How It All Goes Down
The Naked Stampede
- The men at the camp hear about something atomic wiping Hiroshima and Nagasaki off the map.
- A week before the August 22 kill-all date, the Bird leaves the camp… and Louie gets beriberi.
- Weirdly, later that day, all the Japanese guards leave—the men believe "The war is over" (4.31.15).
- Meanwhile, up in the mountains, Phil, Fred Garrett, and the other POWs at Rokuroshi are led into the mountains with no explanation given.
- Back at Naoetsu, the Bird returns, looking like a different person.
- The camp commander, Kono, tells the men "The war has come to a point of cessation" (4.31.29).
- The men strip naked to bathe in the river; bomber planes fly overhead and drop rations of food, clothing, and magazines.
- At some point that day, the Bird slips away into the countryside and disappears.