At Mama-San House

During the Occupation of Japan 1945-50 U.S. Army soldiers called every Japanese woman over thirty-five years of age Mama-san It was not a Japanese word but pidgin English by American soldiers in an effort to communicate on their own terms. This well-meaning word quickly found use in mama-san houses which were operated by mama-sans who rented rooms by the hour to pom-pom girls.However Mama-san House of this story was a middle class Tokyo home owned by Mama-san a gentle lady whom Joe suspected of being a former Geisha. Here during his off duty hours Joe and Eiko found their Special Island or hideaway. Such affairs were discouraged and frowned on by the U.S. Army and American-Japanese marriages were forbidden by law.Outbreak of war in Korea ended Joe's secret paradise when he and most of the Occupation Army moved quickly to meet the communist attack.Never a hero Joe served honorably as an Infantryman and survived thanks to the draw of a lucky card or so he believed. Daily letters from Eiko sustained him through heartbreak and hardship and fallen friends helped him when needed the most.After a time officialdom in Washington concede to the reality of mixed marriages but now Joe is in Korea . . .At Mama-san House begins as a wide eyed seventeen years old private soldier arrives in Japan and evolves as he grows into a seasoned twenty-year old sergeant leading his mortar squad in combat.Eventually Joe is forced to advance from romantic boy to practical man. Well . . . almost.