Soldiers in Hiding by Richard Wiley (Picador)
Soldiers in Hiding is narrated by Teddy Maki, a Japanese-American, who currently lives in Japan. Maki is the host of his own television program titled Original Amateur Hour. When Teddy sees a news item about a lost Japanese soldier coming back to Japan, he begins to relate how he and his friend Jimmy Yamamoto ended up in Japan in the first place..
Teddy Maki and his close friend Jimmy Yamamoto started a band after high school and they were quite successful. Jimmy managed to get an agent to book shows in Japan. Their Japanese agent called himself Ike and Jimmy and Teddy were his only clients but Ike managed to get the two many gigs and the two arrived in Japan in the winter of 1941. Ike also encouraged Jimmy to pursue his sister Kazuko in a romantic way.
Jimmy and Kazuko got married at the end of November after a very short courtship. A week after the wedding Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Although Teddy could speak Japanese, he was not proficient at reading. He could read a little and made out the words for America, recognized the face of Admiral Yamamoto and saw the kanji character for war.
Teddy and Jimmy are stuck in Japan. They have no way of going home and no one can guarantee their safety in Japan. It was Kazuko’s words that made the two realize the seriousness of the situation. She says, “That’s what you’ll have to do. Enlist. You are Japanese before you are American. Enlist and fight!” What can the two Americans do but enlist in the Japanese Imperial Army and fight against their own country.
As Teddy and Jimmy can speak English fluently, they are attached to detail to guard and question American POWs. Their commanding officer is Major Nakamura. There was one P.O.W. who didn’t cringe under Nakamura’s gaze. This infuriated the Major who ordered his men to tie the P.O.W. to a post in the middle of the camp. When Major Nakamura discovers that Jimmy had been giving the soldier chocolate, he orders Jimmy to shoot the man in front of all of the other prisoners.
Jimmy got as far as pointing his rifle to the man’s head but then put his gun down and said in English, “No.” This is the last straw for Major Nakamura who takes out his pistol and shoots Jimmy Yamamoto point blank in the head, killing him instantly. The Major then orders Teddy to kill the man, he says “Save yourself. Shoot him.” Looking down at Jimmy’s dead body, Teddy feels he has no choice but to follow the Major’s orders.
The war ends and years pass. One day, there’s a breaking news story on television. A former Japanese soldier, Ike, was found and is coming home to Japan. Welcoming Ike back to Japan is another soldier from Teddy’s past - Major Nakamura! This sets a fire in Teddy’s mind as he wants to ask the Major directly, why did he kill Jimmy Yamamoto, and he wants to interview the Major on his popular television program.
Was Major Nakamura justified in executing Jimmy Yamamoto? Would Teddy Maki have suffered the same fate as Jimmy if he did not shoot the POW? And does Major Nakamura feel any remorse about what he did during the war? This is an intense story about ethics and where one’s loyalty lies. It is also about survival during times of war and its immediate aftermath once it ends.
As the old adage goes, “In war, no one wins!” ~Ernie Hoyt