The Purple Heart

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The Purple Heart Page 33

by Vincent Yee


  Though the training was rigorous, it was becoming a routine and the troops were getting restless. Many troops had been dispatched early to replenish the fallen troops of the 100th Battalion, who was fighting in the European Theater.

  Hiroshi was a diligent soldier. He performed admirably during training. He was also a role model for the other men, since he bonded well with many of them. He was reluctantly getting used to them calling him “Home Run.” He felt it was good to know the men in his company, as they would be the men whom he would go into battle with. They were going to be men he would be protecting, and he felt firmly that they would protect him. In battle, they had to rely on their brothers in arms to win.

  When Hiroshi wasn't training and hanging out with the troops, he was consumed in his letter-writing campaign to Minami. He never considered himself to be a great writer, but he found that he enjoyed writing to Minami. He knew for every letter that he wrote, he would get one back from her. One letter would be exchanged roughly every week between Hiroshi and Minami.

  Every single week, he learned more of Minami's pregnancy and her progress. She continually lamented how she was getting big and felt grossly undesirable. But he reassured her that if he could, he would run all the way back to the prison camp just to be with her. It pained him that he was not there to support his wife, and the guilt began to grow. But Minami had finally accepted his decision. She even said she was proud of him. Whether or not she said it to alleviate the guilt in his letters, Hiroshi would never know. But he knew she would have preferred to have him by her side.

  Hiroshi told Minami about how he became known as “Home Run” all over again on the training base. He put all the blame squarely on Kenji, but in his letters, he would tell her how Kenji was also growing up. Kenji still joked around and made the troops laugh at his animated and comical impressions of people, a skill he just discovered he had. But in training, Kenji was extremely focused and serious. He performed almost like a well-oiled machine. Still, he didn't have the real-world experience to prepare him for the harshness of war, and that worried Hiroshi.

  He mentioned how Peter had become his best friend on the base and how much she would have liked him. Peter was still on the quiet side and of his four closest friends, he was probably the least confident about his skills as a soldier. Peter was probably also the smartest in the group. He could recite the military handbook with ease, and he followed all the military debriefings from the war. Despite his seemingly quiet demeanor, Peter definitely did have his opinions. He was still naïve about how the Japanese Americans were perceived, and truly believed that the white officers saw them as equals. But that wall of naïveté had begun to crumble away, one brick at a time. But he was a good friend to Hiroshi, and listened to his stories and letters from back home. Hiroshi's only worry was whether or not Peter could actually pull the trigger.

  But when it came down to Akira, Minami was the only person that Hiroshi could tell the truth to. There was something about him that bothered Hiroshi tremendously. Though he mentioned that he and Akira were quite equal physically and were the top-performing soldiers in the company, he didn't get the right vibes from him. It wasn't that he felt that Akira could not perform in battle. In fact Hiroshi had the utmost faith that he would, and the Nazis should feel quite unlucky if they were to meet him on the battlefield. But there was something else, another side to Akira that he could not see, and it bothered Hiroshi. He just couldn't trust Akira.

  Hiroshi had just finished lunch and was returning to his barrack, with Kenji following closely behind. As he approached his bed, his eyes focused on a white envelope sticking out from underneath his pillow. He just knew it was a letter from Minami. He quickened his pace, bent over to pick up the letter and sat down on the edge of the bed.

  "Another letter?" asked Kenji.

  "Uh-huh," responded Hiroshi quietly as he began to open the letter.

  "Boy, do you think she gave birth yet? Miho said Minami's getting as big as a pumpkin," said Kenji jokingly.

  "I'm not sure. The baby is already about a week late. Maybe it's refusing to be born and raised in a prison," said Hiroshi jokingly as he unfolded the letter.

  Hiroshi began to read when his expression changed dramatically. Hiroshi leaped from his bed and shot his right clenched fist into the air as he shouted, "Yes!"

  Kenji looked over suddenly and deduced that the letter brought the exciting news that Hiroshi had been anxiously waiting for. He rushed up to Hiroshi and threw his arm over his shoulders as he peered at the letter.

  "She gave birth?" said an excited Kenji.

  "Yes! It's a boy!" shouted an excited Hiroshi as he spun around and, to Kenji's surprise, grabbed him in a bear hug and lifted him off the ground. Kenji felt like his insides were being squeezed out like the contents of a toothpaste tube when Hiroshi abruptly let go of him and he tumbled to the ground. Kenji wrapped his arms around his waist to ease away Hiroshi’s vise-like grip but his own excitement got the better of him. “Well, what else does it say?" he blurted out with some difficulty.

  Hiroshi sat back down on the bed, and Kenji sat next to him. He felt so glad that he was sharing such a great moment in Hiroshi's life and seeing another side to the man whom he saw as his personal hero. Hiroshi started to read aloud the letter as quickly as he could.

  Dearest Hiroshi,

  I am so happy to tell you that you have a baby boy! He is so handsome! He definitely has your eyes. When I held him for the first time, I was so happy and it wasn't only because I finally gave birth. But also, I felt that I was holding a part of you in my very arms. When I look at him, I think of you.

  Your son came in at 8 pounds and 8 ounces. The doctor said he is healthy and judging from his cries, he seems quite the demanding little baby. You won't believe how large my breasts are right now. The nurses here have shown me how to breast-feed and I must admit, it was a strange feeling at first having him suck on my breast. I was so worried that I wouldn't be doing it right. But as I watched him gently sucking the milk from my breast, I just wanted to hold him forever and take care of him. I almost wished he would never grow up, but I know he will.

  I miss you even more now, and I wish you were here. But I know you can't be, and hopefully you'll be home soon before he grows up too fast. My father was able to borrow a camera and once the pictures are developed, I’ll send pictures to you!

  Everyone is so excited here. My parents, along with yours, are so happy that they are grandparents now. Yoshi can't believe he's an uncle but I think he's looking forward to our son growing up soon so that he can play with him. Yoshi is also growing up himself.

  I can't wait for you to come home. I love you and miss you even more. Though we went through some silly boy and girl names, I've given him the name that I liked the most. I hope you will be home soon so that you can meet your son, Ichiro.

  Love you,

  Minami

  Hiroshi was silent as he finished reading the letter. His eyes slowly darted over a few select sentences. Kenji could feel his sense of pride, and he threw his right arm over Hiroshi's shoulders and shook him from side to side. "Congratulations, Hiroshi!"

  Hiroshi let out a smile and looked over at his young smiling friend, his slightly crooked teeth gleaming and his eyes beaming with happiness. Hiroshi patted Kenji's upper thigh and then looked back at the letter.

  "Don't tell Minami that I read to you about her breasts, okay?" warned Hiroshi jokingly.

  "Don’t worry, I won’t mention Minami’s breasts.”

  The two men were still laughing when Akira and Peter happened upon them. "What's going on here?" asked Akira.

  Kenji jumped up and looked at Akira and Peter. "Home Run is now a father!"

  Akira and Peter looked at Hiroshi as he got up to look at them.

  "Congratulations!" said Peter as he extended his hand, which Hiroshi shook vigorously.

  "Yeah man, congratulations. Is it a boy?" asked Akira as he extended his hand next.

  Hiroshi smiled a
nd said, "Yes, it is and his name is Ichiro."

  "Ah, a strong Japanese name for a boy! Not something wimpy like…" Akira paused and then turned to Peter, "Peter!"

  Peter spun around and playfully pushed Akira. Akira then put his fists up and started to horse around with Peter. Kenji couldn't resist and joined in as well. Hiroshi watched his friends jostling around. He then quietly sat back on the edge of his bed to read the letter once more. When he read the letter about three times, he put it aside and went into his footlocker to pull out a shoebox that contained all the letters he had received from Minami and his family. He fingered through the back and pulled out the photograph of Minami, looked back at her wondrous eyes and felt like he was falling in love all over again. He carefully ran his finger along her chin, wanting to touch her face once more. But now, she was so much more, she was the mother of his child and he felt such a stronger connection to her. He held the photograph tenderly in his hands, then gently brought it up and laid a kiss on her lips. He carefully placed her photograph back and placed the shoebox onto his bed. He pulled out his pad of paper and pen and collected his excited thoughts.

  Hiroshi looked up when he heard Kenji yell. Akira was holding Peter upside down by the waist and shaking him up and down. Kenji had actually thrown himself onto Akira’s back and was covering Akira’s eyes with one arm and had the other around his neck. They were all laughing. Hiroshi then went back and stared down at the blank piece of paper and began to write.

  Dear Minami,

  I can't begin to tell you how happy I am right now. Even my friends are happy and are literally fighting among themselves to see who's happier for us.

  I'm glad that you and the baby are doing well. I've been nervously waiting for your letter and I think I even scared one of the mail clerks when I demanded to know if any letter from you had arrived.

  I can't tell you how disappointed I am that I'm not with you to share this moment with you. I wish I could hold little Ichiro in my arms, but the thought of being a father does kind of scare me.

  You have such strength, Minami, and you alone pulled through without me being there. It's because of that, I now I admire you so much more, for your will and strength. I love you so much more now.

  Nothing would make me happier than to be there with you right now, holding you in my arms as you cradle Ichiro in your own arms. I hope your father will get those pictures developed soon, but I'm sure any child of ours would be the best-looking baby.

  I'm sure that if the baby were a girl, she would be blessed with your beauty, which I miss so much. Maybe we can work on that when I get back. When I do return, we are going to have the most wonderful life and when we win the war, no one will look down on our son with suspicion. He will be treated like any other American because I'm going to fight for his future and ours. I love you.

  Lovingly yours,

  Hiroshi

  * * *

  The following months of training toughened the troops of the 442nd. Every morning, Hiroshi would wake up and think about his newborn son. But the guilt of knowing that his son was growing up in a prison camp gnawed at him incessantly. However, it reenergized his drive to pursue what so many people take for granted: Freedom. In his heart he knew he was a true American, a patriot. He wanted to prove it so that the many Japanese Americans imprisoned, including his own family, could be free. Hiroshi committed himself every single day to training, but the long months of training without seeing battle made him restless. Ultimately, if he could not prove himself in battle, he believed then that everyone in America would still cast suspicion on all Japanese Americans.

  Other troops also seriously doubted if they would ever be given the chance to fight in the war. With each passing day, their faith was waning, but they soldiered on in their training, which had now become monotonous. Their sense of hopelessness, however, was partly alleviated by the heroics of the 100th Battalion, the Japanese American battalion who had left before them. They had heard about their bravery, which rivaled other regiments of similar size.

  The stories only made them more eager to join the fight. They knew in their hearts that they were ready to win the war so that they could go home to their families. Still, the question remained: Should they return home, would they be considered war heroes or prisoners?

  The day that Hiroshi received the pictures of his son Ichiro was one of the happiest days of his life. Minami was able to send back a few photos of Ichiro, who was about three months old by the time that Hiroshi received them. He looked at his son's photos, and they reinvigorated his sense of patriotic duty.

  The day his company, along with the entire 442nd, completed their training couldn’t have come soon enough. The entire company had dressed meticulously from their starched uniforms to the shine on their boots. Hiroshi and Akira were in the middle of the first row, flanked by Peter and Kenji. The stocky drill sergeant led his troops, whom he had developed a newfound respect for since the first day he barked at them. Despite his belief, not one soldier failed the rigorous training. If anything, they had exceeded all his expectations and were in his eyes, some of the best soldiers he had ever trained. The soldiers were no longer Japs as he once called them; instead, they were Japanese Americans. He marched with pride with his troops and saluted proudly to the higher-ranking officers as he marched by them during inspection.

  It was only a few days after the inspection that the 442nd received their deployment orders. The destination was kept secret. But they all knew that it would be somewhere in Europe, and the trip would take some twenty days or more by sea. The soldiers were excited but apprehensive. After almost a year of training, they would finally be given the chance to prove themselves.

  Hiroshi, for the most part, was calm and deliberate on the evening prior to his departure. He had just received a letter from Minami the day before, giving him a summary of life on the prison camp. She described how Ichiro was getting bigger. He was now more than seven months old. The mood of their families was fine. Minami’s letters had also become more relaxed.

  Hiroshi feared that Minami was getting comfortable with the idea that even though he was in the army, he really wasn’t. For almost a year, he had been in training, so the fear that Minami once held of Hiroshi actually fighting had slowly ebbed away.

  But it was only a matter of time before her greatest fear would be realized. Hiroshi pondered the hardest letter he would have to write to her. He was being shipped off the next day, and he wasn't sure where he was going. The regular exchange of letters would be interrupted and further slowed by the Atlantic Ocean.

  Hiroshi had his belongings and gear packed. Kenji, on the other hand, was frantic as he scrambled to organize his belongings. It was almost a mystery as to how Kenji could be so disorganized in such a small space. But he repeatedly pulled items out of his bag because he couldn’t remember if had put them in there in the first place.

  Peter was calm when packing his items. He was polishing his boots and quietly whistling. Whether it was idle whistling or a whistling to hide his apprehension, Hiroshi wasn’t sure.

  But Akira’s behavior was truly cryptic. He withdrew from everyone else as he brooded outside behind the barrack and took a smoke. He packed only the essentials and didn't pack many of his personal items, which were limited to begin with.

  Hiroshi only had a couple of more hours left before lights out as he stared down at the pad of paper before him. He tapped it with the end of his pen a few times. The noise of people packing was frustratingly distracting. He let out a sigh and looked out the window. It was a clear night. A thought suddenly came to him. He straightened up and headed for the door.

  Hiroshi walked by the other men until finally he walked through the open doorway of the barrack and down the steps. He turned to the left, rounded the corner and came up to the darkened side of the barrack. He then turned around to face the wall of the adjacent barrack, which was only about six feet away, when a crazy thought came into his head. Carefully, he tucked the pad of paper ins
ide his shirt. He took a few steps back and took in a deep breath. Hiroshi ran towards the adjacent barrack to gain momentum, leaped into the wall, bounced off it, and caught the windowsill of his barrack with his left foot. With his left foot, he pushed himself upward and caught the edge of the roof with his hands and threw his right leg onto it. Slowly he pulled himself up and walked to the peak of the roof.

  A cool breeze suddenly glanced him and was gone. Hiroshi looked up at the dark purplish sky and realized that he had not stargazed since the days with Minami. It was reassuring that some things didn’t change. A smile crept over his face as he gazed at the constellation Ursa Major, the Big Bear. Other familiar constellations beckoned Hiroshi and for a moment, he felt finally all alone in a nightly realm that welcomed his presence. Besides the glistening stars, it was the luminous moon that was the star of the show as it cast out its pale moon rays.

  Looking away from the night sky, Hiroshi looked straight ahead and walked to the end of the roof and settled himself down. The light of the moon provided enough light to write by. He carefully pulled out the pad of paper from his shirt and the pen from his pants, and gathered his thoughts as he prepared to write what would be his last letter to Minami from Camp Shelby.

  Dearest Minami,

  I’m looking up at the stars tonight and it reminds me so much of the times we stargazed together. But at the same time, it reminds me that we’re not together. But maybe you’re looking up at the sky right now as I am, thinking of me and under the amazing starry audience, maybe we’re not that far apart.

  You have been so patient and I am so lucky to have you. Even though I’ve never seen Ichiro, I miss him. Sometimes my own arms foolishly think they miss holding Ichiro, but they’ve never had the chance. Maybe it’s the just the father in me, knowing that I have a son back home whom I’ve never met but want to hold so eagerly. But your wonderful words keep me going and I know we’ll be reunited soon.

 

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