The Ghost of Guam

By Ray Flannery

The book tells about the life of Satoshi Yoko for twenty-eight years as he lived in a cave hiding from Chamarros and Americans. He developed a very stable life under these circumstances and in so doing made himself a person to be admired.

This story begins about the time the Japanese decided they had enough and would move on to more friendly places with the help of the Americans. One Japanese man stayed for twenty eight years before going back to his homeland.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512729283

Ray Flannery

Years of travel in the Far East has given the author many contacts and exposure to Asian culture. Having made several visits to Guam makes this story real and gives the reader a look at what life was like for the Chamarros on this small island during wartime.

Book preview

© 2016 RAY FLANNERY.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2929-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2930-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2928-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016902013

Print information available on the last page.

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/18/2016

Contents

CAST OF CHARACTERS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

DEDICATION

FORWARD

INTRODUCTION

PROLOGUE

Chapter One   THE SHOOTING

Chapter Two   THE HONEYMOON

Chapter Three   CLOSING IN

Chapter Four   THE ARRIVAL

Chapter Five   THE LETTERS

Chapter Six   GOOD-BYE

Chapter Seven   BACK TO SQUARE ONE

Chapter Eight   STAY ALIVE

Chapter Nine   THE WAY WE WERE

Chapter Ten   THE HARVEST

Chapter Eleven   ONCE LIVING

Chapter Twelve   THE WHITE DEVILS

Chapter Thirteen   JASMINE

Chapter Fourteen   JASMINE

Chapter Fifteen   SHACKLES

Chapter Sixteen   MORE SLAUGHTER

Chapter Seventeen   FLY OUT

Chapter Eighteen   LOVER’S LEAP

Chapter Nineteen   THE LOVER’S LEAP

Chapter Twenty   HUNGER

Chapter Twenty-one   THE CAVES

Chapter Twenty-two   LESS THAN HUMAN

Chapter Twenty-three   WHAT HE WEARS

Chapter Twenty-four   LET GO

Chapter Twenty-five   THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Chapter Twenty-six   WHERE DIFFERENT PATHS MET

Chapter Twenty-seven   THE RETURN

Chapter Twenty-eight   WHERE THE WORLDS MET

Chapter Twenty-nine   THE FINAL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE

Chapter Thirty   REUNION

CAST OF CHARACTERS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Chamorros of Guam

My patient wife, Marla

Chunling Niu, Ed.D, Constantly keeping story, dates, names and places on track.

Donita Thomas, Contributing Editor

Liang, Gongbo, IT Specialist

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my first Grandchild,

James Wade LaGue

born on Guam and gave me the best reason ever

to travel to such a place

in the western Pacific Ocean.

FORWARD

In The Ghost of Guam Ray Flannery has captured the essence that any man’s war is really every man’s war. While Satoshi, a Japanese World War II soldier who is unaware that the war is over, remains on the island of Guam, he continues, with devotion to his emperor and his country, to fight his one war. However, others are in his war as well.

There are Derrick and his new bride, Shelia, who many years later need to know what happened to Derrick’s father, Edward, who was imprisoned by the Japanese and later died. According to local legend he was buried somewhere on the island of Guam during the war. Little do Derrick and Shelia know that it is Satoshi who has the answers to their questions. Perhaps it is not just Satoshi who is engaged in this war; perhaps it is Derrick also who is engaged in one man’s war.

The author, who has been a college recording artist, an international entrepreneur, and a craftsman of fine furniture, in crafting The Ghost of Guam has become a I wonder how this story ends author, combining history, fiction and psychology into a great reading. I recommend it.

Richard M. Greer, PhD

Emeritus Professor of Psychology

Western Kentucky University

September 3, 2015

INTRODUCTION

In order to appreciate the significance of the island of Guam in this story, the reader needs a brief bit of information about Guam and the part it played in the war.

During the few years at the beginning of World War II, things were not going well for the Americans. Pearl Harbor was given a real spanking on December 7, 1941. The Japanese, showing the world that aircraft was the best suited to take on those lumbering, tired old battle ships and defeat them with ease. The next few days on their way back to Japan, the Japanese stopped to take control of Guam and give themselves bases and fueling stops. Guam had been a possession of the U.S. for some years. It was at that time a rather quiet island, never being a problem for any of the major powers operating in the eastern Pacific.

When the Japanese moved in and began to take complete control, they were brutal and cruel to the natives called Chamorros. They were a peaceful fun-loving people who just wanted to be left alone and take care of themselves. The Japanese insisted they were to take on the mantel of Japanese culture, which did not make many friends in the Chamorro culture. When they saw how the Japanese were going to deal with them, they began an underground operation which made life miserable for the Japanese. The Japanese were so frustrated by the disobedience of the natives they could barely make an operation of any kind work. With this situation the Chamorros were a constant headache.

This story begins about when the Japanese decided they had had enough and would move on to more friendly places with the help of the Americans forces pushing them with an over whelming force. However, one Japanese soldier stayed for twenty-eight years before going back to his home land.

PROLOGUE

The Ghost of Guam is the fictional story of Satoshi Yoko, a lieutenant in the Japanese military forces who occupied the island of Guam a few days following their Pearl Harbor success. Guam had been an on and off project for years with the Japanese. Their run at Guam after Pearl Harbor was a little more determined and actually lasted two and one half years. They tried their best to maintain control of the island but once the Americans recovered from the shock of Pearl Harbor, Guam was definitely their the first target in their recovery plan. The Mariana Islands were also part of this package and figured heavily in the fatal strike at Japan with the Enola Gay which carried the bomb that destroyed Nagasaki to end World War II.

Satoshi, a dedicated servant of the Empire of Japan, tried his best to do whatever he was asked. He and a couple of soldier friends, made on the cruise from Nagasaki to Guam, were sent to the western end of the island and spent most of their time there playing soldier for the rest of the troops in the more populated part of Guam to the east. Their main task was to select the best crops grown by the natives in their area to become the main diet for the troops. For his soldier friends this was not a challenging task and soon their boredom drove them away from Satoshi to look for more exciting tasks in other parts of the island. Being the loyal soldier that Satoshi was he stayed where he had been assigned. Years of little or no activity drove Satoshi to build a more suitable home. He could not build above ground so the next best option was digging a cave for his living quarters. His cave was about twelve feet deep with a three foot entrance way with a ladder to speed up his entry and exit if he was chased by an enemy. The main area of the cave was about fifteen feet round and provided a place for an eating table, a sleeping mat, and even a small fire pit where he was able to cook any animal he might trap. This cave served Satoshi well for twenty-eight years.

Derrick and his wife Sheila, looking for a warm climate, were invited by an old friend to visit Guam for their honeymoon. This excited Derrick because his father had served the U.S. military during the war in this area of the Pacific. The only thing Derrick, or his mother knew of his father’s death was he was killed in action. Derrick spent so much time looking for information about his father’s death that he almost lost his wife in the process. Sheila being a big city girl could not tolerate the confines of such a small island and almost broke up their marriage before coming to grips with the importance of Derrick’s hunt. She finally began to understand what a loss it is for a boy not having a father during his formative years

As fate would have it, Satoshi and Derrick’s paths crossed and this encounter was very helpful in solving both Derrick’s longing for knowledge of his father and Satoshi’s longing to return to his home land and his family.

Chapter One

THE SHOOTING

Chapter One

THE SHOOTING

Derrick and his wife Sheila were newlyweds and had chosen Guam for its beautiful beaches and tranquil atmosphere. Derrick, a professor of World War II history at Michigan State University, and Sheila, a Japanese interpreter for a transnational company, decided Guam would be a very romantic spot for their honeymoon, lying on the beach at night and gazing at the stars with a completely clear sky. His interest in WWII history and her exposure to the South Pacific made Guam even more desirable.

After arriving, they joined a few other tourists from the hotel around a bonfire in the fire pit by Service Lake, looking forward to a good evening telling stories and explaining why they were on Guam. The small group was standing around the fire pit having a beer, chatting and getting to know each other, when they heard a gunshot. They almost jumped out of their swimsuits at the sound. Because the small mountain above the lake tended to trap the sound, everyone immediately heard the wheeze-zip of the bullet and next heard the sound of the bullet hitting something. The smell of gunpowder hung heavily in the air and reached their nostrils seconds later.

Derrick was standing next to Guy, a new acquaintance, who suddenly dropped to the ground. Derrick saw at once that Guy had been shot in the chest and was seriously wounded. A few of the group gathered around Guy who was bleeding profusely. The blood from his chest wound was turning the sand a dull red. Derrick began to resuscitate him. One of the group called 911 and requested an ambulance stat.

This shooting incident put a damper on the group, most were still flat on the ground, just hoping there were no more shots. They wanted to get back to their hotel in one piece and to the safety of their rooms. The image of Guy lying on the edge of the lake, bleeding heavily, was imbedded deep into their psyches, and the tranquility of Guam had disappeared.

Unlike most of the other horrified tourists, Derrick and Sheila chose to stay around and talk to the police about what had happened that evening. The police were unable to determine where the shot came from, but their guess was that it came from somewhere up on the mountain above the lake. Later while looking around on the mountain one of the police officers found a shell casing. Derrick accidentally overheard one of the policeman’s comments into his mic that ammunition of this caliber was of Japanese origin. After all the questions were answered, Derrick and Sheila hurried back with some other tourists to review what had happened. Everybody was shaken by the shooting incident and became seriously worried about their personal safety on the island.

Guy had been taken to the Agana Medical Center and his surgery went well. The bullet was removed from his upper chest, barely missing his heart, and was confirmed to be of Japanese origin. His wife Sally was staying with him while he recovered. They were a couple from the British Isles and were especially upset about being shot with a gun since England was so strict about guns. They were unaccustomed to gun fire and it was devastating and beyond their rational understanding. Derrick and Sheila went by the hospital that evening to check on Guy and his wife and wish him a speedy recovery. Although they had only known the British couple for three hours since arriving, Derrick felt somewhat responsible for Guy’s well-being, because he was the closest eyewitness of his fall and tried with all his might to keep him alive until the ambulance arrived.

Back at their hotel, Derrick and Sheila became the star attraction that evening. Many locals, especially the bar tender (as bar tenders often do), approached them and tried to make sense of what had happened by telling tales about the ghost of the mountain. Some other locals spoke of a shadowy figure that came out at night and watched people enjoying themselves around the lake. The ghost rarely came out and showed himself, but almost everyone felt his presence so strongly that soon the lake became an off-limits place for local children to play. The farmers had lots of stories of the ghost sneaking into their fields, even while they were working the crops, and also believed the ghost helped himself now and then to vegetables that were available. Some claimed that they could hear sounds as though someone was crying, moaning, and chanting something that no one understood. The sounds carried