The Last Voyage of the Arisan Maru

It’s October 24, 1944, and you’ve been a prisoner of war of the Japanese Empire for over twenty-nine months. You’ve been held in the hold of a Japanese transport along with almost eighteen hundred other prisoners for over two weeks on your way to Japan. At least you think it’s been that long; it’s hard to be certain of anything anymore. The stench in the ships of sweat, urine and smells that are hard to place is almost overwhelming. You think it late in the afternoon but you’re not certain. Your watch, along with everything else of value, was stolen by the Japanese long ago. You should eat soon and maybe get some water to take the dryness out of the tongue. Then suddenly a large ship-shaking explosion followed by silence and then a scream of men fearing the worst. A nearby sailor prisoner says one word: “Torpedo!”