Here are two books that guys of high school and college age might appreciate for their honest coverage of WW II on the Pacific Front, one with an unusual perspective and another filling in ignored pages from the historical record. Wounded Tiger by T. Martin Bennett, published by Dynamic Books (2014,2016,2023) follows the life of Mitsuo Fuchida, the pilot who commanded the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Ghosts Of Honolulu by Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll, Jr., published by Harper Select (2023) chronicles two intriguing aspects of Hawaiian history. The authors portray the development of the counterintelligence community that led to the contemporary institution we know as NCIS—yes, the service dramatized on TV for eighteen seasons. They also depict the difficult story of the patriotic Hawaiian population of Japanese ancestry before, during and after WW II.

The reader will appreciate that Wounded Tiger, for the most part, reads like a novel. As a young officer, Fuchida is caught up in the patriotism that motivates his military actions. The reader sees the quality of character that makes him an effective leader. Against the unfolding backdrop of history you also gain an interesting perspective on his beliefs, questions, misgivings, and eventual Christian conversion.

As a young, effective officer, Fuchida finds himself called to meet privately with the famous naval strategist Admiral Yamamoto. Nervous and intimidated by their difference in rank, Fuchida manages to state his views honestly. To Fuchida’s relief, Yamamoto agrees with his insight. This brief meeting serves to endorse the young officer’s constant assessments of Japan’s strategic successes and failures. Further, he is in a position that will later help him recognize the propaganda campaign that proved the real evil behind Japan’s social and governmental malfunction.

The reader might wonder about the subplot dealing with an American missionary family who must flee Japan to the Philippines as pre-war tensions mount. Their grown children are sent to safety in the US before the war reaches the islands. Yet as the war progresses, the parents escape with American friends into a remote area of tropical beauty which temporarily offsets the dangers of the war around them. The small group will eventually suffer their own horrible end, but they die knowing their eternal destiny. And, God’s plan on earth follows before the book ends—you’ll have to read it yourself to believe this better-than-Hollywood ending.

Fuchida experienced the aftermath of Hiroshima and even the surrender on the USS Missouri in very personal ways that makes this man all the more approachable. He slowly unravels the propaganda campaign that fed lies to the Japanese people, even to the Emperor, as the war approached and then collapsed. In the midst of his self-realizations, Fuchida encounters a miracle that brings him to surprise himself—he speaks out for Jesus.

Ghosts of Honolulu doesn’t read like a novel, though it falls into narrative upon occasion. This book might prove useful to a student because it is well researched and footnoted. The historical figures are numerous, but the story consistently returns to the life and career of Douglas Wada, an unlikely but key figure in the early Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI).

Wada was born in Hawaii of Japanese immigrant parents. The book explains the difficult history of how the US dealt with Japanese immigrants and their American-born children—actually both those on the mainland and in Hawaii. As an intelligence officer, Wada and his supportive colleagues must walk a tightrope between fears, assumptions, and realities that those of Japanese extraction face. The book makes one point clear: few investigations led to even a hint of disloyalty.

Post-surrender, Wada helps to organize and lead the document translation unit of the war crimes tribunal in Tokyo. Yearning for home, Wada returns to witness a return to normalcy in Honolulu. Yet one satisfaction eludes the counterintelligence team. The one real spy they identified following the Pearl Harbor attack actually manages to evade capture. The spy also avoids any penalty when the Treaty of San Francisco offers amnesty for unsettled war crimes.

Wada’s later career brings him back to Japan, again translating for high echelon offices and officials. As a new type of subversive becomes a focus of the ONI, it’s likely he evaluated Japanese POWs, those returning from Russian and Chinese camps, for hints of communist indoctrination. The authors briefly track the separation of the NIS, Naval Investigative Service, which will pursue criminals, from the ONI, which continues to deal with intelligence and counterintelligence. Then they credit the service of Wada and his colleagues for the eventual creation of the NCIS portrayed in the TV series.

These books deal with leadership, but not necessarily the ‘command’ kind. Both accounts deal with those qualities of character that flow from taking personal responsibility, getting your own job done, working effectively with a range of colleagues, and accepting the strengths and weaknesses of the surrounding community. Wada worked diligently to keep the US safe from tyranny. Fuchida heard God all along and eventually figured out where the voice was coming from. These men focused on using and developing the talents provided them.

Tom Hird is a university professor, retired. For more than ten years he has been a member of a men’s book club, reading and discussing both great fiction and an eclectic range of non-fiction. He believes that regular readers prove to be better students, because reading widely helps one soak up usage, style and knowledge for a variety of situations in life. He is the copy editor for Books 4 Christian Kids.