THE JAPANESE BAYONET

My father entered his senior year in high school just a few months before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. One can only imagine America's heightened patriotism and profound anger during that time. This was a horrific act on American soil, and the winds of war were simultaneously blowing in Europe. As a 17-year-old male, he undoubtedly knew the role of defending our country in combat rested on young men's shoulders.

Although he and his buddy had yet to graduate, they joined the Army just after his 18th birthday in March of 1942. After basic training, he soon found himself on a ship departing Seattle and heading to the South Pacific islands to help eradicate malaria-carrying mosquitos. Many of our troops were contracting malaria, thus posing a severe threat to our ability to combat the Japanese.

He spent most of his time during the war island-hopping, although it certainly wasn't the island-hopping most of us dream of. He became an expert at identifying and eradicating malaria-carrying mosquitos. After arriving on an island that had been won by the Americans following hard-fought battles, it was not unusual to see dead Japanese soldiers left to rot. Sometimes, Japanese soldiers survived the battle, and rather than surrendering, they hid in the mountains or forests of the island. One time, my father and his buddies were standing in the chow line when an emaciated Japanese soldier suddenly got into line. Upon questioning, the Japanese man explained that there were few of them left, and they were starving. So, they began killing and eating fellow soldiers, starting with the lowest rank. Since his rank was next to be cannibalized, he figured he'd have a better chance with the Americans.

The only 'action' my father saw was on a ship heading for the invasion of Japan. While he was standing on the ship's deck, a Japanese plane strafed the ship. He narrowly missed losing his life. As the boat drew closer to Japan, they learned that Atomic bombs had been dropped on Japan, finally forcing the Japanese to surrender. Nevertheless, the ship continued sailing to Japan. When they reached the shore, my father and a buddy decided to walk into town. Many years later, my father realized how risky his actions were, as angry Japanese could have killed them. He described the Japanese as being very gracious and actually friendly. He supposed that they must have been relieved that the war was, at last, over.

My father returned home with a Japanese bayonet that he had recovered from a dead soldier's body on one of the many islands he had been assigned. Years later, he described the remorse he felt due to taking it from a dead human being's body, as that man had loved and been loved. Although the dead man was the enemy, he deserved respect. When he told me this story, he was well into his 80's. Oh, we discussed how the military dehumanizes the enemy to make it easier to kill them, but this still didn't assuage my father's guilt at his own actions. And maybe, some of him felt that he didn't deserve the bayonet because he wasn't defending himself and consequently didn't earn it. Who knows? 

After my father's funeral almost 4 years ago, I told my uncle about the bayonet incident and how my father felt guilty about it. I wondered aloud what had happened to it, as I remembered it hanging over his bedroom door but hadn't seen it in many years. To my surprise, my father, due to his unrelenting guilt (my guess), had given it to my uncle. He offered to give it to me, but since my daughter had asked my mother for my father's souvenirs from the war, she became the recipient of the bayonet. Before my daughter received it, my uncle painstakingly and lovingly restored it to its original state, as my father had inexplicably painted it red! The color red may be subconsciously symbolic.

So now,  his granddaughter has the bayonet. I can only hope she understands that it represents the original owner of the bayonet, a man who gave his life for Japan and was retrieved by a man on the 'winning' side who felt remorse about his actions. And finally, it tells her that her grandfather was a man of unrelenting compassion.