Memories of an Old Man is a series of memoirs written by West of 50 member, Ken Felts.
After my duty time on the minesweeper was up, I was transferred to shore duty with the Headquarters of Mine Squadron Seven at Sasebo, Japan. Located on the southern island of Kyushu, it was home port for me for several months while the war was winding down. It felt good to sleep in a regular bed again, instead of 3- tiered bunk beds. I also had access to a jeep to use on base.
Sasebo is a small seaport surrendered to the U.S. at the end of WWII and was used to house part of our Pacific fleet. The population was about 240,000, but it felt like a small village. Although the war had only been over for a few years, the people were all friendly and helpful. They were obedient to the emperor’s edict that his people were to treat the conquering forces with respect. After 4 or 5 years of occupation, most had a fair command of the English language, especially the shop keepers.
Living on base, we had evenings and weekends to explore the area. Walking the street, about the first person that greets you is a pimp, and he asks, “You want girl?” When rejected, he says, “You want boy?” Temptation abounded on the streets. While many of my shipmates took advantage of the situation, I was working hard to be a straight boy and decided to see what sightseeing places were available.
One of my first adventures out of the village took me to a cherry blossom festival. The narrow street through a neighborhood was lined on both sides with beautiful trees in full bloom. Along the side of the road small vendors had set up small booths, selling souvenir type articles as well as food and drinks. On another outing, I came upon a Bonzi nursery. An older Japanese man explained to me the process of creating this small work of art and showed me several very old specimens. One of the most interesting visits was to the Takashima Pearl farm. I took a bus to the location, which stopped at a head road and then I walked to the farm. They provided a tour of the entire process and then our group, mostly Japanese, was taken to the gift shop where I bought pearl items for both my mother and grandmother.
While still on sea duty and while our ship was being outfitted for our next tour, I was granted leave for several days, which I spent on R&R to Karatsu, a resort type village located on Karatsu Bay, with a very old history. Relaxing on the beach was a real pleasure.
One of my most enduring memories was a side trip to Nagasaki where I visited the site where the second atomic bomb was exploded on August 9, 1945, essentially ending WWII. My visit was just six years later, and I found the area cleaned and some rebuilding had begun. It is hard to imagine the huge loss of life, over 40,000 people killed instantly and another 30,000 who died later. At that time there was no visitor’s center, just a billboard-like sign describing the destruction.
As I was in Nagasaki, I had the opportunity to visit a home that is attributed to Madam Butterfly, from Puccini’s opera “Madam Butterfly.” It is a beautiful setting for such a tragic story. It sits atop a hill overlooking Nagasaki Harbor and is beautifully landscaped.
Finally, I visited the Noritake china factory where I purchased three sets of chinaware to send home for my family. When it was time to return to the U.S., several of us went to Yokosuka on the big island and during the one day there we visited the Shinto Shrine at Kamakura. The immensity of the Buddha shrine there is breath-taking. These are “places of worship and the dwellings of the kami, the Shinto "gods". This is the second tallest such bronze statue in Japan and was cast in 1252.
With that short trip over, I returned to the Naval base in San Diego where a few months later I was discharged from service.