Kazuo's Story
A/N: The following is a true story. I am using the local dialect to tell it, because it was how it was told to me and I can't tell it the way I heard it any other way. I spent over a decade of my life in Hawai'i and a history teacher I had in high school had an interesting take on the events of December 7th, 1941. I've only changed his name in this…everything else is as he told us in class many years ago. There are many old timers in the Islands with stories of that day…all of them worth listening to. Kids in school in Hawai'i have the unique advantage of hearing first-hand accounts either from relatives or like in my case, their teachers. This chapter is set in April of 2021.
Winter had taken its toll on the majority of the team and they had unanimously decided that a tropical vacation was in order. Years of listening to Connor Kent rave about the state he called 'home', made their choice of destination an easy one. Chris remembered fondly the bus system that ran across the island and had easily convinced his teammates that it was the way to go for all their sightseeing adventures on the southern side of O'ahu.
"Mom and Dad had a conference here years ago," Chris was explaining. "They'd brought Connor and Kara with them to keep an eye on me and the three of us had a blast!"
"So you've seen this before?" Sin asked.
Chris shook his head. "We didn't hit the memorial then. I kind of wish we had…but hey. It's something we can all share."
Cerdian cracked a wry smirk at his friend. "Your optimism amuses me to no end." He held a hand up to deflect the playful swat Chris aimed at him.
"This is us, gang," Iris chimed in when the driver announced that the USS Arizona Memorial was the next stop. They exited through the back door of the bus and made their way to the crosswalk.
"That was eighty years ago already," Milagro murmured in awe, as they waited for the light to turn green. They had a prime view of the beautiful stark white memorial on the water.
"Eighty years ago this year and people still flock to see this," Damian added.
"Never forget, never repeat," Jai stated. "I'm glad it's still heavily visited."
"I was right," Lian shuddered. "This would creep me out a little."
"Why?" Chris asked.
"The ship was named for Dad's and my home state," Lian explained. "It's almost like a part of us is under there," she indicated the memorial with a nod.
"Like this isn't morbid enough," Jai scoffed. Lian flipped him off as the others laughed. The light changed and they headed across the street towards the memorial.
They could see an elderly gentleman with a cane pausing on the sidewalk ahead of them and the crowds that pretended not to notice him. "Are you alright, Sir?" Sin asked as they came upon him.
He gave her a broad grin. "I stay old, not like you. I just winded."
"Can we assist you?" Cerdian offered, indicating a broad bench nearby.
"Oh mahalo yeah," the elder thanked as Cerdian carefully took his arm and the team led him to the bench. "Is dis the da first time you all wen see 'em?" he asked, pointing to the memorial.
"It is," Damian replied.
"We couldn't pass up the chance to see this," Milagro added.
"Dat's good," the elder nodded. "I remember dat day…" he added softly as memories came back to him. His comment had grabbed their attention and focused it solidly on him.
"Do you mind sharing?" Cerdian asked.
"Shoots. If you want to listen to one old man reminisce, I be glad for tell my story," he offered. "My name's Kazuo," he added after Cerdian introduced himself and the others as they got comfortable around Kazuo to listen to his story. Kazuo started by saying that his grandparents had been migrant farmers from Japan, who immigrated to Hawai'i in the late eighteen hundreds to work in the sugar fields. "By da time I show up, we was as American as everybody else." He paused and shook his head slightly. "Until my tenth birthday I never thought of national pride or anyt'ing like dat. Den da planes wen come."
"Your birthday is December seventh?" Chris asked incredulously.
Kazuo nodded. "Yep. I going be ninety dis year." He chuckled at the amazed looks he was getting from the team. "Da morning of my tenth birthday, we was getting ready for church," he explained. "We lived just over there," he added pointing to an area that was now part of a mall complex. "Dat was all bush back den." The team looked towards where Kazuo had pointed. "My brothers, cousins, and I was playing in da front yard when we hear da planes. Dey was coming from Mililani way," he explained pointing to the broad valley between the two mountain ranges on the island.
"Sir?" Jai asked when Kazuo's gaze became distant.
"It was da wartime," Kazuo continued, not really hearing Jai's concern. "We saw plane formations all da time. Never thought for look to see who they were." Kazuo was looking to where his childhood home had been. "We was waving at dem at first."
"You couldn't have known," Iris offered, placing a hand on Kazuo's. He looked down at her hand and then up to her and smiled.
"You're right," he agreed, patting her hand. "As da planes got closer we saw da Rising Sun on da wings. We thought it was a joke…or mock exercise or somet'ing like dat." Kazuo looked over at a military air field and pointed. "Da first explosions was over dere."
"You had a clear line of sight of everything," Damian marvelled.
"Oh yeah," Kazuo replied. "Us kids didn't even think twice, we just raced through da bush to da water for get a better look," he added. "After a minute or two we realised dat it was one attack," he added and then chuckled. "One of da planes had circled back and buzzed over where we was and we all wen run for hide in da trees." Kazuo pointed to the memorial as he continued. "Da battleships was all lined up in twos next to Ford Island and da bulk of da planes was concentrated on getting dem." Pointing to the sky above the memorial, Kazuo continued. "There was t'ree or four planes immediately above, dat could have been da one dat dropped da bomb dat wen hit da Arizona. Da fireball was so tall. Da biggest thing I ever wen see up to den."
"My God," Chris breathed.
"You must have been terrified?" Sin asked.
Kazuo shook his head. "No. I wasn't scared…I was sad. Da ships was packed full of men back den. And all I could think about was dose poor men, dey never had a chance." Damian heard Milagro swallow hard next to him and placed an arm across her shoulders. "Several ships had already been hit and we wen venture from da trees back to da water to see if we could help." Kazuo blinked tears away for a moment. "Da sailors who wen jump ship was swimming to whatever land dey could get to. We saw several trying to reach where we was." He chuckled for a moment. "We no think that we had our good church clothes on. We was all good swimmers and some of my older cousins and brothers dove in to help da sailors to shore, while da rest of us was tearing up our good shirts for use as bandages. You could see da sailors was in bad shape, the ones heading towards us."
The team stared in genuine awe of Kazuo as he told his story. "We had a few doctors and nurses in our family, so we knew basic first aid." Kazuo frowned and shook his head. "I remember dis one guy," he paused and sighed deeply. "Ka'ahupahau must have taken great pity on all of dem and guided dem to safety."
"Ka'ahupahau?" Cerdian asked.
"The shark goddess of Pu'uloa, the Hawai'ian name for Pearl Harbour," Chris explained. "She's the protector of the harbour."
"You know our legends?" Kazuo asked Chris, his pride evident on his weathered face.
Chris nodded. "My cousin lived in the Islands for some time and absorbed everything he could about them."
"Your cousin stay kama'aina den," Kazuo said. Chris shrugged. "Anyone who take da time for learn da culture and embrace it is considered local," he added. "Even if your cousin is haole in appearance, he is local in his heart. Dat make him kama'aina," Kazuo stated.
"Connor would be pleased to hear that," Chris agreed. "But forgive me, I didn't mean to interrupt you," he added, suggesting that Kazuo continue his tale.
Kazuo waved a hand to suggest that he didn't mind. "How some of da sailors made it to shore, I'll never know. Like I said, Ka'ahupahau must have been protecting dem." His shoulders sagged slightly as looked over to where he'd been on that terrifying morning. "Dis one guy my brother was helping to shore was crying in pain. He was burnt real bad across his chest and down his arms." Kazuo winced a little. "Da buttons on his shirt had melted and were stuck to him." Sin held her fist to her mouth and blinked back tears at the thought. "We had our littlest cousin go run to the road to flag down help for da sailors. Minoru wen run all da way home instead for get help. His mother made him stay at da house while my father and uncle came to where we was with their medical bags. My sister came too because she was in nursing school."
Kazuo pointed to a dock nearby and the ships tendered there. "By den da first wave of da attack was over and da second wave was coming in. Da ships dat was moored dere had started getting underway to get out of da harbour." Kazuo's gnarled finger drifted along the harbour until pausing ahead of the memorial. "One of da ships wen get hit right dere. I remember seeing it rise up out of da water wen da torpedo hit it, but it kept on going before getting beached. Was unreal how it stay afloat after dat."
"That would have been the Nevada, correct?" Damian asked as he recalled his history.
Kazuo shook his head. "I dunno. Da only ship I know is dat one," he replied, pointing to the memorial. Damian nodded in understanding as Kazuo continued. "Was not long after, dat da attack stopped. We had about two dozen sailors make it over to where we was. And even though everybody knew dat it was da Japanese dat wen attack and my family is Japanese, not one of da sailors wen blame us or attack us for what had happened. Dey was just grateful for any help we could give 'em," he explained. "Was a few days later dat any of my family heard anything bad because we were Japanese."
"Some things never change," Damian sighed. Kazuo looked at him in confusion. "I'm half Egyptian." Kazuo nodded in immediate understanding.
"So you know dat no matter what, always going have some fool think dat you were personally responsible," Kazuo stated. Damian nodded in agreement. "I had an aunty who wen marry a Japanese national before da war," Kazuo explained. "Because he wasn't a citizen and she had been in Japan before, dey both ended up shipped off to da Mainland to one of the camps."
"You can't be serious," Milagro gasped.
"I am," Kazuo assured her. "Da government treated dem as da enemy and dey spent da whole war in Alabama in a Japanese concentration camp."
"That's insanity," Cerdian growled.
"Sadly Dude, that's what happened," Jai said. "Our grandmother was just a little kid living in the Mid-West at the time. And she recalls having to correct everyone that accused her or her family of being Japanese, that they were actually Korean."
"Not that it mattered," Iris added. "I guess folks figured that if they were Asian they may as well have been Japanese."
"Even Koreans got harassed on the Mainland?" Kazuo asked.
"On the Mainland, it's not like it is here. Unless people are from a major city, they usually can't tell Japanese from Korean, from Chinese, and so on," Iris explained.
"I'm Chinese and I live in San Francisco and I still have people ask me what I am," Sin told him.
"I'm half Vietnamese and I'm always pegged as either Chinese or Japanese," Lian added with a shrug.
"People really can't tell da difference?" Kazuo asked.
"Nope." Jai replied. "Asian is usually about as specific as most folks can guess."
"Dat's a shame. We don't have dat here," Kazuo explained. "People can tell who is what, even da mixed ones." He paused for a moment before continuing. "No, dey had a little bit confusion during the years of martial law. Da military was mainly white and from da Mainland."
"You had martial law as well?" Cerdian asked.
Kazuo nodded. "We had it until nineteen forty four. Den da Supreme court agreed that it was unwarranted in Hawai'i, but it took Roosevelt stepping in to properly end it."
Chris sighed as he folded his arms across his chest and looked out to the memorial. "You know, for years I listened to Connor telling me all of this. And even now, being here and hearing your story, I still can't believe how poorly it was handled."
"It was a different time," Kazuo shrugged. "Dat don't make it right, but dat was da way it was back den."
"No it doesn't," Chris agreed.
Kazuo gazed out to the memorial. "Wen dey proposed building da memorial…a lot of us in da Islands thought dat dey couldn't do it justice," he said. "I remember watching it get built." He gave a wry smile before continuing. "All dis time dat it's been dere, I only now decide dat maybe I should go out dere."
"You've never been out there?" Iris asked incredulously.
Kazuo shook his head. "And I couldn't even tell why dat is. I don't know da answer to dat."
"We would be deeply honoured if you joined us on our trip out to the memorial," Sin stated. Kazuo said that he didn't want to slow them down, but Sin insisted. "It is the least we can do. You have been so generous in sharing with us."
"Pretty please," Iris asked.
Kazuo laughed at her puppy eyes. "Okay if you no mind, I would like dat," he said. Damian helped him stand up from the bench and Jai held out an arm for Kazuo to take. "We'll stop at da lei stand first," he insisted.
"Chris' cousin has told us about the tradition of floating leis to honour the fallen," Milagro grinned. Kazuo nodded and smiled at Chris. They each purchased an orchid lei at the stand and Damian went to secure nine tickets for the boat out to the memorial.
"We're early," Kazuo commented. "We only have a half hour wait for da next boat…dat's good."
"How much was the ticket?" Cerdian asked as Damian handed him his.
"They're free," Damian informed him, handing out the rest.
"You only have to pay at da other historical sites if you want for check em out," Kazuo added.
They found a bench near the boat dock and Kazuo gladly took a seat. "The second wave came up from that way, right?" Lian asked, pointing out to the mouth of the harbour.
"Yeah," Kazuo replied. "Da first one came from da mountain side and da second one wen sweep in from da ocean side." As they waited for the boat to take them out to the memorial, Kazuo explained how everything had looked that day right before the attack. "Dere was a ship parked in front. A small one next to da Arizona, and den four or five more behind dat. Dey were parked in twos, except da one in front."
"Were they all sunk?" Cerdian asked.
"No," Kazuo replied. "Da one in front when get away and I think two in da back make it away from Battleship Row. Dey all took bad hits though. Da Arizona had da most casualties by far and was beyond salvaging. Dat's why dey made it into a memorial."
The boat arrived and Jai helped Kazuo aboard. They remained silent on the trip over to the memorial. Kazuo let a few tears fall as he vividly recalled his tenth birthday and how he had spent it. Once out at the memorial the group made their way to the centre where a large opening let visitors look right down onto the sunken ship. "Dat's her tears," Kazuo choked out, pointing to the faint sheen of oil reflecting a rainbow of colours on the water's surface. "She's still crying for her lost crew." Damian instinctively reached for Iris and hugged her, knowing that Kazuo's observation would reduce her to tears. Kazuo reached over the railing and dropped his lei into the water. "Mahalo nui loa," he murmured. The others did the same and voiced their thanks or honours. "How many languages you all speak?" Kazuo marvelled.
"We're all at least bilingual," Milagro replied.
Lian tried counting off on her fingers several times before losing count. "A lot, trust me."
"Kent," Sin read aloud as she looked up at the commemorative wall listing all of the Arizona's casualties.
"I'm sorry?" Chris piped up and went to join her. Sin pointed out the name of Thomas Kent. "No relation," he told her. "Believe I'd know if he was."
"There's a couple of West's here too," Jai pointed out as several of them looked to find their family names.
"No relation here either," Iris added.
"I remember him," Kazuo said, indicating a name under the list of survivors who had since been interred inside the wrecked hull of the ship. "I remember him because he apologised to my father. He wasn't too bad bang up and was helping us out. When he realised dat we were ethnic Japanese, he apologised for any backlash we'd see because of da attack." He saw the surprised looks on some of his young companion's faces. "Any of the crew of the Arizona who wen survive da attack, had da option of being buried here wen dere time came," he explained. "I've lived longer den he did," he added, noting the year of death next to the name. Kazuo patted the engraved name and thanked him. "He was younger den you kids dat day, but he was wise and understanding."
Cerdian wandered to one of the large open windows and looked out at the stern of the ship. "You okay?" Lian asked, stepping up behind him.
"Of all the shipwrecks I've encountered," he murmured. "This is the first war wreck." Lian watched as Cerdian raised a hand slightly and drew small patterns in the air along the hull.
"What was that?" she quietly asked.
"A blessing," he replied. He gave a wry smile. "I do it at all the wrecks I come across." Lian hugged his arm and leaned against him. "You can feel their souls. They're at peace," he added.
An announcement rang out that the boat back to shore was about to be boarded and Lian looked up. "That's us," she said, leading Cerdian back to Kazuo and the others.
Damian helped Kazuo aboard and they rode back to shore in silence again. Once ashore, Jai helped Kazuo from the boat and the team offered to escort him wherever he was heading. "Dere's a shuttle stop in da parking lot," Kazuo told them. They walked with him to the shuttle stop and waited with him.
"Thank you so much for sharing your story with us," Damian told him.
"It made our trip here, that much more valuable," Jai added.
Kazuo smiled gratefully at them. "Mahalo for listening to an old man and helping him around. You kids enjoy da rest of your trip and no forget. Never forget dat and what it means," he told them, indicating the memorial.
"You've guaranteed that we won't," Sin promised. The others heartedly agreed with her.
Kazuo nodded and then bid his goodbyes to them. "Da shuttle's here," he added, indicating a shuttle bus that was pulling into the parking lot. He shared hugs and good byes with them before the driver got out to help Kazuo aboard. The team stayed and waved him farewell as the shuttle pulled away. He waved back at them until he couldn't see them anymore.
"God damn it," Iris sniffled. "Imagine waking up on your tenth birthday and getting a world war thrown on your front doorstep."
"You never think of history like that, but millions of people around the world all have a similar story like that," Jai mused. "One day everything's peachy and the next, they're struggling to stay alive because of mankind's stupidity and arrogance."
"It's truly humbling when you do hear one of them tell theirs, though," Milagro added.
"Okay smack me if you think this is a bad idea," Chris piped up. "But there's an outdoor food court at the mall down the road. It's right about where Kazuo said he was when they all ran down to the water to see what was going on."
"A bit early for lunch, but I'm interested," Damian replied, looking at his watch.
"I think it's unanimous," Lian smirked, looking around at her teammates.
They made their way back to the bus stop and got on the next bus heading towards the mall. Finding the food court easily enough, they all got lunch and found a pair of tables on the deck overlooking the water. "Wow…that's not that far," Jai commented.
"You wonder how some of the victims managed to swim all the way over here though," Sin asked, recalling Kazuo's recounting of the story. "That's still a decent swim."
"And that's without planes overhead trying to destroy everything around you," Lian added.
"You can almost hear them, can't you?" Chris asked. He'd noticed that several of the others were looking towards the sky or the memorial and imagining what it must have been like on the fateful day.
"That is so creepy," Milagro pointed out. "But yeah, you can."
"I propose a toast," Cerdian stated, holding up his drink. The others raised their drinks and tapped them to his. "To the fallen on that fateful day."
"And mahalo nui loa to Kazuo for gladly sharing his story with us," Chris added.
"Hear, hear," they all chimed in.
A/N II: Minus my 'a/n' drivel and the title, this story contains 3694 words (according to my word count at least). That's the total number of killed and wounded at Pearl Harbour on December 7th, 1941. I didn't realise it until I was near the end that I was close…then yes I planned it the rest of the way. A word for each soul.
