Ghost Carrier: They Died to Fight Another Day

by Robert Child

  The lepers had never come together with such singular purpose before. Spurred on by humiliation and fueled by hatred, they planned to unleash their own brand of hell upon the Japanese. Fear had always stopped them from fighting back, but now fear had become their weapon of choice.

  Joe lingered in his shelter listening to the pounding rain and the thunder. He could feel freedom was close.

  “Keihō! Keihō! Keihō!,” screamed a mask-wearing Japanese guard from the tower at the front gate of the pen. The guard watched in horror with disbelieving eyes as the large mass of lepers closed in on the prison pen from all directions. His eyes widened into terror stricken panic as he raised his bolt action Arisaka rifle and fired wildly into the army. The lepers were not slowed a step.

  Joe emerged from his shelter into the chaos and saw the Japanese prison guards running in every which direction shouting incoherent curses in disbelief.

  “To the gate!” he heard Admiral Mullinnix order the mass of running men as the rain continued to pound. The plan Joe remembered was simply to scale the gate in the expected confusion as they no idea what the lepers were planning to do.

  The leper army, now split into two groups outside the pen, began banging on the fence with their clubs. Lepers on the front lines hacking the wire with axes were getting shot down by the terrified Japanese attempting to make a stand. Bullets ripped into leper bodies and rivers of blood gushed.

  The Japanese who had not already fled in terror formed firing lines facing both groups of lepers outside the pen. Many of their rain soaked rifles, however, began to jam. Some then fastened their bayonets and stabbed at the lepers through the wire.

  Joe, meeting up with the Admiral, saw the heroism displayed by the lepers on the front lines. His immediate thoughts were verbalized perfectly by the Admiral.

  “We need to help those guys!” the Admiral shouted.

  Theo, now next to Joe along with hundreds of fellow prisoners, did not hesitate as they charged forward to attack the disintegrating Japanese line from behind.

  The Japanese line had crumbled and had become a disorganized mêlée. Bayonets stabbing through the wire were knocked aside by the lepers’ heavy axes and clubs. Joe and the other men armed only with ropes, rolled up canvas, and their fists overtook the Japanese line, which was now pinned between the lepers at the prison fence and 500 enraged American prisoners.

  Joe looked over at Theo during the intense hand-to-hand combat as the big man took distinct pleasure in crushing the windpipe of a particular guard, strangling him far past dead.

  Joe’s adrenaline pumped and mysteriously his strength returned as he cornered one scrawny guard and trapped him against the fence. The guard slashed at Joe with the tip of his bayonet as Joe danced clear of the blade. Twisting his knotted rope, Joe knew that if he could knock the rifle away, this little piece of shit was as good as in the grave.

  A guttural rhythmic sound suddenly erupted from the massed leper army outside the fence. Joe wasn’t sure if was a war cry or if it was even English, but it made his blood instantly run cold.

  “Huki! Huki! Huki!” they repeated, their chant slow and deliberate.

  The scrawny guard in front of Joe turned back to the sound for an instant and that was all the time Joe needed. He rushed the soldier pinning him against the fence and knocked away his weapon. As Joe fumbled with his rope pinning the squirming solider with his arm and elbow, the soldier was able to grab his dagger. In close combat, the guard started to slash at Joe with the knife. Then out of the corner of his eye, Joe saw a disfigured young leper approaching them from outside the pen.

  Kekoa Manuiki raised both of his strong hands and reached them through the opening in the fence. He wrapped them around the soldier’s neck and pulled his body in tight against the fence. Kekoa then pulled his entire body hard to the right in a twist instantly breaking the Japanese soldier’s neck.

  As the guard slid down the fence to the ground, Joe looked across at Kekoa and nodded thanks. At that moment, the north and south walls of the pen ripped open and came down as the massed leper army continued to chant, “Huki! Huki! Huki!” and the oxen-like donkeys struggled forward.

  “I am Kekoa Manuiki, leader of these forces,” the leper commander informed Joe. “Pleased to assist you.”

  But the hand-to-hand fight had not ended with the walls coming down. Men were still kicking, scratching, and gouging the remaining Japanese guards for their very lives. All Joe could think of were the Admiral’s orders to meet at the beach, but he had lost track of Theo. Had he already gotten down to the beach? Where was the Admiral? Joe started to push his way toward the open sides of the pen to freedom. He saw Theo twenty yards away grappling with a particularly big Japanese guard. Theo had the end of the soldier’s rifle, but the guard wasn’t letting go as they wrestled back and forth.

  Joe shouted, “Theo!” as the hero gunner of Pearl Harbor finally slammed the big soldier to the ground and jumped with all his 290 pounds on the man’s back. Joe winced as he heard the soldier’s vertebrae shatter even at a distance away.

  Theo turned to see Joe and a reassuring smile crossed his face as he stepped off the crushed man. He started walking toward Joe, waving.

  With Theo about twenty feet away, Joe’s vision of the scene transitioned into slow-motion. Out of the corner of Joe’s eye, he saw a rushing crouching, bayonet-wielding guard behind Theo with his blade thrust forward.

  In the instant he heard his words leave his mouth, “THEO, BEHIND YOU!” Joe saw the twenty-inch long razor sharp bayonet blade emerge from the center of Theo’s chest.

  Theo stopped cold, his eyes wide and surprised as he looked down at the gushing red blood and blade protruding from his heart.

  Frozen in horror, Joe could not move as the soldier shouted a blood curling battle scream and twisted the bayonet hard in Theo’s chest. It was the finishing death strike.

  Theo’s mouth opened wide in a silent gasp as his eyes rolled back, and the big man fell forward. His lifeless body slammed against the ground hard with the base of bayonet still protruding from his back.

  Joe rushed to his friend on the ground as the guard raced off. Kneeling in the mud under the pounding rain, Joe slid the blade out of Theo’s body and flung it aside. He then struggled to roll Theo over on his back.

  Choking back tears, Joe said his goodbye. “I’ll never forget you. Never. You saved my life. Oh Jesus Christ, Theo!” Joe screamed as he was overcome.

  After a moment Joe felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and looked up through the rain to see the Admiral. “Rusk, we gotta move. Now.”

  “Yes, sir.” Joe whispered as he turned back to his friend and gently lifted Theo’s head to remove his dog tags. Putting Theo’s chain around his own neck, he said, “People are gonna know this man lived and what he did for me…for us.”

  Chapter 14

  DAYTON, OHIO

  “Now, Frank, I want you to listen to me very carefully,” Maria instructed. “If you don’t follow the instructions exactly as my guides have given me, you will not be able to connect and be with your father. Do you understand?”

  “I think. But I still don’t know how you’re gonna bring him back.”

  “I’m not going to bring him back.”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  “Frank, you’ve come a long way. But this final step is going to be the most difficult of all. Everything you have believed about the world your entire life you need to now throw away.”

  Frank listened intently.

  “You have to completely discard what you believe about what reality is and how it operates. Everyone creates their own reality from their conscious and subconscious beliefs of what they believe to be true for them and only for them. Whatever you decide and believe in your mind to be true becomes your reality. There is a parallel reality existing at this very instant as solid and tangible as this one we are living in now where you are together with your Dad. Where you have memories of growing up with him and of the lov
e and respect you share. This is the life you are going to make your truth and your final destination. You must believe this life, this world, exists now with every cell of your body. There can be absolutely no doubt in your mind. You are literally going to jump into this parallel existing reality track. Some people have called it quantum jumping where they have deliberately moved back and forth between their own alternate reality tracks. But for you, Frank, the jump is going to be irreversible.”

  Frank nodded, “Just tell me what I need to do.”

  “Close your eyes. We are about to change your past starting with your earliest memory. Think back. What is the first thing you remember?”

  Eyes closed, Frank concentrated. “I think I was about four or five and my mother got me a dog. He was really a mutt.”

  “What was his name? Try to remember as many details as possible.”

  “Cuddles. He was a sort of beagle spaniel mix, black with brown and white spots. God, I loved that dog.”

  “Good intensify that feeling.”

  “We did everything together. He was my best buddy.”

  “Okay now add in your Dad. Place him in the scene. Imagine he is the one giving you the dog. Watch his face light up as he sees your joy. You and your Dad take Cuddles out to the back yard and toss a ball around. You are laughing. Cuddles is trying to jump at the ball, but he misses.

  “Yes! Yes, I can see it!”

  “What is your Dad saying?”

  “He’s saying, ‘Frankie, you have to teach this dog some tricks. Can you do that, son?’ I say, ‘Sure, Pop. I can do it. Sure!’ ”

  “Okay, stay in this scene a few moments longer then I am going to move you forward in time.”

  Frank’s face exhibited pure joy. He was living this new memory from more than six decades earlier enjoying time with his father and his new dog.

  “Okay, Frank, we are moving forward in time. Keep your eyes closed. Your first bike do you remember it?

  “You bet I do. It was a fire engine red Roadmaster Luxury Liner with black handle bar grips and a tan seat. It had these springs on the front frame to cushion bumps. It was awesome.”

  “That’s great, Frank. I can really picture it. Now place your Dad beside you. He is steadying you with one hand on your back and another on the handle bar. Can you see him?”

  “Sure can.” Frank said without hesitation.

  “What is he saying to you?”

  “He’s saying ‘You’re too old for the training wheels now, son. Once you learn to ride a bike one time, you’ll never forget. I’ll be right beside you running while you peddle. When you get up enough speed I’m going to let you go, okay?’ ”

  Katie smiled across at Frank. He was really living this. He was really there.

  “Okay, what happens next, Frank?” Maria asked.

  “I start peddling. He runs beside me for a bit then lets me go. I can’t believe it. I’m riding it all by myself. It’s unbelievable! I’m doing it!”

  “Okay, look back at your Dad. Describe his face.” Frank leaned forward in his chair his eyes still closed and turned his body around looking back.

  “He’s grinning ear to ear, clapping and shouting ‘way to go, Frankie boy! way to go!’ ”

  Katie, enjoying the vision Frank was painting, saw a single tear rolling down Frank’s right cheek.

  “God, Dad looks so happy and I feel so proud of myself. I’ll never forget this moment. Ever.”

  Maria looked over to Katie with knowing nod. This was going very well.

  KALAUPAPA PENINSULA

  Joe stood up and followed the Admiral, but took a last glance back at Theo. He realized the storm had completely stopped, and the skies were clearing in the east out over the ocean. He, the Admiral, and their fellow sailors scrambled down toward the beach. As they approached the water a shimmering fifteen-foot figure appeared with hands out stretched. Joe saw him first -- Saint Damien!

  “Admiral, that’s St. Damien,” he said as they moved toward the figure. It was translucent and had a golden aura.

  “My beloved, it is your time to return home.” Saint Damien said in a comforting but booming voice that echoed down the beach.

  The lepers arrived at the spot where Joe and the Admiral stood with the rest of the men. Kekoa Manuiki stepped forward and kneeled before the shimmering image, his head bowed to the ground.

  “Rise, my son. Kneel only before God,” Damien exhorted. “You and the flock have exhibited extraordinary courage and great faith on this day. It will not be long before you all leave this place.”

  Kekoa looked around at his fellow lepers excited but not sure what Saint Damien meant because he knew they were forever banished from their fellow man. Knowing his concern, Saint Damien said, “It has been orchestrated in the higher realms that an effective antidote to your condition appear on your world. It has been in process for some time. The colony here on Molokai will be the first recipients of the treatment in three months time.

  Kekoa’s face lit up and tears began as the other lepers shouted in jubilation. The Admiral and Joe and the rest of the men could not hold back. They cheered for their fellow comrades in arms.

  Turning to the sailors, Saint Damien said, “It is time.” He waved his robe draped right arm toward the sea and a massive gold and orange rainbow appeared ten yards out into the surf. Within the rainbow a spiraling, shimmering portal appeared, and illuminated everything around it.

  “Walk forward, my beloved. Walk into the light of your world. Go forth under the grace and protection of our Creator, and you will reunite with your souls.”

  Joe desperately wanted to know something and struggled to find words. “Saint Damien, the men? The ones we lost here?”

  “No one is ever lost my son. The ones whose soul mission was not completed or who are needed for a great task on your world, you will see them again as they were. Other souls will continue on to the higher realms. But no one has been lost.”

  Joe nodded grateful to Saint Damien and turned toward the portal.

  The men of the Liscome Bay waded into the surf toward the dimensional opening. They all noticed immediately they were not getting wet. They could see their legs moving through the water, but they remained completely dry. Some men started laughing, some started smiling, all started running, including Joe. He looked back one last time and waved to Kekoa and Saint Damien as he disappeared in the portal.

  Chapter 15

  USS LISCOME BAY – RADAR ROOM 0408 HOURS 23 NOVEMBER 1943

  Bobby Cannon jolted to consciousness, alive once again sitting in front of his PPI radarscope. He slowly opened his eyes. He brought his hands to his chest and felt his body. Then he reached up and placed a hand on his face above his right temple. He remembered the last image he saw was the Japanese officer firing point blank at him. But he felt no entry wounds. He was alive! He couldn’t believe it. He looked up at the clipboard hanging over the scope with notes from the night radar man. His eyes focused on the date. 23 November 1943. He cocked his left wrist and read his watch 0430 hours. My God he thought as he turned his attention to the scope. In the upper left quadrant blinked a faint single surface blip 4.344 nautical miles to the northwest moving at 10 knots. The craft was bearing 40 degrees southeast toward the battle group. Chills ran down his spine and as they did, the radar signature disappeared. “Sir! Sir!” Bobby yelled over to Lon Turner, the fire control officer. Bobby instantly recalled he did not remember Turner being on the Peninsula. He survived the sinking!

  Turner moved quickly over to Bobby’s station.

  “Sir, I just registered a K6 type Japanese sub heading straight toward the task force at 10 knots.”

  Turner strained to see it on radar. “Where?”

  “It dove just as I registered the signature, but its last position was here,” he said, pointing on the scope.

  “You’re certain?”

  “Absolutely no doubt, sir,” Bobby was emphatic. “It’s heading right for us!”

  Turner looked directly at
PFC Cannon. “Well, if you’re wrong, sailor, there’s gonna be hell to pay.” Turner paused. “But if you’re right, you may have just saved hundreds of lives in this task force.”

  Turner picked up the receiver in front of the radar station and yelled into it, “Get me Captain Wiltsie.”

  Joe Rusk jolted to consciousness in his bunk to the General Quarters alarm.

  “General Quarters. General Quarters. All personnel man your battle stations.” He heard the voice echo down the ships corridors.

  Joe felt his body all over with his hands. He was alive. He was back! He immediately reached up to the shelf above his bunk. “Frankie’s picture!” he yelled as he held it in his hands.

  Lonny and Sam were up and pulling on their shirts and shoes.

  “Come on, Joe, we gotta move!” Lonny shouted.

  Joe jumped out of bed and looked over at Sam.

  Sam pointed to his watch with a nod.

  Joe looked down at his. It read 0435 hours. Thirty minutes before the carrier was originally struck. Joe looked back up at Sam and nodded his head confirming he knew what Sam meant. They had time if only they could get topside. Joe paused then. An odd looked crossed his face. He looked back down at his watch. It was the Hamilton he had given Franny.

  Lonny finishing tying his boot and stood up looking over at Joe in his white tee shirt. “Rusk, why the hell are you wearing two sets of dog tags?”

  0445 Hours

  On the perimeter circle of the task force, destroyers Hoel, Hughes, Maury, and Franks were executing defensive maneuvers rolling Mark 9 and Mark 14 depth charges filled with 200 pounds of TNT into the sea on the direct orders of Admiral Mullinnix. Adding to the urgency, Destroyer Hull had departed the task group at 0400 bound for Makin Island. This left an unprotected gap the perimeter ships were maneuvering to fill. Captain Wiltsie had been hesitant to rely on the observations of a junior radar officer. Mullinnix was not. He instantly over rode the Captain’s order to launch a single reconnaissance aircraft. Instead, the Admiral put all ships in the task force on General Quarters, engaged the destroyers, and launched all 13 Avengers and Wildcats on the flight deck already fueled and armed with torpedo bombs.