WAIT FOR ME
DECEMBER 6TH, 1941 - 9:00 a.m.
I've been waiting for this day for ages. Every view I saw is the most beautiful, every particle of air I inhaled is the freshest, every step I took is the steadiest. I felt extremely fresh and energetic, not because I'm getting promoted to CEO in the TIME magazine company, but my life of being single is finally over! Looking quite smart and ridiculous in my new tuxedo, feeling anxious and nervous, excitement and happiness dominated my mind, and the intense mixed emotions inside me was indescribable!
My patience almost worn out when the wedding choral started to play. At that very moment, standing on the altar, my heart beat like steam-powered train as the wooden door opened slowly, clouds of mountain mist accompanied my beloved future fiancée and her father into the church hall. Everyone's attention immediately fell onto her, and I could swear that she's the prettiest, most attractive woman in the whole world. Her beautiful, swan-like white gown accompanied her as she gracefully walked down the red carpet. The whole scene is just like heaven to me.
After her father passed over her hand to me, my heartbeat sped up to over a thousand. Under the ultimate spotlight of many pairs of rejoiced eyes, I slid a 23-karat-decorated wedding ring on her left ring finger. Receiving a surprised and joyful reaction from her, I definitely knew that we were inseparable. Both the wedding rings will bound us together forever. We vowed our promise to God, that we would never leave each other, and together we would preserve this loving relationship till the very end. Shall we?
Yes, let's.
MARCH 19TH, 1942 - 3:45 p.m.
Who knew that everything could change in an instant? I guess no one.
Even our marriage was just only 4 months ago, yet our honey moments didn't last long. Now, America is at war. The Japs conducted the utmost unbearable war atrocities at Pearl Harbour a day after our wedding which swept away so many innocent lives. Enraged and angered, Americans unified to seek revenge against the Empire, aimed to bring them into total submission.
I was in my navy blue military uniform, humming our wedding song "The Best Moments" by J. G. Avingo while staring at the broad, seemingly boundless Pacific Ocean. Settled down on a DC-3 troop transport plane, I joined a number of recently recruited comrades en route to wage war across the largest ocean in the world. Before my plane departs from San Francisco, I hugged her tight, without the means to let her go. I kissed her, requesting her forgiveness for leaving her this sudden. I whispered beside her ear: "Wait for me Dasha, and I will come back to you," She nodded in silent agreement, with tiny stream of tears flowing down her cheek which made me sad.
Let's hope that we won't break that promise.
JUNE 1ST, 1942 - 7:18 p.m.
Looking at the sun setting on the orange-coloured west horizon from the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier's observation deck, agony and desperation raced all over my mind. We were going to defend Midway Atoll, a small island chain right between Tokyo and Hawaii which the Japanese bandits needed so badly, plus another opportunity to sink our capital ships therefore making them an invincible master of the Pacific.
We were part of a numerically and technically inferior task force, consisted of three main carriers and some escort ships, sent to halt the enemy which was twice larger and stronger than us from expanding their imperial ambitions further eastward. Becoming "The Great Wall" between the fellow hopeful citizens of the United States and the ferocious samurai-spirited Japanese, immense responsibility rested on both my shoulders and thousands more, where many of our fate are still in the thick mist.
Will we win this ensuing battle just as David defeated Goliath, or be crushed like tin cans by the Empire of the Sun? Expecting the enemy to charge against us, I shifted my view towards the east, towards Hawaii, towards the West Coast, towards San Francisco, and-Dasha. Thinking of how I'm going to protect her and the lives of so many Americans, my will and resolution grew stronger every second, diminishing my fear and despair altogether. Even if this mission means sacrificing myself, I will do the best to protect my loved ones.
JUNE 4TH, 1942 - 10:36 a.m.
"Alert! Alert! Bandits 10 o'clock!"
"Enemy planes incoming!"
"All hands battle stations!"
"Load the guns! Everyone aim and engage those bogeys!"
It was a scene of total chaos. The alarms rang throughout the carrier, commanders shouting orders across the huge ship, men furiously loading the AA (anti-aircraft) guns, and gunners pointing them at the direction where many tiny little dots were visible in the sky. Everyone on the ship was on full combat readiness, ready to engage the oncoming threat. My nerves operated at full capacity, my eyes on the sky, my brain almost came close to exploding. I was looking at the specks growing in size with each passing moment. For a moment, I thought, "Do we really need to do this? Why don't we just go home and stay with our loved ones? Why are we killing each other for the sake of peace…"
"Tatattatataattaataaa…" deafening sound of AA guns fired cut off my thought. Trails of vapour from piston engines of planes, smoke and fire trails from downed planes and millions of black smoke plumes from exploding shells instantly filled the clear sky. The roaring sound of enemy and friendly planes doing acrobatic-like maneuver in the sky adds to the intensity of the battle.
Together with my comrades, my team manned one of the many guns distributed across the ship, with mine being closest to the superstructure. We kept adjusting and firing the guns at the relentlessly attacking enemy planes. A few moment passed after we shot down a few planes while they failed to make a single hit. This would be over real soon, I hoped.
But it wasn't. A few "Val" dive bombers got through our umbrella of defence and bore down on us, the fattest target they wanted to take out. Desperately we pointed our guns at them, but we couldn't train them fast enough. I could see the determined faces of the pilots and very soon something black fell off one of their planes, accompanied with the whistling sound of something falling towards us growing louder…
11:05 a.m.
"Bang!" An explosion rocked the whole ship and sent jolts across the deck as we were thrown off balance. Millions of shrapnel and debris blasted all over the ship as a huge fireball tore the wooden flight deck apart. Huge inferno quickly blazed over ground zero, engulfing several planes and many crews there before the impact. Intense heat and smoke blanketed the ship while I grunted to stand up, drops of tears flowed.
Left speechless, I saw the damage control team and rescuing party members scrambled furiously but systematically to combat the blaze and rescue any survivors. Thanks to the expertise of those men, the badly wounded carrier stayed operational. The attack wave was gone by now, and I really wished that this would be the end. "Please, no more," I prayed to Him. No more cruelty like this is needed.
2:23 p.m.
Hastily we manned the guns again, preparing for another hell of a ride, but deep inside we believed that we could be lucky to survive another ordeal.
The battle soon raged with increasing tempo. With the lessons and experience of manning a gun, we do all we could to drive off the enemy. We managed to foil some attempts, clinging that this would take a little bit longer but this would end for good. But, what is destined to happen will.
The enemies were desperate, furious and dangerous than ever before after suffering heavy losses, and they also became smarter and more determined to put us on the seabed. They approached at a much steeper angle, which made our aiming more difficult. Soon , they dived at us literally unopposed, very soon after, they released their deadly payload. Ghostly sound indicated yet another inevitable has arrived…
Series of much severe explosions shook the ship like doomsday and threw us onto the floor, almost knocking me unconscious. My vision blurred as I tried to stand, but my left leg hurts and felt powerless. I managed to find a pole for support. Stunned by the destruction, I witnessed body parts and debris of bombs and parts of ship carrier strewn across the deck as far as I could see. The massive inferno was engulfing the deck, huge craters formed on the wooden deck. Thick plumes of black smoke covered the ship, blood and oil stains were all over the place. I turned my head, where many of my comrades were missing, dead or unconscious. It was hell on earth.
"Abandon ship! Abandon ship! Every man for himself!"
Sensing that the ship was listing, I struggled hard to climb across the deck to the highest point possible, losing strength and energy every moment. I yelled for anyone's attention, but to no avail. Everyone was busy escaping the carnage by jumping over the ship, so I had to help myself. I almost gone into darkness several times, with my will to survive slipping away bit by bit. Suddenly, the picture of Dasha smiling at me while extending her hands at me flashed through my mind. Dasha. It was her. It must be her. Here I come, Dasha. The graceful image of her smiling further strengthened my will to live, and I would. I promised her that I will return to her, and I would. Just wait for me.
But it seemed that fate was toying with me. With the energy drained through excessive blood loss, and the ship sinking further into David Jones' Locker, the deck was almost like a vertical wall. Using what little strength I'd left, I dragged myself inch by inch over a steel wall, resting myself on it for dear life, lit a flare, stick it on my navy-white trousers, and prayed for rescue. My aim to see Dasha again truly dominated my purpose to survive. Dear God, just let me live to fight another day, and reunite with my beloved wife…
"So God help us," my world fell silent.
SEPTEMBER 2ND, 1945, V-J DAY - 5:52 p.m.
Hopped off from a military transport truck, I stood in front of a middle- class residence in San Francisco, with majestic view of the Golden Gate Bridge shimmering under the warm yellow-orange light of setting sun. I looked back at the house. Peace and quiet is finally here.
Today, the Japanese government signed the instrument of surrender, signalling the end of hostilities in the Pacific, and ultimately the Second World War. With the Japanese finally bowed towards Uncle Sam and his allies, peace and prosperity finally returned to greet the world. No one needs another global conflict.
I knocked on the front door. No response. I watched the front yard. Nobody. With the key Dasha gave me three years prior, I opened the door and stepped inside the living room. It was dead silent. The room was dimly lit with sunlight. There I saw a series of framed black-and-white photographs hung on a wall beside the television set, honouring relatives whom had passed away. Mine was one of them, with an American flag hung underneath it. I knew she must have received report regarding my demise from the officials. Staring at my own photograph, I almost froze, my mind went blank.
I heard footsteps from behind. With the help of a mirror's reflection, I saw her coming down the stairs, and she paused for a while with a stunned expression on her face. Even in the dim light, I could clearly see tears streaming down her face. I turned to face her. Then, she threw herself into my embrace.
I hugged her tight. Our face came closer, and we kissed passionately. I did hope that this could freeze forever. Then, for some reason, both of us burst into laughter and we giggled. Most importantly, both of us knew…after suffering from being apart for years, still, we succeeded in keeping our promises made years ago. We knew we did it.