Days of Infamy series

Days of Infamy is a two-novel alternate history of the initial stages of the Pacific War by Harry Turtledove.^[1]

The major difference is that the Empire of Japan not only attacks Pearl Harbor, but follows it up with the landing and occupation of Hawaii.

Days of Infamy

Days of Infamy

LC Class

PS3570.U76 D395 2004

In Days of Infamy, the logic of how the battle could have developed in

, they did not.

As is usual in Turtledove novels, the action occurs from several points of view, including historical figures such as Minoru Genda and

, and others.

The way that control of the islands is established is that after a third wave of the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor (instead of two in reality) destroys the American naval fuel depots, army barracks, and all airfields on

is annexed to Japan.

With the United States' main forward base in the Pacific conquered and much of its fleet crippled beyond repair, this allows Japan to dominate much of the southern Pacific Ocean almost unopposed from successfully

that is also featured, where it is remembered as when America struck back at Hawaii, and not Japan in reality, but doing little damage.

In June 1942, there is a reverse version of the Battle of Midway where an American task force attempting to invade Oahu is defeated when the Japanese make use of captured American radar systems on the island, and the carriers USS Yorktown and Saratoga are lost while the USS Hornet is badly damaged.

The novel ends when, as was common in their other occupied territories, the Japanese create a

, humiliated by their losses to the Japanese, swear revenge and begin a massive military buildup that sets the stage for the second novel.

End of the Beginning

End of the Beginning

ISBN		0-451-21668-7 (first edition)

End of the Beginning carries the story forward through the rest of the

of 1944-1945), are left without any military support.

In the United States, the Americans have amassed the ships and troops to retake Hawaii, and launch another, but larger, invasion attempt. The Americans quickly gain the upper hand,

and the King and Queen of Hawaii choose to commit suicide. Following the American victory, Hawaii became the staging point for the American war effort in the Pacific Theater, as it was in the actual war, albeit longer.

What happens outside Hawaii is sparsely referred to in the two novels of the series. The

civil rights

in postwar America.

Characters

Viewpoint characters are identified with (vp). Historical characters are identified with (h)

Fletcher "Fletch" Armitage (vp) -- Army first lieutenant stationed in Hawaii; later, a P.O.W.

Jane Armitage (vp) -- Estranged wife of Fletch,

comfort woman

.

Jim Peterson (vp) --

US Army

as a private and fights as an infantryman until the surrender.

Joe Crosetti (vp) -- Son of a San Francisco fisherman who enlists after Pearl Harbor and eventually flies a Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter.

Orson Sharp -- A

who becomes Joe Crosetti's friend in flight training and goes on to serve with him in the same fighter squadron.

Lester Dillon (vp) -- Crusty

. Dillon is familiar with the islands from his peacetime service, so he provides not only a view of the fighting when the US retakes Oahu but insights into the prewar period.

Isoroku Yamamoto (h) — Notorious in the U.S. for planning the Pearl Harbor attack, Yamamoto was killed in April 1943 in real history.

Tomoyuki Yamashita (h)—In real history, Yamashita led the brilliant campaign that drove Britain from Malaya, and captured Singapore in less than three months against forces that outnumbered his own by more than two to one. In the series, he leads the troops that invade Oahu and stays in the Islands after the conquest.

Minoru Genda (vp,h)— Main planner of the Pearl Harbor attack. Both Yamamoto and Genda wanted to invade Hawaii, but in actual history were not able to persuade the Japanese Army to allocate troops.

Stanley Owana Laanui -- The puppet "King of Hawaii" the Japanese set up during their occupation.

Cynthia Laanui -- King Stanley's red-headed queen, and eventually Minoru Genda's lover.

Yasuo Furusawa (vp) -- A mere Superior Private in his army, Furusawa is better educated than most of his fellow troops and, as the son of a druggist, has at least learned how to make out English writing. He is the only viewpoint character in the Japanese armed forces to survive as a prisoner of war.

Jiro Takahashi (vp) -- Born in Japan and still a Japanese citizen (it was impossible for Japanese-born aliens to become US citizens in this era), Jiro has in fact lived in Hawaii most of his life, and owns his own fishing boat, the sampan Oshima Maru, named after the county in Japan where he was born. His sons Kenzo (Ken) and Hitoshi (Hank) do not share in his unshakeable Japanese patriotism.

Kenzo Takahashi (vp) -- Born in Hawaii and, thus, a U.S. citizen, Ken sees Japan as enemy nation, especially after his mother is killed by a Japanese air raid on Honolulu.

Elsie Sundberg -- Ken's haole girlfriend.

Oscar van der Kirk (vp) -- An early convert to

in order to catch more fish as food becomes hard to get in Hawaii, especially for non-Japanese civilians.

Charlie Kaapu -- Oscar's best bud and fellow surfer. After getting caught sleeping with the mistress of a Japanese Officer, Charlie gets to join Jim Peterson and other POWs being worked to death digging a tunnel.

Susie Higgins -- Oscar's latest girl, another divorcee from the mainland, caught by the invasion.

See also

• 1942 (novel)
• Pacific War series

References