Dragon of the Mangroves: Inspired by True Events of World War II [Paperback]

At the end of World War II, a garrison of the Twenty-eighth Japanese Army is deployed to Ramree Island, off the coast of Burma, to fight the Allies' severe counteroffensive. While on the island, Superior Private Minoru Kasuga questions a local villager about the terrible smell coming from the saltwater creek. To his horror, the old man tells him it is the stench of death from the breath of man-eating crocodiles that inhabit Myinkhon Creek.

Fierce fighting drives the battalion to the island's east coast, and they must evacuate to Burma by crossing the creek. Just before they embark, Kasuga smells the same putrid odor that he'd questioned the villager about and warns his commanding officer of the underwater danger. His sergeant ignores him, thinking Kasuga is obsessed with wild stories from the villagers, and he tells the soldiers to cross the creek.

Ordered to save the penned-in garrison, Second Lieutenant Yoshihisa Sumi arrives on Ramree Island. But what awaits him at Myinkhon Creek is a sight too horrible to contemplate .

This story is known to some extent in former Allied countries, but
it's hardly circulated among the Japanese because we have no record
verifying this in Japan. It was proven that no less than four hundred fifty
soldiers made a safe return from the island to the continent, according to
official war reports and many personal memorandums. This means almost half
the garrison was alive after the battle, which simply makes the casualties
by crocodiles doubtful. But I do not believe the whole story is a downright
falsity. During the World War II, Japanese occupation area was called the
Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere, and it was largely overlapped with
the habitat of saltwater crocodiles. There were many reports of crocodile
attacks, not only in the Burma Campaign but also in other southern fronts.

We tend to forget this kind of tale, compared with other atrocities of
war. Still, I think this story tells of war and symbolizes it effectively.
War is becoming more mechanized and computerized, but its core is
unchanged. That's why I wrote this book.

In the nineteenth century, my great-great-grandfather was ordered by
his feudal lord to go a long way to Edo (now Tokyo) to defend the coast
against the oncoming American fleet, with only his ancient sword and armor
to rely upon. When the Pacific War broke out in 1941, my father and one of
my uncles were conscripted and became an Army artilleryman and a Navy
airman, respectively. Both fought against the United States forces.
Fortunately, they killed no one andcame back alive. My ancestral history
shows that some part of my family was dedicated to fighting against
foreigners. Of course, I have never fought with foreigners, apart from some
fencing bouts and PC games. I appreciate this peace, and hope that it lasts
forever.

Those who have studied or who took part in the Burma Campaign will
know that the real names of troops, battles, and places were used. I used
real names to give the story a semblance of reality. However, all other
things are fictional, and any resemblance to a real person is coincidental.
As for the names of countries and races, I followed the descriptive usage
of that time period for the same reason.