THROUGHOUT the Cold War, a main objective of U.S. policy was to divide the two great Communist powers, the Soviet Union and China. The last thing that Washington should want now is to allow the old Communist alliance to be revived against this country's interests. President Vladimir V. Putin made a splashy debut in big power politics by limning such a revival, traveling to the Group of Eight summit on Okinawa via Beijing and Pyongyang. It was skillfully done. Mr. Putin agreed with China's President Jiang Zemin that the U.S. national missile defense project undermines strategic stability and provokes an arms race.

Bessie H. Fox, a homemaker and former Columbia resident, died Monday of Alzheimer's disease at Maple Hill, an assisted-living facility in Laurel. She was 87. Bessie Hutton was born and raised in Newport News, Va., and Hampton, Va. After graduating from Hampton High School in 1939, she worked as a secretary. In 1945, she married Melvin Fox, a career Navy chief, and lived in Hawaii, Okinawa and San Diego. He died in 1976. Mrs. Fox, who enjoyed flower and vegetable gardening, moved to Columbia from San Diego in 1992.

Marine Cpl. Jennifer M. Parcell, who was killed Wednesday in Iraq, will be buried with full military honors after a service at 10 a.m. Friday at Oak Grove Baptist Church, 2106 Churchville Road in Bel Air. Parcell, 20, a combat support specialist, was killed in an attack by a suicide bomber in Anbar province. The 2004 Fallston High School graduate and Bel Air resident expected to return March 1 to Okinawa, where she was stationed. The family will receive friends from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday at Tarring-Cargo Funeral Home, 333 S. Parke St. in Aberdeen.

Marine Lance Cpl. Rodney Fletcher, son of Melvin G. and Brenda J. Fletcher of Aberdeen, has reported for duty with 3rd Force Service Support Group, Okinawa, Japan.A 1987 graduate of Aberdeen High School, he joined the Marine Corps in Dec. 1987.ABINGDON MAN JOINS STATE'S AIR GUARDPatrick H. Graf, son of Pete and Sharlene Graf of Abingdon, has enlisted in the Maryland Air National Guard.He joined the 175th Services Flight at Warfield Air National Guard Base in Middle River.After attending basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, Graf will attend a technical training school at Lowry Air Force Base, Colo.

Richard C. Bernard Jr., former management consultant and chairman of the Foreign Trade Data Users Group, died Tuesday of cardiac arrest at New York Hospital. He was 66 and a resident of New York City for the past 30 years.A mass of Christian burial for Mr. Bernard was being offered today at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, 5502 York Road.Born and raised in Baltimore, he attended Boys Latin School and was a graduate of Harvard University and the Harvard Business School.Mr. Bernard served in the Army during World War II. He was cited for bravery while in Okinawa and received the Silver Star.

William M. Callaghan, who commanded the battleship Missouri at Iwo Jima and Okinawa and went on to become commander of U.S. naval forces in the Far East, died Monday in Bethesda after suffering a stroke. The 93-year-old vice admiral, who retired inJames Van Alen, 88, who helped modernize tennis with his invention of the tie-breaker, died July 3 after falling off a terrace at his home in Newport, R.I. His vision was impaired, and he apparently didn't see the 3-foot drop off the terrace, relatives said.

25 Years Ago (Week of Dec. 21-27, 1969):* It was announced that ITT Electrophysics Laboratories, Inc. would build its U.S. headquarters in Columbia. The subsidiary of International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation planned to locate in a 90,000-square foot facility in the Oakland Ridge Industrial Center.* Mr. and Mrs. Wilmer W. Wheeler of Frederick Road enjoyed a holiday visit from one of their sons, Seaman Ronald E. Wheeler, USN. Another son, Cpl. Gary W. Wheeler, USMC, was stationed in Okinawa and unable to be home for the holidays.

Day in history: April 1In 1873, composer Sergei Rachmaninoff was born in Novgorod Province, Russia.In 1933, Nazi Germany began its persecution of Jews with a boycott of Jewish-owned businesses.In 1945, U.S. forces launched the invasion of Okinawa during World War II.In 1946, a series of tidal waves struck the Hawaiian Islands, killing more than 170 people.In 1970, President Nixon signed a measure banning cigarette advertising on radio and television, to take effect after New Year's Day 1971.

John Patrick, 90, the Pulitzer-winning author of "Teahouse of the August Moon," and screenplays for such films as "High Society" and "Love is a Many Splendored Thing," committed suicide Tuesday in a nursing home at Delray Beach, Fla.Mr. Patrick won the Pulitzer Prize, a Tony award, the New York Drama Critics Award and several other prizes in 1954 for "Teahouse of the August Moon," a comedy that centered on the U.S. Army's efforts to establish democracy in a village on Okinawa after World War II.He won the Screen Writers Guild award in 1957 for the musical "Les Girls."

* Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott W. Kroft and Navy Lt. j.g. MacGregor L. McClellan recently returned to Port Hueneme, Calif., with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Four following a seven-month deployment to Japan and the Philippines.While in Okinawa, Japan, they assisted in several projects, including the rehabilitation of enlistedliving quarters and a public works building and renovating one of the base's water mains.After being redeployed to the Philippines, they participated in the recovery operations at Subic Bay Naval Base following the eruptionof Mount Pinatubo.