In Blood, Flowers Bloom - by Samantha Bresnahan (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In Blood, Flowers Bloom illuminates one of the last untold stories of World War II, the common act of soldiers taking their enemy's possessions after victory. This is the story of a single Japanese battle flag found among the belongings of a long-passed American WWII veteran, originally belonging to a Japanese soldier. In telling the story of this flag, and its journey from the battle of Iwo Jima to a basement in upstate New York, award-winning writer, Samantha Bresnahan reveals the way in which objects represent generations of trauma, imperialism, and memory. In Blood, Flowers Bloom tells the overlapping stories of US veteran Marty Connor, Japanese imperial Naval captain turned Buddhist monk Tsunezo Wachi, and Masataka Shiokawa, the resilient son of a Japanese soldier killed in battle at Okinawa. These three men could have lived and died as enemies-that was their historical prerogative. Instead, they banded together as uneasy allies, and then eventual friends, in their shared mission to return artifacts taken by US soldiers to their rightful owners, giving Japanese families a new opportunity for closure and healing the wounds inflicted by loss of loved ones-both physically and spiritually"--

Book Synopsis

An intergenerational story of war, forgiveness, and memory told through stolen and returned battlefield souvenirs.

How do we remember war? How do we forgive? In Blood, Flowers Bloom illuminates one of the last untold stories of World War II, the common act of soldiers, sailors and Marines taking their enemy's possessions after victory. This is the story of a single Japanese battle flag found among the belongings of a long-passed American WWII veteran, originally belonging to a Japanese soldier. In telling the story of this flag, and its journey from battle in the Philippines to a shed in upstate New York, award-winning writer, Samantha Bresnahan reveals the way in which objects represent generations of trauma, imperialism, and memory.

Weaving through time, In Blood, Flowers Bloom tells the overlapping stories of two families, that flag, and a decades-long quest: here we meet American Iwo Jima veteran Marty Connor, Japanese imperial Naval captain turned Buddhist monk Tsunezo Wachi, and Masataka Shiokawa, the resilient son of a Japanese soldier killed in battle at Okinawa. These three men could have lived and died as enemies--that was their historical prerogative. Instead, they banded together as uneasy allies, and then eventual friends, in their shared mission to return artifacts taken by American GIs to their rightful owners, giving Japanese families a new opportunity for closure and healing the wounds inflicted by loss of loved ones--both physically and spiritually.

Review Quotes

"In Blood, Flowers Bloom illuminates one of the last untold stories of World War II, the common act of soldiers, sailors and Marines taking their enemy's possessions after victory. With meticulous research and journalistic rigor, Bresnahan crisscrosses time and continents to weave this haunting, human tale of trauma, healing, cruelty and generosity."
--Clarissa Ward, CNN Correspondent and author of On All Fronts

"Beautifully researched, fast-paced, and suspenseful, In Blood, Flowers Bloom connects the dramatic personal stories of a handful of U.S. and Japanese soldiers and their families during and after horrific battles of the Pacific War. Simultaneously heartbreaking and deeply restorative, the book is filled with moving details that bring each character, battle, and scrap of memory to life. In Blood, Flowers Bloom offers renewed understanding of how that war was waged by military leaders but fought by millions of young men, illuminates the legacy of trauma and loss on both sides, and demonstrates the power of deceased soldiers' personal belongings, left behind on a battlefield, to create intimate, cross-cultural connection and healing on both sides of the Pacific."
--Susan Southard, author of Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War

About the Author

Samantha Bresnahan is a supervising producer for CNN International, based in London. She's reported across the US and around the world, producing global features from India, Brazil, Japan, Kuwait, Thailand, South Korea, Jamaica, Norway, England, Hong Kong, France, the United Arab Emirates, and beyond. She is a four-time News and Documentary Emmy Award nominee, a Livingston Award finalist, and winner of multiple National Headliner Awards. In addition to her more than fifteen years of experience as a journalist, Bresnahan holds a master of fine arts degree in narrative nonfiction from the University of Georgia.