Shining Through: Battles in the Pacific

DONOVAN CORZO

eDITED BY  Lila Waterfield

Corzo Creations, LLC

SHINING THROUGH: BATTLES in the pacific

Dedicated to the love of my life, Kam.

Many thanks to the Tuesday night crowd for letting me bend your ears.

To Shari, who gave me that pen and told me to go and write that novel. I did, and here it is.

To The Book Rack staff, thanks for letting me hang out for inspiration and research.

To all my family and friends. Thanks for believing in me and for reading the many rough drafts.

To Karl, my friend for over 30 years and my unofficial editor. I appreciate your honesty and experience.

Other Titles by the Author

Traveller Role-Playing Game Supplements:

100 Plots ISBN: E-Book: 978-1-958297-04-9

100 Rendezvous ISBN: E-Book: 978-1-958297-07-0

100 Alien Rendezvous ISBN: (in development)

100 Alien Plots ISBN: (in development)

100 Underworld Rendezvous ISBN: 978-1-958297-10-0

Novels Set in World War Two:

A Time to Shine E-Book ISBN: 978-1-958297-00-1

A Time to Shine Paperback: ISBN: 978-1-958297-01-8

A Time to Shine Hardcover: ISBN: 978-1-958297-02-5

A Time to Shine Audiobook: ISBN: 978-1-958297-03-2

Shine On: Invasion USA: E-Book ISBN: 978-1-958297-06-3

Forthcoming Novels set in WW2

Up in the Clouds (Proposed release August 20, 2023)

Peace Reigns Through

The Wars End

Novels Set Before and during WW2

Tales from Lake Tillery E-Book ISBN: 978-1-958297-56-8-September 11, 2023 projected release

Shining Through Battles in The Pacific

Shining Through: Battles in The Pacific

This novel is a work of fiction. All resemblances to persons, living or dead, are incidental. Any interactions with historical events & or persons are entirely fictional. All dialogue comes from my imagination. This work was copyrighted in 2021 by Donovan D. Corzo.

All rights, including the right to reproduce this book in any form or portion thereof, are reserved.

ISBN Hardback: 978-1-958297-27-8

ISBN Paperback: 978-1-958297-26-1

ISBN E-Book: 978-1-958297-25-4

ISBN Audiobook: 978-1-958297-51-3

Table of Contents

Foreword

Missing  September 1943, Pearl Harbor

The Beach

Another Lifetime Ago

Flintknapping

Taking Out the Rising Sun

Pearl Harbor: October 15th, 1943  Memorial Service for Battle of Bokak Atoll

Gwen

The Rescue

Charleston, South Carolina November 1st, 1943

The Nightmares

Home to Roost  November 15th, 1943

Combat & Tactics Training

Enigma

Sumire

Thanksgiving Day, 1943

Bibliography:

Up in The Clouds

Foreword

I have done ample research and will provide a bibliography of sources. I have used basic manuals from the time and believe in giving credit where it is due. Through firsthand accounts, talking with veterans from the times, and listening to their tales, some were gripping, and others were solemn. Not every character you hear about is real; some are amalgamations of several different ones.

I have attempted to follow history closely and stay true to form, but my days may be slightly off. I have also tried to follow the military protocols and expectations. I have taken liberties with some subject matter because the protagonists would still be in college or training until the war is over if I didn't. I am sure others are better than me and could quote minutiae on what I got wrong ad infinitum. To those people, I say, Get a life and write your novel. It’s a work of fiction.

I hope you enjoy reading this and subsequent novels in the series or set in the same period.

Note: This novel uses period dialogue, including racial slurs. They are spoken between persons, in films, on the radio, and written in mass media. Remembering history is critical if we strive to create a better future, and glossing over these details would be a disservice to everyone who fought and died for this better future to be possible.

Missing

September 1943, Pearl Harbor

Nimitz received the news that PC-234 was struck by a torpedo and lost with all hands. The flotilla had fought the enemy for several hours, knocked out two destroyers and one submarine, plus downed over thirty enemy planes. They had done their job well by pulling at least one task force off the objective but had suffered heavy losses with a fifty percent casualty rate. He looked at the list and felt regret, but he knew Daniel wasn’t gone. He was missing. He placed the documents in his drawer and locked them. Then he went to his car and told the driver to go to the hospital. He knew Kim-Yee would get off soon and wanted to tell Daniels’s wife. They arrived, and he exited and sat on the bench close to the main entrance. He hung his head as he struggled with what to say. He heard her approach, and her face turned white as she saw him slumped on the bench. He rose, and she shook her head; her voice cracked, No! No!

He strode towards her, and she staggered, screaming into his shoulder with a wail of anguish. He hugged her and said, His ship went down, and they are listed as missing. Our boy’s not dead. Just unaccounted for. A lot is happening; it could be weeks before everything gets sorted out. If you get any mail from the Navy that is in a manila envelope, don’t open it. I will let you know when I know more, he said as he steered her to the car. Ten minutes later, he dropped her off at her home. He was stone-faced as the car drove away.

Thank you, she said, her voice barely a whisper. She dabbed her eyes with a kerchief and turned around to see her older sister Miranda and her thirteen-year-old daughter Hailey standing there. Both were barely holding back tears. She walked up the steps and collapsed into the wicker furniture. Miranda came forward, holding the dreaded envelope. Kim-Yee tiredly reached up and took it from her, tore it in half, and then threw it over her shoulder with disdain. Miranda didn’t understand as she had already read the letter. He’s not dead. Just missing! Hailey started crying and threw herself into her mother’s arms. She held her tight and stroked her hair, rocking her back and forth. Making shushing noises, ‘There, there, Hailey.’

Daddy’s not coming back, is he?

No, my love. He’s coming back, just not right away. There was a large battle in the Pacific, and your dad oversaw another group at Bokak Atoll. They did their jobs well but suffered a lot of damage. He should return next month.

You promise? she asked expectantly.

I promise. Now get off to bed, but brush your teeth first.

She groaned and walked off, acting like a martyr.

Miranda gave Kim-Yee a sharp look. Why do you lie?

I didn’t.

But the letter said ....

I don’t care what it said if you couldn’t tell, she motioned to the pieces of the letter blowing lazily across the lawn.

"How could you do that?

She rose, went to the kitchen, and reached for the bottle of whiskey. She cracked it open, pulled a coffee cup off the cupboard, filled it with two ounces, opened the fridge, pulled out a Coca-Cola, and popped the top with the opener on the side. She angrily poured it into the cup and lifted it to the sky. Here’s to you, my darling. Come home to me! then she drank the contents, weeping.

Miranda asked, Why do you cry if he’s not dead?

Because I miss him.

The Beach

Daniel awoke feeling weightless. His body ached, and he could feel the warm water and the taste of salt and blood hitting his mouth. A wave rolled him over, and he was choking on seawater. He opened his eyes and felt the sand under him. Both hands had reflexively shot out, and he tried to get to his feet but couldn’t seem to complete the motion. His ears were ringing, and he could feel the sun beating down. He staggered to the left, and his foot hit something. He knelt in the surf and blearily tried to make out the features. But his eyes couldn’t seem to focus. So, he felt around and determined that it was a body, and the man was long dead. He got himself into a position to do a fireman’s drag on the corpse when he felt it tug back, and he fell into the surf. He then realized that this was a pilot still wearing his parachute. He undid the buckles and felt around for the knife at the shoulder. He used that to cut away at the risers, and he could free the body from the shroud. He also heard a large plop into the ocean, and his hand reflexively plunged under the water and came up with a pistol. But it was a break loader and not one he was familiar with. That’s when it occurred to him that the pilot was Japanese.

He heard murmuring and saw two figures coming toward him. Then they were upon him, steadying him. There was a light slap across his cheek and an air of concern. His ears popped, and the water started draining from them. His eyes focused better, and he saw that it was his executive officer Waisner and other ranks. He quit struggling with the body, and they each grabbed an arm and carried him off the beach to some shade nearby. He blacked out.

Sometime later, he awoke to the smell of a campfire and roasting fish. He was still groggy, and his throat was parched. Water? he rasped.

A hand gently went behind his head and helped him forward. The liquid that hit his dry, sore throat was coconut milk. He greedily swallowed it until it was pulled away.

That’s enough. Don’t want you to have too much and then throw it up, said Waisner.

He opened his eyes and saw that it was night; the stars were very bright, and Waisner’s silhouette was bathed in a soft amber glow. He reached up and felt a rudimentary bandage, wincing as he felt a sharp pain. His head was swimming. Waisner was right. He did feel like he would throw up, but the smell of fish made his mouth water. He motioned to the fish, and a leaf was placed in his hand. It contained a piece of fish and a white disk. He mechanically fed himself while trying not to swoon too much. The flesh was warm and soft. The disk crunched, and he tasted rice. Where? he asked, and Waisner replied, From the pilot. He had a tin of these rice disks. Those must have been his emergency rations. We also got a medkit, some flares, and a pistol; he had a map and a codebook on him. Plus, this. he showed him a rising sun scarf and a picture of the pilot and his wife.

Leave those with the body and make sure he’s given a proper burial.

But sir, another voice started to say, but Daniel cut him off, He was a fellow warrior. True, our enemy. But he deserves our respect as he fought well and has provided us with these survival items, including part of this meal. See to it.

Yes, sir, said the voice, and several figures moved away from the fire to follow his orders.

Sit, rep, he said.

Well, sir, Waisner replied, Over sixty of us in various states of injury. We don’t know how the battle went, but we saw them duking it out for several hours. What hit us? I don’t know. But here we are at Bokak Atoll, I think.

How are we fixed for defenses?

Just the pistol, flares, and a few knives. We’ve got some spears for fishing, and we’ve put up a rudimentary shelter, but that’s just a lean too.

"See to something more permanent