Decatur (DDG 31) - Naval Cruise Book

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Japan For most of the young crew, Sasebo, Japan was the first foreign port of our naval careers. Believe me, after the crossing from Hawaii, we were ready for a little foreign exchange. Money was awful tight, though: only 220 Yen to the dollar, with a Kirin beer costing 450 Yen. Also, we were but a hop across the bay from Nagasaki, and there were not just a few ol-timers around who still remembered. Perhaps the best times in Sasebo were spent at the brand new base club that had just opened a week before our arrival, and complete with a bandit hall and swimming pool, that is where most of us ended up after blowing our wads in town. 60 I l l f i l , i '1 l l l l l l l l ' l i l 'a 1 l 1 i l .44 i J I l Z

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N'-.I L g. if Let the Wmd Blow Lanky and proud I triumphantly strode Up the gangway saluted the flag And at the top set down my bag As if that in itself could relieve the load Of so portentlous a moment a load Accumulated from weeks and days and hours at From months and years of tedious care Here I was about to step down on a road In Japan land of saki and Shogun and tea Of childhood dreams and dissolute fantasy, Japan, and here I was. A royal fanfare Should have been my welcome: hear the blare Of a hundred horns, followed by the roll Of a thousand drums, even the toll Of distant church bells would have satisfied My sense of ceremony. But alas! no toll, No peal, no pomp and pageantry for a dignified Ambassador: just the wind, blown high and wide Here as before, no different. I sighed, Stepped-down upon the shore, swung low My bag, and struck a measured stride. Here as before - so let the wind blow. - Craig Thomas Niedzielski