U.S. Vice President Joe Biden wound up his Asian tour Wednesday by thanking U.S. service members and their families for their assistance to the Japanese people after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.Mr. Biden expressed his appreciation to the service personnel at the Yokota Air Base outside Tokyo for helping to save countless lives. He said they had shown the world America at its best.The visit was the vice president's final stop before flying home at the end of a week-long trip that also took him to China and Mongolia.
U.S. military forces participated in a massive U.S. relief effort after the March disasters, which destroyed whole towns along Japan's northeastern coast and left more than 20,000 people dead or missing.The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and 18 other U.S. warships took part in the effort known as Operation Tomodachi, which is Japanese for friends.