Gone, but not forgotten

 

Rico says that the obituary of his stepfather, Peter M. Wilson, in The Inquirer & Mirror out of Nantucket, had details of his military career in the 534th Engineer Boat & Shore Regiment. One story that Rico heard directly from the man was about their landing in Japan, only a few days after the second atomic bomb, on the island of Honshu. On the beach, their landing craft were swarmed by curious children, none of whom, of course, had ever seen an American. Suddenly, a large (for a Japanese) bald gentleman in traditional kimono pushed his way through the crowd to confront Peter. Being backed by a whole armed crew, Peter wasn't concerned, but the frowning man got close and, rubbing his head, merely said: "Hiroshima".

Peter nodded, unbuttoned his shirt to show his wounds, and merely said: "Phillipines."

They got along famously after that...