A Boy at War

Two weeks after his move to Hawaii, Adam rides his bike down to the harbor and along the Kamehameha Highway. The Arizona is due back in port after a 10-day training cruise, and Adam hopes to catch a glimpse of his father. Adam is enjoying Hawaii, especially the beauty of the mountainous volcanic landscape with its lush, vibrant vegetation and the beaches where he can swim in the crystalline waters of the Pacific Ocean. Adam has found that the students at Roosevelt High are not particularly welcoming to military “brats,” as the children of service members are called. Adam has always attended school on post, where the only other students were the children of service members. Adam is unconcerned; he knows he will manage to get along just fine with his peers once he becomes more involved, especially in playing the sports he enjoys. Well aware that his father has no patience or tolerance for complaints, Adam is prepared to automatically reply that “everything’s super” when his father inevitably asks how things have been going for him in Hawaii, regardless of his true feelings (5).

When he sees the Arizona, Adam stops his bike and impulsively salutes, feeling slightly oversentimental in his gesture, nevertheless filled with pride and admiration at the sight of his father’s ship among the impressive fleet. When he realizes that launch boats are already bringing officers ashore, Adam feels a sense of panic. His father might be on his way home, or he might have already arrived back at their house. He knows that his father expects the entire family to be present to greet him when he arrives, so Adam rushes home, concerned that his absence will set the wrong tone for the duration of his father’s shore leave.

When Adam pulls his bike into his driveway, his father is in the garden with Adam’s mother, Marilyn, and his little sister, Bea. Adam salutes his father in greeting, and the first words Emory Pelko utters to his son are “your hair,” a disapproving observation that it has succumbed to its tendency to fall in Adam’s face. Adam sits with his family while his father sings a nursery rhyme to Bea and then asks if he can take the family’s car out for some driving practice. Emory is surprised at his son’s request, unaware that Adam’s mother has been allowing him to take the car up and down the street to get acclimated to the vehicle. Emory insists that Adam should not and will not drive alone again until he has his driver’s license. Emory allows Adam to drive but insists on going with him. When Adam drives under his father’s scrutiny, he forgets concepts that have already become familiar to him, and he fails to operate the gas and the clutch smoothly, causing the car to jerk and stall. After accidentally backing into their neighbor’s hibiscus bushes, Adam decides that he is finished practicing for the day. Despite showing irritation during the short drive, Emory tells his son that he is doing well and just needs more practice.

At school, Adam finds himself developing an unexpected friendship with Davi. It begins when Davi approaches Adam in the hallway, calling him “Snowman” because all Adam could think to tell the class about Adams Center, New York, was that it snows a lot there. Davi peppers Adam with questions about how high the snow can pile up and expresses disbelief when Adam projects a height over his head. At first, Adam is offended when, on another occasion, Davi intentionally crashes into him in the hall, but Davi offers to take a punch from Adam, and they begin an ongoing game of trading insults, roughhousing, and tousling with each other whenever they pass one another in school.

One Friday afternoon, Adam is seated at the back of the auditorium for a schoolwide assembly. He is intrigued when Davi takes the stage to read the winning essay that he wrote for the American Legion’s “I’m Proud to be an American” contest. He thinks that Davi’s essay is compellingly written and that Davi is skilled as an orator, his voice resonating clearly throughout the auditorium. He admires Davi’s ability to stand up in front of such a large audience and present his work. During their science lab, Adam disguises a compliment for Davi’s presentation skills amid one of the jibes that have typified their relationship, and they end up in another amiable scuffle that leads to the intervention of their teacher.

The next morning, Bea comes into Adam’s room to say good morning and they find themselves looking at his model planes. He shows Bea the accurately rendered miniatures that represent the aircrafts operated by the American, German, and Japanese military forces. Their mother pokes her head into his bedroom, reminding Adam that he needs to prepare his room for Saturday morning inspection. Each week, Adam is expected to clean and organize his bedroom to the standard demanded of a sailor on one of his father’s ships, including placing all his belongings in their appropriate places, eliminating every speck of dust, and making his bed with perfect, precise corners. When he is finished, Adam’s mother performs the inspection in his father’s absence, approaching it with a certain lightheartedness and playfulness Adam would never be granted by Emory.

Over lunch, Adam asks his mother what his father was like at Adam’s age. Marilyn says that because Adam’s grandfather was injured in the first World War and incapacitated, Adam’s father was forced from the age of eight to perform intense physical labor to maintain their family farm. At 14, Emory ran away from home and joined the navy, lying about his age so that he could enlist. Marilyn lauds Emory’s talents and integrity, and Adam impulsively responds with sarcasm, but his mother ignores his comment. When his mother expresses her concern that war with Japan is possible, Adam suggests that his father would welcome a war. His mother is shocked and scolds Adam for suggesting it, but Adam assures her that Emory would be entirely safe even if war with Japan did arise because of the inherent safety of the US Navy’s battleships.

After lunch, Adam rides his bike down to the beach. Davi and a group of other boys from their school appear, and Davi invites Adam to play football with them. He calls Adam “Haole,” the term used to describe a non-Hawaiian, especially a white person. Adam finds himself largely excluded from the game, even though he frequently makes himself open for passes. Finally, Adam tackles Martin, a tall, robust Hawaiian boy, as he is about to score yet another touchdown, after which his teammates begin to include him more. Sitting together on the beach afterward, the boys tease each other, lobbing well-intended insults about one another’s intelligence and ethnic and racial identities.

While Adam and Davi ride their bikes together on their way back from the beach, Adam does not see the hole in the road in front of him. He wrecks, and though he is unhurt, the bike’s handlebars are bent beyond functioning. Davi offers to bring Adam to his house, as Davi’s father is very proficient in mechanics and can easily fix the bike. Adam worries about getting home late, but coming home late with a broken bicycle would be even worse, so he agrees. At Davi’s house, Davi’s father brings out his welding equipment and quickly repairs Adam’s bike. Adam offers to pay him, but Davi’s father declines.

Adam lingers, taking a tour of Davi’s home, where he recognizes a portrait of the Japanese emperor, Hirohito, on the wall. Davi insists that while his parents hold Hirohito in high esteem, Davi does not share their opinion, declaring himself “one hundred percent American” (28). Adam gets a better sense of who Davi is as he looks at his friend’s possessions, which include copies of classic literature, photos of birds, shells, and coral collected from the beach, and a photo of the ship Lurline, which brought Adam across to Oahu from the mainland. Davi invites Adam to come fishing with him early the next morning, and they plan to meet at 6:00am.