Pacific Sniper

“Who are you now, Will Rogers?” Philly opened his mouth to say more but was interrupted by a shout. From down the beach, they saw a tall officer approaching. A patch covered one eye.

The men got to their feet as Lieutenant Steele approached, hauling themselves to some approximation of standing at attention.

“As you were,” he said.

“Good to see you, Honcho,” Philly said. “We didn’t know if you’d be back.”

“Do you see any Jap snipers around?” the lieutenant asked, scowling. “That’s good to see you, sir.”

“Yes, sir.”

Steele grinned. He wore the eye patch that Deke had made for him out of a boot. “Philly, I’m busting your chops. Just don’t go forgetting yourself around any of the other officers.”

“Good to see you, Lieutenant,” Deke said.

Steele reached out and gave Deke’s shoulder a squeeze. It was something his own father had done, and Deke felt a sudden rush of emotion, glad that the lieutenant had returned.

The lieutenant’s eyes widened at the scars across Deke’s torso, but he didn’t say anything. “Good to see you too, son. If it hadn’t been for you, I don’t know that I’d still be here. They wanted to ship me back home, but I wouldn’t let them. I’m all right, except I still get the world’s worst headaches. You saved my bacon. Hell, I heard how you saved everybody’s bacon. Did you ever get that Jap sniper?”

Deke shook his head.

“Well, don’t worry about it. There will be others.”

“What do you mean, Honcho?” Philly asked.

“We’re shipping out in a couple of days ahead of the rest of the division, which is going to stay here and mop up any remaining Japs. It turns out that you boys now have something of a reputation. Or I should say, Patrol Easy has something of a reputation.”

“Where are we headed, sir?”

“Does it matter? Rest assured that it’s going to have three of your favorite things: plenty of hot weather, jungle, and Jap snipers.”

Philly groaned.

But Deke didn’t mind. He felt as though he was just getting started. He looked out across the sea and narrowed his eyes at the horizon.

Fight another day.

~The End~

Note to Readers

The inspiration for Pacific Sniper comes from stories my grandfather, Frank Healey, shared with me many years ago. He served in the US Navy aboard USS Leo, an attack cargo ship, making him an eyewitness to Iwo Jima, Okinawa, kamikaze attacks, typhoons, and the liberation of China. He enlisted in the navy at age thirty-three, making him the oldest sailor on the ship—older than even Captain Healey (no relation). It goes without saying that the guys on the ship called him “Pops.” He wasn’t the only one to make sacrifices. On the home front, my grandmother (Mary O’Connell Healey) was left with one child and another on the way. My dad would be nearly four years old when he met the stranger who was his father, finally home from the Pacific. Their stories are just examples of how the war impacted so many lives and families.

This book is dedicated to my grandfather, along with all my great-uncles who served in the war, including my grandmother’s brother, Thomas O’Connell (Annapolis class of ’33), who was aboard the USS Northampton when it was torpedoed in Ironbottom Sound near Guadalcanal. Fortunately, he survived and will likely make a cameo appearance in a future story. I want to thank my cousin, Seth Nye, for details about Captain O’Connell’s wartime service.

Overall, this isn’t a sea story or a military history, but an adventure novel about Deacon Cole, cousin to Caje Cole, who appears in books set in WWII Europe and Korea. Like his cousin, Deke is a crack shot and depends on his skill with a rifle to defeat the enemy. Deke’s adventures are loosely based on the Seventy-Seventh Infantry, with what will surely be a few side trips thrown in. I want to thank Max Myers for his excellent history of that unit during the war: Ours to Hold It High.

Some facts and events have been changed for the sake of the story. For example, Ernie Pyle didn’t arrive to cover the Pacific War until later, but I’ve given him a head start. Please note that the words used here for the enemy are ones considered offensive today but have been included for historical veracity. For those readers who want to learn more about the Pacific, I highly recommend Ian Toll’s three volumes on the subject. Also, there are several mesmerizing memoirs that offer firsthand accounts of the war, including Goodbye, Darkness by William Manchester and With the Old Breed by E. B. Sledge. Time and again, when reading these histories and sometimes-heartbreaking accounts, I am struck by American leadership and the efforts by everyday soldiers and sailors to uphold democratic ideals—a good reminder of what these men were fighting for and how we might follow their example in the twenty-first century.

—D.H.

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