A Gift of Passage

By Darrell Dunhill

Jared Dane is a history teacher thatdies and is at the gates of Heaven.He is given a choice to enter or go back to his true love.He returns only to find he has been given a " gift" to travel at will back in time to witness history firsthand.He will be an observer only.He cannot interfere with destiny or history.His passion for World War II drives him to explore a unique ,never before experienced veiw of history live as it happens.Join him as he witnesses the love,compassion,and sorrow of World war II and the human spirit in its most vulnerable state.This book isnot justfor the wwii enthusiast,but for the lovers of the imagination of time travel.enjoy..

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 26, 2009
• ISBN: 9781467854221

Darrell Dunhill

Darrell Dunhill is originally from Rochester N.Y.He has lived in Port St lucie Florida with his family since 1984.He is a first time author with "A Gift Of Passage".He has put an entirelyNEW twist on time travel.This will be the first of three books he will devote to time travel.Each new book will invlove Jared Dane and his unquencable desire for veiwing hisotry firsthand as it happens.He will travel back in time to all sorts of new places,people,and adventure.Each journey will help open yet another clue to utilizing the "gift".Darrell is also a hairstylist,and a world class Elvis entertianer that has perfomed around the world and across the united states.

Book preview

Chapter One – In the Beginning

It is the mid 1960s; a black and white TV plays a war movie. A small boy, Jared Dane, sits in front of it fixated on the pictures he sees on the small screen. Behind him his father, Jack, watches the movie with him.

The boy turns to his father and asks, Were you in the war Daddy?

Father doesn’t answer immediately, because at this moment his memories have taken him back to the WWII Pacific Theater. Jack is reliving a horrendous 1943 episode of his life. His mind turns over this bad memory and he can’t seem to let it go even through years have passed. In his flashback, he is an M.P. guarding the Japanese P.O.W.s in the Philippines.

Jack remembers how a Japanese P.O.W. came close to the fence to bargain with him one moon-lit night. The P.O.W. had ripped four of his own gold teeth from his mouth. He wanted to trade his gold teeth for the brief use of the American soldier’s knife. The P.O.W planned to finally claim his honor as a soldier.

The P.O.W. walked up to the fence where the M.P. stood waiting. The P.O.W made eye contact with Jack. Neither of them says a word, they don’t need to, and each knows how to execute his end of the bargain. This scene has been played out many times before. All the P.O.W.s know who to go to if they want the honorable way out.

Slowly, the small dirty hand of the P.O.W. clenched in a ball pushes through the fence, once through; it stops and slowly turns upside down with fingertips up. Slowly, the fingers unroll and reveal four bloody gold teeth and a small medal that he received for marksmanship while training in Japan. As the P.O.W. looks at his unfurled hand his mind drifts back to the training camp and how tough his drill sergeant rode him to become an expert shot.

He also thinks of how proud he was to write the letter home to his parents telling of his great accomplishment. That was a proud day indeed for the soldier and for Japan. A few of his buddies took him out that night for Saki to celebrate his medal. He remembers pinning it on his jacket before battle to bring him good luck.

His platoon was wiped out in a Banzai charge. An explosion knocked him unconscious. The American troops found him among the dead Japanese soldiers and captured him. As he struggled to gain consciousness, enemy soldiers placed him roughly on a stretcher. As the medics lifted him he saw the bloody image of all his friends lying dead around him. He was the only survivor, but today his plan was to join his comrades in glory.

The M.P. slowly snatches the bloody gold teeth and shiny silver medal from the Japanese P.O.W’s dirty hand. He takes a few seconds to glance down at what he has received and then slides everything into his uniform pants pocket. As American soldier’s hand emerges from his pocket, it moves to his knife. Slowly, the knife rises from its sheath as the slight sound of metals scraping together is heard. Jack, the American M.P. hands the knife handle first to the P.O.W. through the fence.

The P.O.W. receives it gratefully but fights his emotions: elation and sadness at the same time. Elation to finally die with honor and sadness that he’ll never see his family again. The P.O.W. places the shiny sharp blade against his heaving chest so that he can feel his rib in front of his pounding heart. There will be no mistake this time.

Tears fill his eyes as he looks up one last time at the American M.P. The M.P. turns his back to the P.O.W. and silently walks away unhurriedly to give the P.O.W. privacy. The P.O.W. waits until the M.P. is out of sight the he slowly closes his eyes and grasps the knife tightly. He hears his heartbeat and the throbbing in his head pounding in rhythm. In one thrust he penetrates his skin, his eyes open wide in fear but it’s too late. The knife is already buried up to the handle and the pounding of his heart slows down.

His vision darkens as his family’s faces flash before him. Suddenly, a shimmering light appears and his platoon buddies all stand in front of him smiling with their hands outstretched towards him. The Japanese P.O.W. feels no pain as he stares blankly at his pals and his spirit joins them as the walk into the dark mist and disappears.

Jack’s boots slowly crunch the jungle ground back to the dead P.O.W. Jack sees the P.O.W. hunched over in a puddle of shiny red blood still clutching Jack’s knife. The M.P. kneels down and reaches through the fence. He grabs hold of his knife and slowly pulls it from the P.O.W.s now unmoving chest.

Before Jack threads the knife back through the chain link fence, he wipes it off on the dead P.O.W.s already bloody shirt. Jack weaves the clean knife through the fence and slides it back in its sheath. Once again the faint grinding of metal is heard echoing death. The American M.P. will repeat this scenario many more times in reality and relive it thousands of times for years to come.

Suddenly, Jack’s mind shifts back to the present as Jared repeats his question, Daddy, were you in the war?

Jack wipes his teary eyes, clears his throat and says lowly, Yes son, I was in the war.

When the movie ends, Jared the brush-cut little boy runs outside leaving his father Jack to his own thoughts. Jared is a happy little guy with plenty of imagination. Outside he finds his friends and recounts the scenes he just saw on TV. Some of the other boys saw the movie too and were eager to play Army.

One by one the boys assembled wearing their toy helmets and carrying plastic guns. They picked teams and off they went to fight to the last man, running, hiding and ambushing one another with their best machine gun imitations.

On rainy days, Jared played with his G.I. Joe collection in his room. He played out his war fantasies or a TV show he had seen over and over. Jack, Jared’s dad occasionally showed Jared things he brought back from the war. As Jared got older, Jack shared short tales to explain some of the items. Jack then put them away for another day. He never allowed Jared to play with these mementoes alone. One day while watching Hogan’s Heroes on TV Jared saw the end credits which pictured Hogan’s hat draped over a German helmet.

Jared vowed, One day I’m going to have both of those hats Dad.

Jack just smiled and said assuredly, Sure son, you’ll have them some day.

Some day came sooner than later. One day, Uncle George who fought in Germany during WWII came over for Jared’s birthday. Uncle George was not a real uncle but Jared had known him all of his life. Uncle George and Jack had been best buddies since high school. Today, Jack and Uncle George smiled proudly as if they’d just won something. Uncle George set a skillfully gift wrapped box carefully on the kitchen table. Today was Jared’s tenth birthday.

The whole family knew Jared loved WWII history and anything remotely military in origin. When it came time to open his presents, Jared happily received several model guns, army hats and G.I. Joe accessories. But he didn’t know how happy he was going to be. Now, the last present sat alone on the once gift laden table. The lone present left was from Uncle George. Apparently all the adults knew it was something special because they all beamed as if they would burst.

Uncle George leaned in toward Jared and said, This present I’ve brought you today is very special and you must promise before you open it that you’ll take very good care of it.

He put his hand out in a gentle gesture and Uncle George and Jared shook on it, I promise. Uncle George."

Wide-eyed with anticipation Jared cautiously unwrapped the mysterious package. His cautious fingers explored the edges of the box. As he lifted each edge of the plain cardboard box, Jared’s heart raced, his eyes enlarged as he reached in to grab the special present. Slowly, the present rose above the sides of the big box. Everyone stared and waited anxiously as it rose to its momentous glory.

Finally, it was up and out of the box. The aroma of moldy oldness filled Jared’s nostrils and those close by got a whiff of it too. Everyone’s noses sniffed at the strange scent. Suddenly, there it was.

The helmet from Hogan’s Heroes, Jared cried.

Everyone in the room burst out in a loud cheer. Uncle George was the hero that day. George had picked this helmet up while fighting in Germany during WWII.

I killed that German myself, he said proudly.

The room cheered again. Hooray for Uncle George someone shouted. Everyone lined up to see the helmet while Jack and Uncle George poured themselves a glass of Scotch and clinked glasses. It was a moment Jared would never forget. Little did Jared know it but it would also change his life forever too. Jared was so happy with his present. He couldn’t wait to show it to all his friends from the neighborhood.

Jared immediately petitioned his parents, Can I show my friends?

Yes, but be careful.

All Jared’s friends at the party restlessly waited to see the helmet as they crowded around the table with little boy curiosity. Jared invited all the boys up to his room. They took turns holding the helmet being ever so careful not to drop it.

In their imagination they wondered what the German looked like, where did he live and how did he die? The conversations between the boys lasted throughout the rest of the party. Later, that night Jared found a special place on his display shelf for his new German WWII helmet. He carefully placed it on the shelf and stepped backwards to his bed, never taking his eyes off of it as he climbed into bed. He reached up, grabbed the light switch, and gave one last proud glance as he switched off the overhead light.

As the years passed and Jared grew older he never lost the passion for collecting military items. Sometimes he’d rescue the item from sure destruction. Yes, he was the rescuer, the rescuer of history. He stopped by yard sales too. He carefully scanned every box and table for any military items that might be hidden.

When he found an item he looked up with his big blue eyes and asked sweetly, Pardon me sir, how much does this cost, please?

Whether it was a man or a woman making the sale the person usually quoted him a bargain price just because he acted so politely. The sincere look in Jared’s eyes melted the hardest heart. Many times Jared bought a military item and asked the owner questions about its origin. So impressed by his interest old veterans happily shared their war stories with him.

Jared loved hearing these stories and he knew it made these old vets feel good to share their stories with him because many of them didn’t think anyone cared. Sometimes a vet would dig out a hat pin or a medal and give it to Jared just because they felt good about where it was going or at least hoped they placed it in good hands. This scene played out many times over and over again throughout Jared’s childhood and later throughout his life.

As Jared reached his teens years and early twenties his pursuit of WWII and military memorabilia came almost to a halt. Jared boxed up most of the collection and put in the basement or in the attic. How ironic he thought as he slowly slid the boxes into place, they’re back where they started.

A sad feeling came over him as he stashed the last box and marked MILITARY on it with a waterproof marker. As he walked away from the last box, Jared stopped for a moment to look back at his old friends, smiled and whispered, I shall return, giving the boxes a quick, crisp military salute.

With all of his military treasures stored, the stairs creaked as Jared walked up from the basement. At the top of the stairs, Jared put his hand on the light switch, glanced down once more toward his stash of cardboard boxes and turned off the light. Years went by but Jared never forgot the stored boxes in the basement and attic. Occasionally, he’d still find a WWII hat or medal and buy it. He’d bring it home to show mom and dad and then pack it away with the rest of his now stored collection. Though Jared’s interest was temporarily in a state of quiescence he remained yet, a rescuer.

One day Jared stopped at his favorite antique store to see if they had acquired any new, interesting finds. He immediately noticed the new clerk behind the counter. She caught his eye immediately. She had long natural brown hair and a perfect smile. She had a medium build and a delicate but strong way about her. As Jared pretended to shop he listened to her talk to customers and he liked what he heard.

Jared did the usual peeking through booths to steal a glance at this interesting young lady. He then heard, mmmmmm-mmmm, with a giggle behind him. It was Margie the antique shop owner. She knew Jared well from his many visits to her shop. As soon as Jared discovered Margie watching him his face turned a beautiful beet red. He was a bit embarrassed at getting caught ogling this beautiful lady, but glad at the same time he could get Margie to tell him all about her.

He looked at Margie with his shiny blue eyes and said, Well who is she and is she single?

Margie led him to a safer place in the store to fill him in, Her name is Kim, she’s 33 and yes, she’s single.

From what Margie knew about Kim, the new clerk, she had never been married, lived with her parents and she loved animals. As far as Margie could tell, she was a real sweet person and a good worker.

Jared’s heart raced, "I think she’s beautiful Margie, he gushed.

Well, she said, let’s see what we can do?

Margie led Jared through the store up to the counter. There stood Kim, pretty as a picture with her back to Margie and Jared.

Kim, Margie said.

Startled, Kim turned, and her eyes met Jared’s. Kim had blue eyes that perfectly matched Jared’s. Instantly, they were each caught in one another’s spell.

Margie said, Kim, I’d like you to meet Jared.

Simultaneously, they extended their hands to shake and said, Nice to meet you.

As they shook hands, Jared felt Kim’s skin as soft as a dove and as they drew closer he smelled her subtle perfume. The fresh scent of sweetness that surrounded Kim cut through the smell of moldy antiques as if only her scent existed in the store. For Jared, in that moment, Kim was the only person who existed in the universe. Margie was quite amused watching this young love blossoming before her eyes.

Marge stepped back, folded her arms in amazement and said with conviction, I’ve just witnessed love at first sight.

She had, truly Margie had witnessed love at first sight. The moment hung there as if eternal, but in reality it had only lasted seconds, but in those few seconds love had truly happened to Kim and Jared.

Well, you better let go of her hand or ask her to dance, Margie said.

All three burst laughing at Margie’s funny, but romantic remark.

I’ll leave you two alone, Margie said as she walked away.

Jared just blurted out what his mind was thinking, You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

Kim blushed and immediately felt that Jared was staring right into her soul. She knew every word he said was sincere because she was looking right through his blue eyes into his open heart. They had each met their soul-mate and they both knew it instantly.

Jared asked slowly, Are you doing anything this weekend?

Kim answered, No, not that I can think of.

They exchanged phone numbers and set the date for Saturday night at 7:00.

Do you like classics? Jared asked.

Kim laughed and said, Well I work in an antique shop, what do you think?

Cars, I mean, classic cars, Jared said.

Kim said she loved them, Why?

I’ll surprise you Saturday night.

Saturday night soon arrived and not too soon for either Kim or Jared. As Jared approached Kim’s home he called her and asked her to come outside. Kim was a bit puzzled at this request but she was so eager to see Jared again that she did just what he asked her to do.

Proudly, Jared pulled into her block as he neared her home, Jared saw Kim on her front porch waiting nervously for him to arrive. Jared pulled up in Kim’s driveway in a 1969 baby blue Chevelle with a creamy white interior. The beautiful car was spotlessly clean and Jared cherished it. He and his dad bought it together and restored the car when Jared was 16 years old. He planned to keep it forever.

Kim’s heart jumped when she saw the car, My gosh, it’s beautiful, she shouted as she ran up to the car before Jared could kill the engine.

Jared was never prouder of his classic Chevelle. He turned off the car’s ignition and went with Kim to meet her parents. They too had noticed the car pull-up in the driveway. They liked Jared immediately from the first, yes sir and yes mamn he spoke. After everyone met, Jared and Kim left and went to a comedy movie. Their attachment to each other grew as they both laughed at the same things. Kim commented that they enjoyed the same type of humor. Jared told Kim he was a history professor at the local community college.

After the movie, Jared and Kim cruised the strip with a host of other classic cars. Jared told Kim that he did this most Saturday nights and sometimes saw one of his students cruising too. Kim loved every minute of the night. Love between Kim and Jared had blossomed at their first meeting and tonight it bloomed into a beautiful eternal flower. By the time they pulled up to Kim’s home around midnight neither wanted the night to end. The sky was velvet black above them and the stars shown like crystals in the night sky.

As Jared killed the engine, they both leaned in slowly until their lips met, but neither closed their eyes. They stared straight into one another’s blue eyes. Then, tenderly and slowly they kissed each other in a lingering goodnight kiss. Jared got out of the car and walked around to open Kim’s door. Kim was in awe; Jared was so different from other men she dated, a real true gentleman with a great sense of humor. Jared walked Kim to her front door. From that night on Kim and Jared became inseparable.

A few weeks of dating and Jared told Kim it