Yakov Driz's with the sailors of the Pacific Navy

Me, Yakov Driz, on the left in the first row with the sailors of the Pacific Navy. My best friend Ivan Khometskiy is beside me on the right. The inscription on the back of the photo: 'To Polyusia and Abrasha from Yasha. 2 November 1949'. This photo was made in Port Arthur in 1949 and sent to my sister Polia and her husband Abram Gedrich. In the Far East I was sent to the Pacific Ocean Navy. I participated in the war with Japan. After the war we stayed in Port Arthur in China. We were liberating China, Korea and Manchzhuria from the Japanese. We stayed to serve there after the war. My service lasted for six years. Late this Pacific Ocean fleet separated into two fleets - Nos. 5 and 7. My service was in No. 5, which spread from Vladivostok to Port Arthur. I had friends there, and we still meet annually with them until the present. My friends were Jewish, Russian, Ukrainian, Tatars and many other nationalities. Ivan Khometsky, a Ukrainian, was my closest friend then. We spent time together talking about our plans for the future and about our lives.