Free A Dog With a Destiny by Isabel George

strip ourselves of many personal possessions,’ they were told, ‘and no animals will be permitted to go.’
    Bill’s heart sank. But he need not have worried. Smoky’s reputation as a war dog was as well known as her profile as mascot.
    ‘… All except Smoky. She has been with us a long time as squadron mascot and she doesn’t take up much space.’
    Many of the men still smuggled their own pet friends aboard the troop ship but it was good for Bill to hear that Smoky was so highly regarded that she was now an official passenger and he no longer had to think of ingenious ways to stow her aboard. After distributing their belongings amongst the local people who had been such good friends and neighbours, the GIs boarded trucks bound for the docks and ships that would take them to Subic Bay where they would join the rest of the convoy awaiting orders for the invasion. A United States submarine guarded the fleet and smoke screens clouded the view of them from the sky.
    Okinawa, along with Iwo Jima, had witnessed some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific War. The Japanese increased the use of kamikaze planes in an effort to save their experienced pilots for other offensives. It also achieved their other goal – to inflict maximum damage on the Allies. Over 10,000 American Marines and sailors were killed on land and in the water surrounding these islands. The more the Japanese refused to surrender, the more strategic the bombing of Japanese cities became. Under the US Army Air Forces General Curtis May, sixty-four cities were destroyed by B-29 firebombing raids.
    But the kamikaze planes had done their worst against the Allies and the mood on Okinawa was sombre and uncertain; no one knew what was going to happen next. All Bill knew was that he had to keep Smoky safe and happy until they could travel home to Cleveland, Ohio. Standing in the chow line, the only certain thing was that it would be bully beef on the menu. But that was always fine for Smoky. No one would ever hear a complaint from her about food, she just ate whatever she was given. As the men joked over their mascot’s eating habits, Bill noticed a yellow teletype message fluttering on the notice board. The message said that one B-29 Superfortress had dropped an atom bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. An estimated 45,000 people had died as a result. More teletype messages came throughout the day and the men were told how the American planes had dropped leaflets telling people to evacuate the city but the Japanese had refused to agree to an unconditional surrender. Two days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.
    On 15 August 1945, Imperial Japan surrendered to the Allies. The formal instrument of surrender was signed on 2 September 1945 on the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The surrender was accepted by General Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers and representatives of several other Allied nations. MacArthur remained in Tokyo to oversee the post-war development of the country. But for the soldiers on the ground, there was a lot of work still to do and thousands of people to get home – including Bill and his devoted Smoky.
    The war was over. In Okinawa, Bill and his fellow GIs felt honoured to be a small part of the peace process. From their campsite, they witnessed the arrival of the Japanese envoys on Le Shima. By order of the US Army, the white bombers would have large green crosses painted on them and be accompanied by six P-38s. From Okinawa they would fly to Manila and board the USS Missouri. Standing with Smoky under his arm watching this historic moment, Bill could feel the fear and anxiety of the past two years start to ebb away. When the P-38s came into view someone close to Bill shouted, ‘It’s over! Damn – it’s over!’ Bill laughed, feeling the relief of it all. He held Smoky close to his face and she gave him the biggest of kisses. The hand grenades that lined the barbed wire fence around the camp