In May, 1958, I graduated from Submarine School in New London, CT. and knew that a great adventure lay in my future. Just how great it was to be was unfathomable at that time. The men with whom I served are indelibly etched in my mind after all these years.

The USS Segundo (SS398) was my first boat and the best crew. Shortly after reporting aboard we left San Diego for WestPac and the experience of a lifetime. Our first port was Pearl Harbor for a brief stay in Hawai’i. Then off to Yokosuka, Japan and liberties that will never leave this old mind. As a young “bulletproof” kid of nineteen years this was to be a memorable eye opener for my life. Our crossing from San Diego was good and I spent time beginning my work to become qualified and started striking to become a Quartermaster and work in the Conning Tower. As the new kid on board, I very silently laughed off the “old salts” sea stories of incredible experiences in those lands we were to visit. Little did I know at the time that their stories were “watered down” versions of what actually lay ahead. My first responsibility was to attend the ship’s party at the Kanko Hotel before venturing out to “enjoy” myself. Two full days which remain a blur provided me with an understanding of the brotherhood in which I had become involved. There were local “tour guides” there to assist with getting into the culture, such as hot baths, body massage, etc. Luckily, I met a tour guide who had a full time position at the Heaven and Hell Club on Black Market Alley. Michiko taught me a great deal about the world in a very short time. When I wasn’t busy taking in the other sights and sounds of Black Market Alley, she would properly instruct me and take me to such locations as the Great Buddha in Kamakura on the most overcrowded trains I’d ever seen. We were in there to obtain some retrofitting before heading out to manuevers and patrols. The east coast of Russia was not as scenic as the beaches of Southern California and MAN was it COLD!!! Damned cold!! True to her word, Michiko did not butterfly on me and always waiting patiently for my return from each time at sea. I reciprocated by only visiting with a minimal number of tour guides in between. All was well. Learning the proceedures of my work in the Conning Tower kept me busy along with the qualification studies that I wanted to get behind me ASAP. Everyone on board helped without hesitation and the familiarity of the boat increased in a compounding manner each day. We lost a new kid who reported aboard in Yokosuka. His first experience at sea was when we battled in high seas through a typhoon. He was marked shaken by it all and I remember Doc Oaks telling me that he put a wood spoon in his mouth so he would bite down on that rather than bite his tongue off. Poor guy was taken off when we returned to port and we never heard from him again