The following teaser is from an article posted August 16, 2015 at Military.com:
For years after World War II, the photos of the Japanese families mesmerized Grace Hessman.
She would turn the pages of the photo album and study the exquisitely dressed ladies and the men in their military uniforms.
“It was like nothing I had ever seen, and you can’t imagine how fancy they were,” said Hessman, 96, a Hutchinson resident. “They were such nice-looking people.”
Her husband, Roy Hessman, found the photo album when his tank battalion came under heavy fire. He crawled into a foxhole to seek protection during a battle on the Philippines. The foxhole had previously been home for a Japanese soldier. Along with the album, there was a sword and a decorative letter opener. After the war, Hessman came home to Kansas with the album and the letter opener. However, the military confiscated the sword.
Roy Hessman, who grew up on a farm in Ford County, received a Purple Heart after being wounded in action, plus three Bronze Stars. Following the war, Roy wouldn’t talk to Grace about those experiences. But she felt herself drawn to the photo album, flipping through the pages and studying every detail.
