War and Remembrance

In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Captain Victor 'Pug' Henry finds himself in command of a cruiser, the USS Northampton. His son Warren is a naval aviator on the USS Enterprise and son Byron continues his service on a submarine, the USS Swordfish. Pug's wife Rhoda continues her affair with Palmer Kirby and Byron's wife Natalie has a difficult decision to make when a German Foreign Office official suggests that she and her uncle Aaron Jastrow stay in Italy rather than travel to Palestine. Pamela Tudsbury and her father start a world tour where he will report for the BBC from the far reaches of the British Empire. She is quick to let Pug know that they will also be stopping in Hawaii.

It's early 1942 and Pug Henry is still in command of the USS Northampton. Pamela Tudsbury and her father find themselves in Singapore. The local administration, both civil and military, believes the island outpost to be impregnable but a journalist friend convinces them otherwise. Nathalie Henry and her uncle Aaron decided to stay in Italy. They have been hoping to get exit visas allowing them to travel to Switzerland but these have consistently been delayed. What they do not know is that Aaron's onetime student, now a German diplomat in Italy, has been instructed to find a way to place Italian Jews into Nazi hands. Nathalie's friend and onetime fiancé Leslie Slote is now assigned to the US Legation in Bern and he comes into information on the German atrocities taking place in Eastern Europe. Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, visits Auschwitz and is given a demonstration of its capabilities.

The Henrys have a family reunion of sorts when Pug and Byron join Warren and Janice to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They are joined by Pamela Tudsbury and her father who managed to leave Singapore before it fell to the Japanese. Byron applies for a transfer to the Atlantic submarine force after he learns that his wife Natalie and her uncle Aaron Jastrow were not evacuated from Italy with other Americans. Pug and Warren soon depart on their respective ships headed for the Battle of Midway. Pug has a relatively minor contribution compared to son Warren who flies several successful sorties. Natalie and her uncle have a plan to escape the clutches of the Germans. Rhoda Henry travels to Los Angeles to see daughter Madeline and son Byron who have just arrived. She also sees Pamela Tudsbury who has something to tell her.