Author: David Martin Anderson

Publisher: ConRoca Publishing

Published: 2020-01-21

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 1892617196

A former WWII American POW sues the Japanese government for an apology.... In Tokyo, hidden by towers of steel and glass, huddles the ancient temple known as Zojoji. It is a sacred haven where thousands of stone effigies of stillborns are scattered, awaiting the arrival of the deity, Jizobosatsu, the Shinto rescuer of lost souls. It is also the place where one of the effigies defiantly holds a small American flag. That lone statue is all that remains to the memory of the POW abuse at nearby Omori prison and to the young men who perished at the hands of their captors. After waiting fifty-five years, one of the POW survivors, Harry Kaplonsky, has initiated a lawsuit against the Japanese government to even the score: he is suing for an apology! Coincident with the litigation, Harry is being interviewed, his memoirs considered a literary gold mine. Aspiring author, Tinker, his autobiographer and the story's narrator, has cornered him at the annual USS Houston reunion eager to record the deeds that have turned Harry into a vengeful old man. Early on, she discovers Harry is dying of cancer and quite eager to divulge the truth about the abuse that took place at Omori. It is Harry’s guilt over the deaths of five crewmates that has sparked his desire to tell-all; likewise, his culpability has led to a fifty-year schism between himself and the remaining survivors. With the litigation, Harry is hoping to not only gain public attention for the plight of fallen comrades but also clear his name with his POW brothers. The legal action pits the old veteran against the might of the Japanese government and a U.S. State Department eager to gain trade concessions.