Blue Skies, Troubled Waters
An Amercan Twin's WWII Odyssey in Minahasa, Indonesia
The harrowing memoir Blue Skies, Troubled Waters recalls the brutal World War II military occupation of Indonesia.
Martha Walandouw Lohn’s eye-opening historical memoir Blue Skies, Troubled Waters is about being a civilian child who was thrust into World War II.
Lohn, her twin sister Kath, and their family lived in New Jersey. In 1940, they were deported to Indonesia, as Lohn’s father was undocumented. Settling in, the family members familiarized themselves with the culture and customs.
But then Japanese forces took over Indonesia after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Lohn’s family members were placed into prison camps, pressed into forced labor, and assaulted and tortured by Japanese soldiers. They endured great hardships during the years of military occupation; half of those who lived in their village died. Some were executed for offenses including owning a radio or being albino and mistaken for Dutch.
Keen psychological observations inform the work. Lohn recalls what it was like to watch the Japanese occupiers disturb idyllic village life, recreating tense interactions with Japanese soldiers. She writes about experiencing fear over unexpected knocks on the door and uncertainty after her relatives were taken away.
Subtextual meanings are hinted at: Lohn notes that no one knew how much her grandmother suffered in dark rooms alone; she observes that her uncle was later reluctant to explain the debilitating injuries that followed from beatings and torture. She also writes that Japanese soldiers forced schoolchildren to watch as prisoners of war were loaded up on buses to be taken to public execution sites.
The prose is spare and lean but also includes evocative details, as of how fir trees were cleared from a playground to turn it into an exercise yard. Matter-of-fact recollections of standing statue-still and singing while the Japanese flag was raised each morning are followed by revelations as of the impossibility of concentrating on learning for the rest of the day. The stark language and stoic tone often heighten the horror, as with a scene in which Japanese soldiers behead other prisoners of war with swords; Lohn observes the trembling fingers of the soldier who takes her away.
A harrowing account of a brutal military occupation, the book celebrates the resiliency and strength of Lohn’s persevering family members. This edition comes with updates from Lohn’s grandson, Brian Kimmel, that add historical context. Supplementary materials including maps, family photographs, and a detailed glossary of Indonesian words facilitate understanding of the cultural context. A new afterword also spells out what happened to the people involved.
An affecting memoir, Blue Skies, Troubled Waters recalls living through World War II in Indonesia, including in a prison camp.
Reviewed by
Joseph S. Pete
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