This is the original version, edited only for formatting and punctuation. For an extensive re-write (and a rationale for it), see C. Lakewood's "War Diary, 73 B.C." WAR DIARY by Joe Doe THE SPOILED WIFE AND DAUGHTER OF AN ARMY OFFICER RECEIVE A REPORT FROM ARMY INTELLIGENCE REGARDING THE ENEMIES PLANS FOR THE LOCAL WOMEN AFTER THE INVASION. "I, for one, am glad that the Japanese our approaching the Philippines," the General's wife said. "I started keeping a 'war diary' almost two years ago, and for the life of me I have not had a single thing to write in it." "I think the situation is more serious than you realize, M'am," the Army intelligence officer said solemnly. "The Japanese already have plans for reorganizing the island, and your name was specifically mentioned." "Our name was mentioned, mother!" Sally said, clapping her hands. "In a real SPY report! How delicious! Wait until I tell my friends." "This is all classified, young lady!" the Army intelligence officer said sharply. "I must stress that the only reason I am telling you this is to convince you to evacuate immediately!" "I can understand the necessity of my husband leaving, but how would it look if we ran away before the defense of the island even began?" the General's wife retorted. "It is essential for morale that Sally and I stay until the end." "Do tell us about the spy report!" Sally said, leaning forward. "Don't leave anything out." The Army intelligence officer took a picture of a young Japanese man out of a folder and passed it to the two women. "Do you recognize this man?" "I believe he used to work for us," the General's wife said casually. "He was caught trying to spy on Sally one night, and we called the police." Sally blushed a little and looked at her shoes. She had enjoyed slowly stripping herself in front of her open bedroom window, knowing that the exotic Oriental's eyes were caressing every inch of her lovely and luscious Caucasian body. She had stripped slowly and deliberately, making the tease last, always making sure that she stepped away from the open window just before her final garments fluttered to the floor. "He was arrested and flogged on the bare bottom in the town square, I believe," the Army Intelligence officer said. "After a short prison stay he was deported and returned to Japan." Sally smiled at the memory. As the alleged victim, she and her giggling girlfriends had a front row seat at the proud man's shameful paddling. After the man had been stripped naked and was forced to face the crowd, Sally and her friends had deliberately teased the man. Sally had slowly and deliberately licked an ice cream cone. Her best friend Linda had raised her skirt shamefully high to "adjust" her garter. And her friend Heather had unbuttoned the front of her blouse to slowly rub on mosquito repellant. The titillating display had the desired effect, and the crowd went wild as the embarrassed man became aroused. The Judge doubled the number of strokes for "gross public indecency." Sally still giggled when she recalled the infuriated look on the helpless prisoner's face when she playfully winked at him, and then rubbed her bottom in mock sympathy.... Sally, her Mother, and Sally's spoiled girlfriends had enjoyed watching the man wiggle and squirm under the lash while the crowd jeered at his public nudity. Each of them had fantasized about what it would be like if THEY had been the ones stripped naked in the square, exposed lasciviously to the crowd.... Since the American's owned the country, the natives were careful to fawn over the women and cater to their every whim. The women suspected that most of the colonists resented their easy wealth and power, which made the thought of what would happen to them if they ever fell into the hands of their subjects all the more delicious. Sally and her friend had become more and more excited as they discussed what it would feel like to stand on the raised platform in the town square and await the lash. Would their house servants hoot and cackle at them, or would they simply smile knowingly when the order came for them to strip? The Japanese man had been stripped stark naked? Surely they would not do that to a WHITE women? Would they? The thought of having to slowly strip naked in front of the sea of smiling Asian faces was almost to humiliating to describe. But, each woman admitted, it was also strangely stimulating.... Sally was thrilled as she imagined herself slowly stripping, garment by garment, in front of the cheering crowd, while the bare chested and hooded executioner impatiently tapped the spanking rod against his beefy hand. Sally imagined the same forbidden and electric thrill she had experienced when she had slowly stripped in the window, magnified by a million by their sheer size of her audience. As she stripped, Sally knew, she would become the most desired woman on the island. Every man in the crowd would be fantasizing about what it would be like to fondle her, to probe her, to take her. The lustful crowd wouldn't look away politely, like the wimpy and overly polite Army Officers she was forced to date. They would want her in the worst way, and Sally would be powerless to shield herself from their searing gaze. All of her most delicate feminine secrets, the secrets society forced her to conceal, would be revealed for everyone to see.... Sally blushed as she imagined the carnival like atmosphere that would accompany her court ordered striptease. Punishments in the square were public entertainment, and Sally squirmed in discomfort as she imagined the vendors hawking food and even souvenir photos of her as she slowly disrobed in front of the laughing, jeering throng. Sally would be helpless to protect herself from the lewd appraisals of her anatomy. Sally knew the Asian women would be delighted to see a "proud American strumpet" wiggle under the lash. Their catty chatter would burn in Sally's ears.... Each of the young women initially expressed confidence that they would be able to take their beating with more dignity than Japanese man had. They would not kick and wiggle, plead and squirm, as the rod lashed THEIR bare fannies! But by the end of the discussion each of the women reluctantly admitted that they had never experience corporal punishment, and in all likelihood their response would be even more shameful than the strong young man who had been reduced to pitiful and abject tears. When Sally had told her mother about the conversations she had with her friends, her mother admitted that she too had been troubled by similar feelings as she had watched the punishment. Mother and daughter had grown closer that day as they both admitted their shameful desires to each other. The two women made a secret pledge to each other that if the opportunity ever presented itself, each would make sure that the other did not back out. Of course when they made the pledge they were confident the day would never come. As the wife and daughter of a General, both women were treated like Goddesses. Any native man who even looked at them in an inappropriate way would face the harshest consequences, as the Japanese servant found out to his dismay. The two women were locked away, safe and unreachable, utterly secure...and hopelessly frustrated. "It seems that your servant was actually a Japanese spy, planted in your home to learn as much as he could about the islands defenses," the military officer said. "He was, I'm sorry to say, very successful, and the Japanese plan on putting him in charge of the capital when they take control." "In charge?" the General's wife said with surprise. "But he's a houseboy! I remember ordering him to shovel out the stables, and wash my car!" "He is a General now, M'am, and all reports indicate that he is very much in charge," the military man said gravely. "A copy of his occupation plans were recently intercepted, and it seems he has very special plans for you. Your estate is to be confiscated and is to be placed at the disposal of the Japanese Army. Special arrest warrants have already been issued for a number of the American women." "Arrested!" the General's wife thundered. "On what charges?" "Imperialism, exploitation of the workers, oppression of the people...that sort of thing," the uniformed officer replied. "The Japanese find it useful to portray themselves as 'liberators' at the start of an occupation and to focus the wrath of the people on their so-called 'colonial masters.' "I have a list of the women they plan to arrest with me," the Army Officer said, taking a paper out of his briefcase. "Are...our names on the list, Captain?" the General's wife asked anxiously. "Your names are the first two," the military man replied soberly. Sally impatiently grabbed the list out of the startled Captain's hands. Sally's name was number one, her Mother's name was number two, and her other friends rounded out the top 10.... The officer paused and reclaimed the paper before speaking. "Beautiful white women such as yourselves are used as pawns by the Japanese. Your humiliation earns them the loyalty of the locals. By transforming you into the true enemy, and by encouraging the people to relish your debasement, they are able to deflect criticism from their own brutal regime." "Did you say 'humiliation'?" Sally asked eagerly. "What exactly would they do to humiliate us?" "I would rather not say, Miss," the officer replied nervously. "It simply isn't decent." "Captain, you can hardly expect my daughter and I to act if you refuse to share all of your information with us. And I'm sure my husband, the General, would be very distressed if his wife and daughter decided to stay because you withheld vital intelligence." "Uh...I just thought...I mean, ladies, this is very difficult to describe...," the Captain stammered. "I suggest you just get on with it, Captain," the General's wife replied tartly. "My daughter and I are not made of glass, and I can assure you that anything less than total frankness will endanger our lives and your career." "The plans call for you to be stripped and punished in the town square," the Captain replied. It will be a public holiday, with bands, and music, and free food for the people. I can assure that you when the Japanese have committed these atrocities in the past, the crowds have been enormous, and the mood quite celebratory." "Certainly they couldn't be interested in stripping an old woman like me!" the General's wife said. "My daughter and her friends are in their twenties, but I'm almost 39!" "But you have a quite lovely face and figure, if you don't mind my saying so, Madam, and I can assure you that both you and your daughter's friends will be the first to be...disciplined," the Captain replied. "I can assure you that you will be stripped, and...punished in the town square...just as he was stripped and punished." "When you say 'just as,' what exactly do you mean?" Sally asked, her voice quivering with excitement. "I mean, when you say, 'stripped,' you mean that we will be stripped to our undergarments?" "I'm afraid not, Miss," the Captain said gravely. The plans state most emphatically that you are to be stripped absolutely and completely naked. You and your friends will be paraded through the capital with a marching band heralding the procession. You will be absolutely naked, and your hands will be cuffed behind your backs. The crowds will line the streets, and call out the most dreadful things as you march past." "That's preposterous," the General's wife said. "The people of the city would never stand for such an outrage. My servants would rush to my defense!" "I wouldn't be so sure of that, my lady," the Captain replied. "We have word that a number of your servants have been charged with making sure that you have no last minute escape routes. That is why it is essential that you leave with me now. Otherwise, you'll be trapped." "Do the plans say what will happen to us after the paddlings?" the General's wife asked. "Regrettably, yes," the Captain said. "As I said, the house we are sitting in now will be seized for military use, and you and your daughter's friends will live here." "That doesn't sound so bad," the General's wife said. "I have not made myself clear. It will be converted into an...entertainment center. In the first few weeks you will entertain the officers, and then the enlisted men. But within the month it is to be opened to the general public, as a public house." "You mean a BROTHEL?" Sally said. "They are going to make us all work as PROSTITUTES?" "Yes, I'm afraid so," the Captain replied. "Such institutions are very popular in colonial countries the Japanese 'liberate.'" "Most of the local men have never had a chance to sleep with a beautiful and well educated white woman, and as you can imagine there is a great deal of pent up demand. The Japanese keep the prices low, and work the girls hard, to ensure that every man in town who wishes to has a chance...'in the saddle,' as they say." Sally looked nervously at the Philippine butler who was pretending to dust on the other side of the room. The faint smile on his lips and the bulge in his pants demonstrated exactly how 'pent up' the demand really was. "I would like to thank you for your time, Captain, but my daughter and I will not be scared away by salacious rumors," the General's wife replied. "It would be defeatist to flee now, and I can assure you that we intend to stay until the last possible moment". "But this is the last possible moment, M'am," the Captain said. "The General wants you and your daughter evacuated immediately!" "Thank you for your time, Captain," she replied as she turned to leave the room. "But if you excuse me, I have to prepare for my afternoon massage." When the officer left, Sally immediately flew to the telephone to call her friends. Most of them were already packed, but she had no doubt that when they heard the intelligence reports about what awaited them, her more daring friends would stay. Sally smiled. The other night she had overhead two native waiters speculating about whether her lovely friend, Linda, was a natural blonde. Within the week, every man on the Island would know... The General's wife went to the window and listened to the faint sound of shells exploding in the distance. She would go to the salon, for her massage, facial, haircut, manicure, and pedicure. The enemy would be here shortly, and she wanted to look her best. The General's wife smiled as she ran her hand gently across her breasts. At long last she would have something to write about in her diary....