Forgiveness by Mark Sakamoto

any other day for Ralph in his new home. But as he was finishing eggs and coffee for breakfast, he saw Deighton rush into the mess hall, eyes ablaze.
    “Ralphie! Judas!”
    Deighton grabbed Ralph by the arm. “Get under your gear! The Japs are coming hard at us. They hit everywheres: Hawaii, Guam … you name it. The major thinks we got over fifty thousand of ’em coming straight for us.”

C HAPTER 4
Pearl Harbor
    Ralph quickly did the math. He knew they only had fourteen thousand men. He was a signalman, and he knew that the company’s heavy weapons would not land for another week. They were mistakenly sent to the Philippines.
    Outnumbered nearly four to one and with no air force or navy, the Hong Kong garrison was doomed. Ralph thought of his father. If he had gone to the funeral, he would most certainly have been on the boats now en route to the Philippines. Maybe his father would get the last laugh after all.
    It was decided that a small group would stay on the mainland and set up a security line just outside Kowloon. The Gin Drinker’s Line would be the first line of defence. The Scots and the Indians would defend the ten-mile line just north of Kowloon with enough men to hold out for as long as they could. The Royal Rifles would defend the east under Brigadier Cedric Wallis and the Winnipeg Grenadiers would defend the west under Major Christopher Maltby—the overall commander—would base his operation out of the Peninsula Hotel.
    Ralph boarded a small boat with Bookie, Leslie, and Deighton and crossed the harbour. It took all afternoon. Setting foot for thefirst time on the island they were charged with defending, they congregated at Aldrich Bay. An officer addressed the men. He got them cheering.
    Ralph was in Headquarters Company, a group of specialists: carpenters, signalmen, cooks, and drivers. They were, by necessity, spread out as needed across the western part of the island. The problem was that nobody really knew what was needed. Confusion reigned and the Canadians scrambled to prepare for an attack. Ralph spotted his commanding officer, Lieutenant Peter MacDougall, a half-mile down the road. Half the company surrounded him. Ralph dashed over and tugged on Bookie’s sleeve.
    “Where is everyone else?” Ralph asked.
    “Who the hell knows? I hear a bunch of our guys got stranded back at Shamshuipo.”
    “Ralph, come up here,” the CO called. He was opening a large map of the surrounding area. “We don’t know where the Japs are going to land. Take these three men and head to this town—” He pointed at Sheko. “I don’t have any trucks for you, so you better be off at first light tomorrow.”
    Ralph nodded. The CO put his hand on his shoulder. “Rifleman, if you see troops landing, shoot to kill. If you see any light at night, shoot it to hell.”
    Ralph nodded again. His mouth was so dry he could barely muster “Yes, sir.”
    “Good luck. I’ll send a runner up for you with some food and water.”
    That was it. With a slap on the back, Ralph had entered the war.
    The men slept on the side of the road that night. Most had trouble getting to sleep in the open air. None of them knew this would be the most sleep they’d get for the next fourteen days.
    At dawn, Ralph awoke. He took a deep breath as the previous day’s events washed over him. Bookie was up and making a little coffee with an army-issue pot and a small grass-fed fire. He waved Ralph over.
    “Be right there. Gotta make some water.” Ralph said as he made his way to the road’s edge away from the guys. He had a view of the harbour and the clear dawn sky. With wispy clouds blowing in from the open ocean, it didn’t look that much different from the sky back home. He wondered if his mother had heard about the attacks of the day before. He started to do his business, looking down as he peed on the dark green grass. When he looked back up, he saw three dark specks falling hard out of the clouds. He zipped and ran.
    Minutes later