Heavy as a Mountain

Book excerpt: A WWII Japanese airman in the two greatest battles fought on Australian soil, shamed by his capture, faces a dilemma – uphold the honour of his family or risk the life of his young wife? When a young Japanese fighter pilot is shot down and captured in the 1942 Darwin bombing, he knows in his heart he should be dead. Duty is heavy as a mountain, death as light as a feather. That’s the Military Code and it means fight to the death, never surrender or you’ll bring a bitter shame on yourself and family. He conceals his true name to protect his family. Suicide is a possibility, but he’s drawn away from his military indoctrination by experiences with ordinary Australians, drawn towards living out his own individuality. But the young bride he left behind had vowed she would kill herself if he died. He could write to tell her he lives, but would that reveal his cowardice, shame his family? And must he sacrifice his individuality to join the growing number of Japanese prisoners in their ferocious plans for a murderous and suicidal breakout? A tale of the Australian WWII experience, seen through the eyes of this deeply troubled man.