No, he would have recognized his friend without even trying.

Loss of ability to recognize friends or even close family members.

When the prisoners were taken, many men recognized former friends and family.

They ran forward and recognized their old friend the dwarf.

These signals are often used to recognize friends and enemies in a war.

Moses recognizes his old friend and offers him the best job he has.

I thought you had a genius for recognizing potential friends.

They were already caught up in the social ritual of recognizing friends and greeting them.

That way we can immediately recognize friends on the battlefield.