Heavy as a Mountain

A WWII Japanese airman in the two greatest battles fought on Australian soil, shamed by his capture, faces a dilemma – uphold the honour of his family or risk the life of his young wife?

When a young Japanese fighter pilot is shot down and captured in the 1942 Darwin bombing, he knows in his heart he should be dead. Duty is heavy as a mountain, death as light as a feather. That’s the Military Code and it means fight to the death, never surrender or you’ll bring a bitter shame on yourself and family.

He conceals his true name to protect his family. Suicide is a possibility, but he’s drawn away from his military indoctrination by experiences with ordinary Australians, drawn towards living out his own individuality.

But the young bride he left behind had vowed she would kill herself if he died. He could write to tell her he lives, but would that reveal his cowardice, shame his family?

And must he sacrifice his individuality to join the growing number of Japanese prisoners in their ferocious plans for a murderous and suicidal breakout?

A tale of the Australian WWII experience, seen through the eyes of this deeply troubled man.

About the Author

Vincent Connolly was born in Narrabri, NSW in 1939, the youngest of six children. The family moved to Sydney during the war and he grew up in Randwick, his education completed with a master’s degree in Commerce from UNSW.

He worked in computer systems development from the earliest days of commercial computing, that career taking him to large organisations in Sydney, Canberra and London, working in the Statistical, Telecommunications, Education and Central Banking fields.

Since a change of direction twenty years ago, he has worked in the Australian film industry, first in Financial Control for production and distribution group Arena Film, then for the last twelve years on script editing and research for Arenamedia, with his son, award-winning film maker Robert Connolly.

Widowed in 2008, he has three children and seven grandchildren.