Best Moment They were all good moments; Loved the josans and the Akadama wine. Could not have asked for a better first assignment. Me & my roomie (Jimmisan Gines) took a 5 day leave down to Nagasaki, Japan by train. Awesome city (Hard to believe the place got nuked in WWII) Took in the sights of Nagasaki. The people were awesome as was their food. We really had a great time. We wore the 505's w/shorts and knee-high tan socks on the train ride down to Nagasaki. The Japanese especially the girls giggled and pointed the entire train ride down to Nagasaki. We wore regular clothes back.
Worst Moment The only bad moment was when we had the Cuban Missile Crisis. All of PACAF went on alert and we just waited. As the deadline drew near, our pilots were sitting in the cockpits & ready to go. Me - thought I'd never see home again; I only had apx 60 days before I went back to the states. It sure as hell got hairy and damn glad the bad guys chickened out.
Other Memories Japanese people were and are some of the nicest people I have ever met. Their country & culture was/ is really beautiful; just frickin awesome. Even today, it's hard to believe that 16 years after the end of the WWII, Japan and the USA were friendly. The average Japanese citizen was just like us - trying to get by. Best damn fighter squadron - 80th TFS "Headhunters"
