A Boy at War

In the aftermath of the attack, all businesses on the island are closed, so Adam, his mother, and his sister are sequestered inside their house, waiting for news. Much of what they hear is rumors—ridiculous, far-fetched stories originating from fear and prejudice—but some reports are promising. There are rescue operations underway attempting to extract sailors trapped inside ships in the harbor, and Adam and his mother hold out hope that his father might be among those recovered alive. Bea, at her young age, doesn’t understand what is happening; she is used to her father being away. She has noticed, however, that her nanny, Koniko, has not been to their house in several days, and she is eager to know when Koniko will be coming back.

Adam is worried about Davi and Martin, but he feels it is his duty to remain home with his mother and sister. Adam continues to sleep in the doorway of his mother’s room. Hoping to render their home even safer, he finds the shovel belonging to their gardener, Hideko, and begins digging an air-raid shelter in the backyard. As he digs, he pauses and thinks of Davi, and he is flooded with memories of what happened in the rowboat. He thinks then of his father, imagining him trapped in the Arizona, drowning inside the claustrophobic confines of the ship, and he begins to hyperventilate, panic setting in.

When Adam rides his bike to Davi’s house to check on his friend, Davi keeps repeating, “I thought you were dead” (85). Davi reports that Martin is now recuperating in the hospital. Then Davi’s mood shifts toward accusation as he remembers Adam’s actions in the rowboat, and he demands to know why Adam cares about Martin. “He’s nothing, right? He’s just a gook, yeah? We’re all gooks, right?” (85). Adam apologizes, but Davi dismisses his apology as insincere. Adam insists that he made a mistake, and Davi retorts that his own mistake is being Japanese. Adam insists that he doesn’t feel prejudice toward Davi, but Davi addresses the larger picture. He asks Adam if people in the street harass him, spit at him, and shout racial slurs. Adam tries to draw the conversation back to their friendship, insisting that he knows the difference between the Japanese pilots who attacked the harbor and Davi, his friend. Davi blurts out that his father has been taken away, and Adam is shocked. Davi explains that his father is not a citizen. Though he has lived in Hawaii for 20 years and tried to obtain citizenship, he has been denied. Still a Japanese citizen, he was eligible to be rounded up by the FBI. Davi exclaims that he hates the Japanese for attacking the harbor and tearing their lives apart.

Together, Adam and Davi visit Martin in the hospital. They pass through Davi’s neighborhood, and Adam notices that the colorful décor typical of the area is absent, all evidence of Japanese national or cultural identity stripped from view. Women no longer wear their traditional kimonos but have adopted the Western clothing of American women. Despite the danger he was in when he was first wounded, Martin looks well and feels happy. He is glad to see Davi and Adam, whom he introduces as his Haole friend. Adam and Davi are embraced by Martin’s mother, who is grateful for their friendship and for their efforts in saving her son. She insists that the three pose for a photo together.

Adam and his mother remain in the limbo of uncertainty for days. His mother tries to remain patient as casualty reports and final statuses of ships are issued. Adam cannot bear to watch his mother suffer any longer; he needs to find out what happened to his father. He puts on the marine work uniform he acquired on the day of the attack and departs early in the morning, leaving his mother a note. When he arrives at the gate, he hopes that being in uniform will allow him to pass through, but security has been heightened, and, lacking an ID, he is not admitted on post. Adam tries to explain that he is looking for his father, who was on the Arizona, but still he is denied entry. Frustrated, he returns home.

Two weeks after the attack, Koniko comes back to work, explaining that she was ashamed and afraid to return. Adam’s mother brushes off her concerns and warmly welcomes her back, insisting they are happy to see her. When they finally go back to retrieve their bikes, Davi asks Adam again which ship was his father’s. Now the superstructure, the tower atop the Arizona’s deck, is all that is visible above the waves. Davi expresses his hope that Adam will hear something soon, but Adam is struck by the realization that his father must be dead. Staring at the wreckage, recalling all that he saw that day and the absence of news since then, Adam begins to slowly accept the reality before him.

Finally, a telegram arrives while Adam and his mother are seated on their front steps. Adam has received telegrams before, and upon seeing the envelope, he registers the importance of a notice sent in this manner. His mother asks Adam to read the contents. Adam scans the words first before reading them aloud; it is a message from the Adjutant General of the navy announcing his father’s official status as “Missing in Action.” His mother can only sit there on the steps, repeating the words, and though Adam knows there is hope in the wording of the telegram, he has already accepted that he will never see his father again.

The navy decides to send all the dependent families of missing sailors back to the mainland. Adam’s mother does not have a choice in the matter, as a military wife, but Adam initially hopes that he might be able to stay on Oahu. He cannot imagine leaving his father behind. Though he has accepted that his father is dead, the idea of his body lying inside the ship in the waters of the harbor gives him a sense of connectedness to the place, and he is reluctant to leave. Adam temporarily considers that he might move in with Davi, find a job so he could pay Davi’s family rent, and continue attending Roosevelt High School. Adam’s mother persuades him to abandon that notion by reminding her son how much she needs him and saying that she would never leave him behind. Adam accuses her of leaving his father behind, and he begins to question whether or not they are still a navy family, but he stops when his mother asks him not to raise the issue.

As Bea, Marilyn, and Adam sail away from Oahu, wearing the leis Adam purchased for them on the dock, they look back at the island. Adam is reminded of the soldiers, airmen, and sailors he met and worked with on the day of the attack, wondering if they survived and where they are now. Adam and his mother stare out at the beauty of the landscape, reminded of the horrors that occurred there. When they pass the volcano known as Diamond Head, the sailors’ families, including Adam’s, take off their leis and drop them into the sea. The gesture indicates one’s intent to return to the island one day. As he watches his lei floating across the water and drifting out of sight, Adam thinks to himself, “Goodbye, Dad.”