Consolation (AH 15) - Naval Cruise Book

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a solid change of pace at times. We got some of it by going on camera tours. It wasn ' t easy to be casual in a nation that was trying hard to find economic stability after a devastating war. Many times we avoided the streets by finding entertainment in the servicemen ' s clubs. We ' ll remember Japan by friendly smiles, casual bows, colorful shops, and by the spid- ery network of steel and concrete around the naval bases in Yokosuka and Sasebo; by the smell of soap and incense that was always in the air; by the Shinto Shrines and by the sprawling vastness of Tokyo and its Ginza. We ' ll remember Hong Kong and that Red Star on top of the Bank of China shining into the night. We got some sobering views by watch- ing this light, which has become a symbol of a spreading aggression. It became evident that we ' d have to go through with the waiting, whenever we were called on, and for some obvious good reasons. Yes . . . WE WERE THERE } 35