In My Father’s Shadow is a series of short stories chronicling the life of the author’s father. In these stories the author has attempted to capture the essence of what his father taught his brother and him, the time they spent in play, and the life lessons which has left an indelible imprint. In point of fact, it is a story about all fathers. Most average men, very few leaving a legacy of great deeds, but through small acts of kindness, love, and favor are elevated to greatness. Its every man’s story. The story begins with his father in the early 1900’s growing up in Tidewater Virginia during the Depression years. We travel with him to his time in the Navy during World War II, and post-war years building a quality of life for himself and family. The last chapter brings us to his last days and gives the reader the opportunity to reflect on his life. Also included are historical references to the time in which his father lived spanning a period of remarkable medical, political, and socioeconomic significance.

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Ghosts of Honolulu

Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll, Jr.

This is a story of the factual events leading up to attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, and inception of what became NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service). It is written by the TV star, Mark Harmon, who played a key role in the television series, NCIS, and by Leon Carroll, Jr., who was an actual member of NCIS.

The storyline follows the life of Douglas Wada, a native of Honolulu of Japanese parents. As the tension on the world stage built during those critical days leading up to the declaration of war with Japan there was a palpable nervousness directed at the presence of Japanese, and Japanese decedents, living and working on US soil. Many of these people were interned involuntarily for the duration of the war, especially on the west coast. This, primarily because of the fear of spies amongst us. The distrust and discrimination of these people are fundamental elements of the book.

Douglas, grew-up in Honolulu. As a young man, and prior to the start of war, Douglas returned to his parent’s native land of Japan spending several years learning first-hand the culture of his heritage. On returning to Honolulu some considered Douglas to be a risk. However, several key naval officers saw Douglas’s potential as an interrogator and interpreter. And so, he is recruited into Naval Intelligence posing undercover as a newspaper reporter.

As the clock ticked-away, bringing the two nations closer into conflict, Douglas devotes himself to translating wire taps on the Japanese consulate in Honolulu. These wire taps reveal evidence of the presence of Japanese spies passing critical information regarding the details of Pearl Harbor’s shipping and defenses back to Japan. But who?

The who, turns-out to be a Takeo Yoshikawa, a Japanese spy pretending to be a junior diplomat within the Japanese consulate. He is sending coded messages and photos directly to Admiral Yamamoto, the mastermind behind the attack on Pearl. Wada’s detective work leads to Yoshikawa’s arrest as the first POW of the war. Douglas personally interrogates Yoshikawa and confirms his fears. Unfortunately, it is too late as a stunned country learns of the atrocities of the sneak attack which ended the lives of many service men and women, and sinking the US’s fledgling Navy in the Pacific. Unbelievably, Yoshikawa, and other agents of Japan, are released back to Japan in a prisoner exchange.

This is an interesting read, as the book captures the back-and-forth action of Wada’s detective work and the ultimate capture of the infamous Yoshikawa.

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