On March 11, 2011, when the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan struck off the coast of the Tohoku region, two Houston community leaders were in Tokyo.
Their actions in the immediate aftermath of 3.11 and the weeks and months that followed played a key role in the U.S. relief response from the government and business sectors.
Join us as we close out a month of remembrance marking 10 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami with personal reflections from Captain Justin Cooper and Bill Pond.
Their stories of the coming together of people and communities are a testament to the strength of the U.S.-Japan friendship and to the depth of U.S. commitment to the U.S.-Japan alliance.
Captain Justin D. COOPER II, USN (ret)
Captain Justin D. Cooper II is a graduate of Trinity University with Bachelor degrees in Computer Science and Business Administration and was commissioned in November 1982. He is a distinguished graduate of Air Command and Staff College, holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Auburn University, and was a National Security Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
After earning his wings in May 1985, he served at sea during 6 Western Pacific/Indian Ocean deployments with the “Fighting Redtails” of VS-21 aboard USS ENTERPRISE as a Landing Signal Officer in 1996 and 1998, with the “Dragonfires” of VS-29 aboard USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN in support of Operation Southern Watch in 1995, with the “Fighting Red Griffins” of VS-38 as Executive and Commanding Officer in 1999 and 2001, and finally aboard USS NIMITZ as Air Boss during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
Operational assignments ashore include serving with VS-41 as a flight instructor and Landing Signal Officer, and with Carrier Group One as Flag Lieutenant deploying aboard USS KITTY HAWK, USS INDEPENDENCE, and USS MIDWAY. He served at Headquarters, United States European Command, Operations Directorate as NATO Southern Region Exercise Officer participating extensively in the Partnership for Peace program that led to the decision to expand NATO in 1997. Captain Cooper commanded Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan from January 2006 to December 2008. Captain Cooper served as Defense and Naval Attaché and Senior Defense Official, United States Embassy Tokyo, Japan from August 2010 until August 2013, and was honored with the award of the Order of the Rising Sun from the Emperor of Japan.
In September 2013, Captain Cooper retired from active duty and subsequently joined Vega Energy Partners, Ltd in Houston, Texas as part of their Business Development team.
His personal awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various campaign medals. He has accumulated over 3000 flight hours and 690 arrested landings including 250 night landings.
Bill POND
Bill Pond, currently the CEO of RTIC Outdoors, a Houston, TX based outdoor gear company lived in Tokyo for nearly eight years from 2006 - 2014. While in Japan, Bill was the Managing Director of L.L.Bean's Japan Branch Office responsible for more than 20 retail stores with locations in Tokyo, Sendai, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Osaka, Kobe, Sapporo and Nagoya. The business also had a thriving direct to consumer arm including e-commerce, catalog mailings and a call center. Bill, his wife Karen, and their three sons moved from coastal Maine to Tokyo in late 2006 expecting the L.L.Bean assignment to last two to three years. Soon after arriving they realized they loved Japan and all this wonderful country had to offer. Since returning to the US, Bill has led a number of businesses including L.L.Bean's E-Commerce department, president of the e-commerce business SwimOutlet.com and now RTIC Outdoors. Karen wrote a successful book entitled "Getting Genki in Japan - the adventures and misadventures of an American family in Tokyo" a (mostly) true account of all the fun we had in the greatest city in the world.