1942

Goto’s response was almost a sneer. “I did not force her to walk into the ocean, sir. That was her own stupid idea. So she got fucked, so what? Every woman will get it sooner or later.”

Iwabachi was a terrier of a man, considered a fanatic by many. His faith in all that was Japanese was absolute, and he prayed for the honor of dying for his emperor. At a different time and place, the admiral would have been sympathetic to Goto’s position. Today, however, he had an unruly set of islands to govern. He decided to play his trump card.

“Lieutenant, the girl’s last name was Ozawa. It is being said that she was distantly related to our Admiral Ozawa, even though she was a mongrel.”

For the first time, Goto looked uncertain. Admiral Ozawa commanded the naval detachments in action against Indonesia and Malaya, and was considered the logical successor to the revered Yamamoto, should anything happen to him.

“It can’t be,” Goto said without conviction. “I don’t even think that’s her last name. It was Ogawa, not Ozawa. We must refute the lie.”

Omori did not quite agree. “That is too simple. Refuting a rumor often does nothing but give it credence. Like many rumors, it will have a life of its own. We can only wait for time to cause it to die down. In the meantime, you must go. I am assigning you to command the kempetei detachment on the island of Hawaii, at Hilo. There are guerrillas loose on the island, and your task is to find them and destroy them.”

Goto bowed and sighed in some relief. His punishment would be a minor one, and the banishment to Hilo would only be temporary. Besides, while there he would have the opportunity for glory and independent command, and there had to be very young women in Hilo. It could have been a lot worse. It was good to have clout.

“And who besides the southern congressmen support this incredible idea?” President Roosevelt asked as he shook his head in disbelief.

“General DeWitt,” said General Marshall.

Roosevelt sighed. DeWitt was the commander of the Western Defense Command, which included California. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he had convinced the president and others that the resident Japanese were a threat to the safety of the country and quickly had them removed to concentration camps. Liberals, even those in Roosevelt’s own party, were calling it a travesty of justice in that many of those removed were American citizens, both native-born and naturalized, and others were too old and feeble to be considered threats. It didn’t matter. General DeWitt felt that the only good Jap was either a dead one or one who was locked up.

Roosevelt had reluctantly acquiesced. The mood of the country had demanded it, and he had rationalized that the Japanese-Americans would actually be safer in concentration camps than out on the streets and subject to mob justice.

But this request from a small group of senators and representatives astonished him. They proposed a trade of the Japanese civilians held in California camps for those white American civilians in Hawaii.

Senator Theodore Bilbo, a Democrat from Mississippi, was the spearhead for the plan. His rationale was simple: First, white people were being abused and going hungry in Hawaii; and, second, white people should never be held prisoner by nonwhites. Thus, with so many Japanese in our prisons and so many white Americans in theirs, a trade seemed like a logical step.

Roosevelt handed the paper containing the proposal to Marshall, who passed it to Admiral King. “Tell me, does the esteemed Senator Bilbo know he is under investigation for illegal activities involving war contractors?”

Marshall smiled tightly. “He must. Everyone else is aware of it.”

Roosevelt jammed his cigarette into an ashtray. “And what would he have us do with the nonwhite population of Hawaii? Just write them off and leave them under their oppressors? Doesn’t he realize that what he proposes would be a virtual signal of abandonment of the islands? It would tell the world that we have withdrawn from Hawaii forever.”

“I don’t think Bilbo has thought that far.” King snorted. “Personally, I don’t think the dumb son of a bitch can think to the end of his nose.”

“I’m being crucified by the press,” Roosevelt said. “Walter Winchell is saying the most terrible things about Hawaii to his radio audience,, and the Chicago Tribune is printing news of appalling atrocities, most of which is false. Even Father Coughlin has decided to reignite his career by blaming me for everything. Tell me, gentlemen, are there any real plans afoot to liberate Hawaii and relieve me of this god-awful burden?”