Chapter 46
While the bullets from the Japanese aircraft flying overhead continued to plink off of the car and shoot up streaks of dust around his feet, Aaron contemplated what to do. There had to be some way that he could help as he was unable to be harmed by the rounds careening through the air around him. He realized there were no US planes in the air, and if he truly wanted to help, he needed to get to the airfield so he could provide some cover for the pilots as they attempted to get their birds off the ground.
As he sprinted off in the direction of the closest airfield, a bullet hit him in the arm. It stung, but it didn’t even break the skin, and even when a Zero blanketed him in a sea of the projectiles, he continued to run, never slowing until the airfield came into view.
Dozens of men were hurrying to ready the planes to take off, but even as they worked, the first round of enemy fire came in, sending them ducking for cover. The planes were not so lucky, and many of them were now of no use.
“How can I help?” Aaron yelled as the Japanese prepared to come back around for another pass.
“We’ve got to get these fueled and in the air!” a redheaded man in military clothing shouted.
Taking a cue from what the others were doing, Aaron rushed in to help, working to get the planes fueled and rolled out and the pilots aboard. Before they could finish, the Japanese made another pass, destroying much of their work and injuring several men who couldn’t duck out of the way quickly enough.
Aaron spied a machine gunner who had set up in an open area with a clear view of the Japanese as they came into target range. “Where can I get one of those?” Aaron asked one of the soldiers standing nearby. He realized that they were never going to get the planes off of the ground if they couldn’t take out at least some of the Zeroes overhead.
The man pointed him in the right direction, and even though Aaron had never used a .30 caliber machine gun, he was certain he could figure it out. Dragging it and as much ammunition as he could carry, he found a spot on the opposite side of the field from the other machine gunner and began to set it up as another wave of bombers approached.
There were a few planes ready to take off, and as they began to roll out, Aaron followed his predecessor’s lead and opened fire on the streaking red circles overhead. Aiming the machine gun was difficult, and he wasn’t sure if he’d even nicked a wing, but the fact that the Americans were now firing back seemed to deter the Japanese a bit, and a few moments later, two planes took off out of the airfield.
With the next pass, the Japanese not only targeted the airfield but attempted to take out the machine guns as well, and even though he was pelted with tiny pieces of shrapnel, Aaron did his best to protect the gun with his body and continue to fire. Eventually, he could see more and more American planes in the sky, and the Japanese planes began to be pushed back.
There was no way of knowing what was happening in the shipyard or the hospital where he hoped Jamie was able to help. Billows of smoke filled the air, dark towers seeming to spring up from where the carriers should be. He could only pray for those souls who might be suffering. There had to be thousands of sailers on those ships.
He also thought of the other people he’d gotten to know in his short time on the island. There was the waitress at the diner who always tried to convince him to have some pie. The man at the newspaper stand who always had a kind word. The grocers, the little girl who played on the sidewalk outside of his apartment. Jamie’s girlfriend, Eleanor, and her family, who lived on the island. What would become of all of those people? The Japanese were not only attacking the military facilities; Oahu was on fire that day. No one was safe.
Four hours after the initial attack, the Japanese planes circled back the way they’d come, and though Aaron and the others steeled themselves for another wave, none came. Just before noon on Sunday, December 7, 1941, the Japanese disappeared into the sky, leaving untold carnage and bloodshed in their wake.
Later, Aaron would learn that over 2400 people had lost that lives that day. Many of them were military personnel killed aboard the eight battleships in the shipyard, but 64 civilians were killed as well, including the beautiful blonde woman who had stolen Jamie’s heart.
Sitting atop Mount Ka’ala a week later, as the smoke cleared and the inhabitants of Oahu attempted to piece their lives back together, Aaron reflected on everything he’d seen and experienced in the last one hundred eleven years. From famine to fire, Vampires to man-made monsters of a different kind altogether, he’d witnessed more disaster and carnage than any one person should ever experience, and yet the one truth that seemed to outweigh even the darkest of moments was the idea that mankind deserved to be saved. Even in their deepest moments of despair, they came together and worked to heal each other, to right the wrongs, to mend the wounds. The work he did was never easy and seldom acknowledged, but he knew for certain that he would continue to fight to defend man against the bloodsuckers and whatever else threatened his existence because humankind was worthy of being saved.
For now, he would rest and revel in the beauty of this picturesque paradise, but when the time came to fight again, whether the enemy was of the Vampire variety or some other form of evil, he would be ready.
