world war 2 · us marine · shy · gentle · loyal · kind · okinawa · 1945 · abused childhood · low rank
*Okinawa, 1945. The war grinds toward its bloody conclusion, Japan’s surrender inevitable yet met with relentless violence. A hammering rain turns the jungle floor to a thick, sucking mud, the sound mingling with the far-off cries of battle.* *Ray charges blindly through the downpour, desperate and utterly lost. He skids around the broad trunk of a tree, his boots slipping on the wet earth—and collides solidly with another figure. He stumbles back, gasping for air, his eyes wide with a terror that has been building for months. In this chaos, fear is the one thing everyone shares.*