Note: This is a work of Historical
Fiction – the following story’s fictional events are based upon real
occurrences in history.
A
Different Battle
December 8, 1941
I will never forget
yesterday. It was a cool, crisp winter day; the sun was shining and the water
was calm over San Francisco bay. Turns out, yesterday will be a “date which will live in infamy.” December
7, 1941; the date that the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Today congress declared war on Japan. My two
home countries are now officially at war.
***
May
3, 1942
Today
a green military vehicle drove up to my family’s home. The uniformed officer
informed my dad that the entire family has been ordered to a Japanese-American
internment camp in Manzanar, California. We packed all of our things and filed
onto a bus. The bus was full of Japanese-Americans like me. Our good friends
the Satos were on the bus as well; the military had rounded up all of the
Japanese-Americans in the San Francisco area. I don’t know what to expect… will
we be forced to work? Will my family be separated? Is it like prison?
***
April
15, 1945 – 7:00 A.M. – 30 miles north of Okinawa – Radar-Picket Station #1
As I looked
at my journal that I kept before joining the navy, I reflected upon the last
three years of my life…
My name is Alexander
Johnson Iwashita, or AJ. I am a lieutenant serving on the destroyer USS Laffey
as a gunnery-control officer for a 40mm gun mount. One would think that it
would be an honor to serve for one’s country. However, my first battle in World
War II was far from the battlefield…
***
January 8, 1943 – Alameda Navy Base – California
“Hey Jap! Why
don’t you go join the others and die for the honor of the emperor?”
“Yeah, don’t
you want to bring honor to the empire?”
I looked up
from my strategy textbook and saw two burly boys walking toward me. I said,
“You got a problem with me?”
They
snickered. The taller one spoke, “Listen here Jap, you don’t belong here. The
reason we’re in this war is because of you and your peop–”
I shoved him
against a wall and snarled, “No YOU listen. I enlisted in the navy from my
internment camp to serve my country. Yes, I’m Japanese-American. But you missed
one part, the second part. I’m still American and I’m choosing to serve MY
country; the country that I call home.”
The other boy
spoke up, “Whoa easy does it buddy, we were only kidding! Look my name’s Al
Sullivan and my brother’s is Bill. I’m sure we can calm down – let me buy you a
coke and let’s talk…”
***
April
15, 1945 – 7:15 A.M. – 30 miles north of Okinawa – Radar-Picket Station #1
I chuckled to
myself as I replayed the story. Those two recruits would eventually become my
best friends. I gained their trust through training by continually meeting
their expectations and demonstrating my apt abilities.
We shipped
off to Pearl Harbor after completing training. At Pearl, we met the ship we
would come to call home – the destroyer USS Laffey. For two years we fought as
a band of brothers through the Pacific. We escorted the carrier fleet during
the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot” and protected the landing forces in the
Philippines at Leyte Gulf. We braved harsh seas, submarine threats, and Japanese
bombs. I was promoted to Lieutenant in lieu of my commanding officer’s strong
recommendation. He convinced his superiors that I was a dedicated sailor and should
be allowed a promotion for fulfilling my duty to my greatest ability even
though I was Japanese-American.
Today we’re
on radar-picket duty north of Okinawa. The Laffey is monitoring for incoming
Japanese aircraft at station #1, the closest to Japan.
At 7:44 A.M.
general quarters was sounded.
“ALL MEN BATTLESTATIONS!!!”
Men raced up
and down stairwells to get to their stations. Guns were locked and loaded. I
raced to my gunnery platform on the port side of the ship. Bill was commanding
a 20mm mount near me.
“JUDY INCOMING, 3 O’CLOCK HIGH!” screamed one
of my men.
I gave the
command, “FIRE!” Bursts of shells started peppering the sky trying to shoot
down the kamikaze.
Another screamed,
“THERE’S MORE!! 2 AND 11 O’CLOCK!!! THEY’RE EVERYWHERE!!!”
The Laffey
was maneuvering hard, but it was all too much. At 8:30, the first kamikaze
struck the 20mm mount that Bill was manning. A huge fireball enveloped the
mount, severely wounding the men inside. I rushed over and dragged Bill out of
the carnage.
“BILL, STAY
WITH ME BUD!! BILL, IT’S GOING TO BE ALRIGHT!!” I pleaded with him.
He grabbed my
shirt and breathed, “AJ, I…I want you to know that I’m sorry that I had
misjudged you at first…I…I think you are a brave, honorable sailor. Get them
for me. Prove to the rest of the world that you are American…”
“I will…” I
replied. Bill smiled and slowly collapsed in my arms. I dragged him to the
infirmary to be treated, but to no avail – he was dead.
***
5 more
kamikazes and 4 bombs hit the Laffey that day. Through sheer luck and apt
damage control, USS Laffey stayed afloat. We lost 32 men and had 71 more
wounded. I had manned my gun mount throughout the battle and shot down 5
planes. I earned the trust of my fellow sailors that day by continuing to fight
in the face of the enemy. From that day on no sailor ever challenged my
allegiance.
I continued
to serve on the Laffey for the rest of the war. I returned to a changed
America, one that welcomed back its heroes – all of its heroes. I tell people I
meet that I joined the Navy because I believe America is special. We should all
protect it, regardless of race.
America is my
home and America is my country. We are all American. I am American.
This is really good!!! I'd thought that this was a fairly difficult question to fully answer but you did a really great job answering it. I like how you started out with the journal entries- it provides a good background and emphasizes the struggles that this specific minority had to undergo, which makes a clearer difference between America before the war and the "changed America" that the narrator returns to. You also did a great job unfolding the story, going from his reflections and memories to the actual battle. If anything, one thing you maybe could add is how things changed for his family after being sent to the internment camp.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sharon for the most part. It was a compelling narrative and interesting direction to take the question. The Japanese-American being assimilated into the American military and eventually becoming a trusted friend of his fellow American comrades certainly makes it seem as if America is a benign nation willing to accept all minorities, which is an interesting interpretation. I personally disagree, and feel as if America took many steps to segregate minorities, especially the Japanese at this time of war who were seen as opposition. You touched upon this idea to a certain degree with the internment camps at the beginning of the story, but that clearly didn't become the focal point of the story. To add the other perspective, it would have been interesting to see the conditions of the camp and the degree in which Japanese-American citizens were segregated and oppressed, but you did a fine job at portraying your own point of view.
DeleteWow this is great! I love the approach you took on this question. Using the main characters journal entries makes the story so much more personal and real. This is very creative, and sort of ironic, to have a Japanese-American solider fighting against Japan in World War II, but it makes the stories messege much more intense. It makes me feel good that someone despite facing descrimination or hardship from most Americans (like you perfectly demonstated by having Bill making fun of AJ) can still love America better yet fight for it. But like Zaki and Sharon, I think you could have added a little more detail especially about the internment camp because you kind of slightly mentioned something that was huge deal. But besides that this was awesome work! I also love the ending, "We are all American. I am American" is so unifying.
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ReplyDeleteZaki brings up an interesting point. In the particular time period that your story is framed in, people of Japanese descent faced severe racial abuse from Americans. Your character encounters such racism at the navy base, but the racism serves as grounds for future friendship, an idea that I found contradicting. This being said, I really enjoyed the tone you developed throughout your narrative. By using descriptive military terms, and quick-paced sentences, you give the story an exciting, war-story-like tone. Overall, great job!
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ReplyDeleteChris: You express your ideas in a very unique and ironic viewpoint, a Japanese American fighting against Japan in WW2. Like Sharon and Zaki said, I fell like you should emphasize the Japanese internment camps more, which were very controversial, as well as how AJ gained the friendship of the 2 white guys, beyond just "meeting their expectations and demonstrating my apt abilities". I like how you described the experience of war, which made everything more realistic. But it was a bit overdone. You could've included other details in the same space. I also feel like your ending was a bit too sudden, like you suddenly realized you wrote enough. Despite all that, I enjoyed reading this, and especially liked your writing style even though I couldn't bring myself to agree with many of your opinions.
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