Archive photo of the day
Mark Hamill in Japan, 1978
Stars and Stripes
May 4, 2023
(Scott Woodham/Stars and Stripes)
Yokosuka, Japan, June 16, 1978: Mark Hamill, better known to many as young Jedi Luke Skywalker of “Star Wars” fame, chats with Melanie Shriver (18) and an unidentified student in the hallways of Nile C. Kinnick High School. Hamill — in Japan on a publicity junket for the July 1 opening of “Star Wars” in Tokyo and Osaka — took a sentimental detour to his old alma mater which he attended as a military brat when his father — a Navy Exchange officer — was stationed at Yokosuka. Reminiscing about his high school days, Hamill called himself “a plain Joe whose main hobby was girl hounding.”
Read Stars and Stripes’ 1978 article and check out additional photos of Hamill’s visit to Kinnick, the Yokosuka Naval Base and the USS Hammond here.
Check out Stars and Stripes’ 2008 interview with Mark Hamill here.