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This was all depicted to her in the first of
A woman peered out of her window
Aboard amidst her heart racing with
uncontained excitement. In front of her
lay a parade of fatigued homecoming
the soldiers yet with happy faces. Amongst
the crowd full of commotion stood
out a tall, skinny, rather plain looking
Enterprise individual with brown eyes, a flat nose
and sharp ears.
A familiar face. At first glance, he
Written by Teoh Ooi Pin Liang reminded her of someone she knew.
As he approached nearer, the smile
on her face vanished. It wasn’t him. A
consoling gust of wind led her to the
pile of opened letters strewn across the
table, mildewed with the passage of
time.
The Enterprise, an aircraft carrier,
advanced for its time, 30,000 tonnes
of steel floating in the Pacific. Bristling
with anti-aircraft guns, its deck riddled
with Douglass torpedo bombers,
35 Illustration by Yip Zhen Yen
Wildcat fighters and various other
aircraft, its might and power in full
display. The deck and runway were a
sight to hold. He was recruited for the
candour and confidence of a twenty
two-year-old with the rosy glow which
dimmed his eyes from the truth. Despite
that, a vague feeling still loomed in him,
something big, destructive was always
lurking around the corner. Nonetheless,
pride still boomed in his spirit. Although
the daily exercises, such as flight drills,
were exhausting, his efforts were all
worthwhile. He felt he was serving a
greater purpose to both the country
and men. The runway was always a
welcoming sight to him when landing,
with lights illuminating its deck during
stormy weather and choppy seas.
There was a mention of the Armed
Service Editions magazines at his bedside
in the letter’s contents, though the
sleeping quarters with its navy grey walls
and vanilla white bunk beds were rather
cramped and a dull sight for many. This
was compensated with the Enterprise’s
gorgeous hull.
several of his letters to come.
She received a letter like any other on a
fateful day with gloomy skies of ominous
grey. However, it contained words that
echoed his hopelessness and despair.
Having witnessed first hand a fire
breaking out in one of the hangars below
deck, with some of his crew perishing in
the carnage. In his fighter squadron, the
number of fighter aircraft getting shot
down had become a common sight. He
sensed a gigantic battle looming ahead,
involving the likes like no other, with
rumours of the enemy’s planes dotting
the sky, blacking it out. A simple letter
may be a final farewell to her. Soon came
many sleepless nights, he felt his fate
being intertwined with that of the ship.
However, he comforted himself with
the thought of returning to her warm
embrace with her look of weak innocent
nature and vitality, which he had long
lost. He had changed. He spoke no more
of the youthful zeal he once possessed.
He had come to the knowledge that
letter writing was a trial. Youth, dreams,
enthusiasms and appetites had been his
enemies and had betrayed him into the
grasp of the war.
He was not the same man who first
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