1942

This wasn’t something he’d decided on lightly. His mission was to stay hidden and await orders. However, he had to live in the area, and that required the assistance of the handful of people on the farms and in the villages outside Hilo. Many of them were wavering in their support of America, and others felt that the Japanese were invincible and would stay forever, making it necessary to reach an accommodation with their new masters.

Jake believed it was time to change a few minds. Fortunately, the Japanese proved very cooperative in the matter.

Those farmers and villagers in the area who were not of Japanese or Hawaiian extraction were often subject to brutal treatment by wandering patrols of occupying soldiers, who, without anyone to stop them, had become more and more adventuresome. In particular, the Chinese were often treated terribly. It was Jake’s opinion that the soldiers were out plundering on their own while their commander in Hilo drank himself into a daily stupor.

As the Americans were on the move from one campsite to another, a terrified child told them that the Japs were at a farm owned by a Chinese family just a couple of miles down the road. Jake took with him only his regular soldiers and two of his marines. The remaining handful of add-ons and sailors were ordered to stay in place. Most didn’t have the experience needed for this. Jake wondered if he had it either, but he kept that disquieting thought to himself.

The Japs were still at the farm when they arrived and appeared totally unaware of impending danger. Hawkins counted eight of them, and several were lurching around drunk. All had rifles, although several rifles were leaning against the neat white frame house. An army truck was parked by the farmhouse, but it didn’t look like anyone was in it. A barn, again white and neat, was behind and to the left of the farmhouse. The buildings were surrounded by acres of fields, in which wheat and vegetables grew several feet tall. Part of the area had been turned into a rice paddy. The whole place exuded prosperity and the results of hard work.

“If we do this right, sir, this could be a turkey shoot,” Sergeant Hawkins said.

Jake nodded. “Then let’s make sure we do it right. Jesus, what’s that?”

Jake focused his binoculars on the slightly open door to the barn, past which it was difficult to see. A naked woman stood against it. Her arms were spread wide, and her hands had been nailed to the door. Her head was slumped on her chest, and she had been disemboweled. A sausagelike strand of entrails hung down her belly. Other cuts and slashes were visible on her body, and another body lay in the barn. It appeared to be an adult man.

Jake had sent two men to reconnoiter the other side of the farm. They reported that there were no other Japs in the area and no sign of any other civilians either.

“They killed them all,” Hawkins said and spat on the ground.

Jake took one group of men and Hawkins the other. The idea was to get at the Japs with converging fire from two angles to hit them before they had a chance to react. No one would fire until Jake did and until they reached their assigned positions, about a hundred yards from the farmhouse.

They crawled through the fields and reached their places without being seen, even though their movements must have disturbed the vegetation. The Japs were too drunk to care. They would be leaving soon for the comforts of Hilo, Jake thought, and then they’d get them. He didn’t want to attack when they were in the house, which they could use as a fort.

The Americans didn’t have long to wait. A group of Japanese lurched and staggered out of the house laughing and carrying bags of loot. It was too much to ask that all would line up neatly for him, but six of them were outside at the same time and were easy targets. When they started to pick up their rifles, he knew there was no time to wait.

“Fire,” he yelled, and his five men let loose and were immediately followed by Hawkins’s group.

Four of the six Japanese were hit immediately. Their bodies jumped and fell, then lay still. The remaining two tried to aim their rifles but were riddled by additional bullets. A seventh Jap came running from the house and right into a hail of bullets, which hurled him backward. The eighth jumped out a window and ran into the barn. He had a pistol in his hand and looked terrified.

“Mine,” Hawkins said and darted to the barn before Jake could speak. He lunged through the door and rolled into the darkness inside. A moment later there was the sound of a pistol shot, followed by a full clip emptying from an M1. A moment after that, Hawkins emerged and waved at Jake. A Japanese pistol stuck out from his belt.