NEW YEARS DAY IN TOKYO 1962

A friend and I were attached to a Naval Air Reconnaissance Squadron based at NAS Atsugi and neither of us had anything planned for New Year's Eve of 1961.

We headed up to Tokyo to gather all of the entertainment intelligence we could handle in one special night of the year. We found that although the dollar was worth 360 yen then, it didn't mean much on New Year's eve. Talk about a high end evening. The lights on the Ginza burned bright all night and by morning, we were too smart for our own good. We headed back to the base. It was my last night of Tokyo night life; I opted for the casual and smaller bars and cafes of Yokohama and had another two years of total fun. There are many memories I had not yet experience when this photo was shot. My buddy, on the left, went on to an electronics career as a Naval Officer and is now, no doubt, a retired admiral. He was one intelligent young man and someone I will always remember as a good friend.