Today's True, Short Story: Reconcilliation

F Lobuono

In the Spring of 1975, a suburban housewife from New City, NY, Tess McCormack, was cleaning out her attic when she discovered an old dust covered suitcase that belonged to her husband, Gil. Inside, she found his WWII Marine uniform. Gil, one of the top trial lawyers in Rockland County at that time, had volunteered for the war and fought in some of the deadliest battles of the Pacific theater. She decided to have the uniform dry-cleaned and then present it to him as a gift. While going through the pockets at the cleaners, she discovered something folded up inside one of the them: a small, battle stained flag. Although Tess was not sure exactly what it was, it was unmistakably Japanese – it had the Rising Sun symbol of the Empire of Japan at its center. Made of pure silk, it was marked by blood and battle but was still in remarkably good shape. Tess also noticed dark Japanese lettering around the Rising Sun. In addition to the uniform, she thought that cleaned up and framed, the little flag might make a wonderful Father’s Day gift for her husband. She intended it to honor his military service. Strangely, the Korean woman at the counter would not even touch it! In fact, Tess had to pick it up herself. The woman simply would not handle it.

Tess thought it odd but picked up the flag to take to another friend who owned a frame shop. There, she had it pressed, nicely framed, and then rapped to present to Gil for the up coming Father’s Day celebration. When the day came, she was excited to present him with this most unique gift. Gil eagerly ripped through the rapping but stopped suddenly when he recognized what was within. He dropped the package immediately and exclaimed with vivid anger, “Where did you find that! Take it away. I never want to see it again”! Tess was crestfallen but did what he asked. He was just too upset to challenge at that moment. Tess took it away, half opened, and placed it back in the attic. That was the last word on the matter and they never mentioned it again.

Fast forward nearly 25 years to 1994. Gil McCormack lies dying from mesothelioma. On his death bed he wanted to explain why he reacted so viscerally to Tess’s gift all those years ago. As a forward combat observer, he saw some of the most vicious fighting of the war. He explained that in the summer of 1944 his entire platoon was wiped out in the battle for Guam. A Life Magazine photographer actually captured McCormack attempting to drag one of his dying comrades to safety during the struggle. Stranded for days and fighting alone, he was locked in a life and death firefight with his Japanese opponents. After this battle of attrition, it appeared that only Gil and one Japanese soldier remained to carry on the fight. Finally, McCormack lobbed a grenade into the enemy’s foxhole that found its mark. A Japanese soldier, bathed in flames, charged from the foxhole, screaming with a small flag attached to his weapon. Gil shot him down immediately. Instinctively, he reached down, grabbed the flag and stuffed into his pocket. But, the look on the young Japanese soldier haunted him – still, to that very day. He explained to Tess that they must have been the same age and that they were both merely doing their duty. Why should Gil have survived while that young Japanese would die nameless in a strange land? Survivor's guilt. War is hell.

Gil went on to apologize to Tess for his rude past behavior and asked for one last thing: If it was at all possible, he would rest more easily if that flag could be returned to the family of the man he took it from a lifetime ago. Tess promised that she would do her best. Gil died a few months later.

Now, Tess had to figure out a way to find the owner's family.

She got the ball rolling by contacting her brother-in-law who was the Commander of the local V.F.W. post.  He arranged to have the flag and its story posted at the hall, hoping that someone might help to identify it. Fortuitously, one of its members was a long-time employee of Sotheby's Auction House in NY. He took it to their department for Asian Art and Culture where it was identified as a personal battle flag known as a “Shussei Nissho-ki” or Hinomaru. They were given to departing soldiers as a “keep safe” memento from family and friends. They were usually associated with the particular Shinto shrine the departing soldier worshipped in. Now, it was the daunting task to find which Shinto shrine of the thousands in Japan that this particular flag may have come from. Once again, Sothebys used their considerable resources to discover that it came from one in the area of Fuji City. From the Japanese writing on the flag they also managed to identify its owner as Fujio Kawasaki.

The next step would be to see if Mr. Kawaski’s family could actually be found. Japanese privacy laws made a direct connection difficult. The Fuji News, the local newspaper in Japan was then contacted for help. They contributed to the effort by running a story on the history of the flag, including the original owners name. Within hours, Sothebys was contacted by Emiko Kawasaki, the daughter-in-law of Fujio.

Against ALL odds, the flag was finally going home.

With great reverence, the flag was returned to Emiko and the Kawasaki family. They would finally know of the last moments of their loved one. After fifty years they would have some form of closure. Emiko Kawasaki thanked Tess for all her efforts and for keeping the flag in such good shape. Her family planned a special ceremony at the shrine where the flag came from to honor her brother’s memory.

A few months later, Tess received a letter from Mr. Kawasaki’s grand-niece, Ayaka Sano. In it she encapsulated the hopes and wishes of all who are affected by the ravages of war. In part, she said:

“I am only 17 years old. So, I don’t know about war. But, I’m aware of how, up to now I haven’t known the real value of peace. But I think peace starts from the thing like your returning the flag”.

Epilogue: Tess and Gil’s granddaughter has now been writing to the Kawasaki’s and started a wonderful correspondence about peace and reconciliation. They have pledged to meet around the flag one day!