Small Ship, Big War - The Voyages of the Hibiki

[tocaff]

I think that CF not only has spun a riveting yarn, but has also managed to play an excellent game as the Japanese to be in the current position (that I suspect) as '45 rolls in.

[BrucePowers]

We have been enjoying the AAR so much we tend to forget about the game.

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: tocaff

I think that CF not only has spun a riveting yarn, but has also managed to play an excellent game as the Japanese to be in the current position (that I suspect) as '45 rolls in.

I don't talk about the game as a game much in this rather strange AAR but I will break that rule long enough to make one observation, mostly because it's a fact I'm rather proud of. I don't imagine there have been a lot of WitP PBEMs where this is the case: as of January 1, 1945 I was still not able to use kamikazes.

That said, I am currently discovering what Pzb and others have discovered before me: no matter how well the Japanese player does in the first three years of the war, 1945 is going to suck.

[Cuttlefish]

November 18, 1944

Location: Tokyo
Course: None
Attached to: Disbanded in port
Mission: None
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: None

---

Nakagawa goes to the Captain Ishii’s cabin to present him with his diagnosis. The x-rays he succeeded in taking left little doubt as to what was ailing his captain, though Nakagawa confirmed his suspicions with friends in the medical field.

While by all rights he ought to be relieved Ishii does not at first take the news especially well.

“No drinking!” he exclaims.

Nakagawa shakes his head. “No alcohol at all, sir,” he says. “You should also avoid strong, hot tea. I know it may be difficult to find but you should instead drink as much milk as possible. At the very least have a glass before going to bed.”

“Milk is for babies!” says the captain.

“It is also for naval captains with a perforating ulcer,” says Nakagawa firmly. “And I am serious about taking two weeks leave, Captain. You need to get away from this ship and relax as much as possible.”

“Two weeks,” mutters Ishii, shaking his head. “That is not possible.”

“The captain is of course free to ignore my recommendations,” says Nakagawa formally. “But sir, if you do I promise you that you will end up in the hospital within a month. If you do as I suggest there is a good chance you might remain on your feet and in command until the end of the war.”

In the end Captain Ishii sees that he has no choice and agrees. Nakagawa gives him other advice to follow, including a diet of bland, mushy food and elevating his torso slightly when he sleeps.

“If this doesn’t work, sir,” Nakagawa concludes, “the only real treatment is to remove the ulcer surgically. That procedure frequently has complications, so let us try to avoid it.”

“By all means!” says Ishii. He sighs. “Thank you, Lieutenant, for your help and your discretion.” He shakes his head ruefully. “No matter how much of a warrior one is there is always one foe that beats you in the end, Nakagawa. Old age.”

“You are not an old man yet, Captain,” he says. Ishii is 45 years old.

“No?” says Ishii. “It feels like it, some days.”

[Feinder]

I'm curious what the availability of milk would be...?
 
Wasn't powdered milk the norm (for civilian and military alike) in the US?
 
And would they drink cow's milk (given their scarcity in Japan), or goat or what?  Given that much of the protein in Japanese diet is from fish and soy?
 
Just wondering.
 
-F-

[Mynok]

Milk is awful for ulcers. Most ulcers are caused by a bacteria which cannot abide capsicum. Hot peppers is what he needs.

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: Mynok

Milk is awful for ulcers. Most ulcers are caused by a bacteria which cannot abide capsicum. Hot peppers is what he needs.

The bacterial origin of ulcers wasn't discovered until long after World War II, sadly for Captain Ishii. Milk was a standard prescription back then.

ORIGINAL: Feinder

And would they drink cow's milk (given their scarcity in Japan), or goat or what? Given that much of the protein in Japanese diet is from fish and soy?

I think Nakagawa and Ishii are almost certainly talking about goat's milk; you are correct, cow's milk would be almost impossible to get.

[Feinder]

The assumption of milk for ulcer treatment is because it's a base which would theoretically counter the alkaline of stomach acid.  As indicated, ulcers are bacterial in nature; and also pointed out, this wasn't known in the 1940s.
 
-F-

[Shark7]

With all the stress he is under, it is no surprise.

The milk will do a little to reduce the burning and discomfort of the acid, but not much for the actual problem.

And no, Pepto Bismol won't work either. [:D]

In these modern times, ulcers can be relatively easily treated with a regimen of anti-biotics.

[goodboyladdie]

ORIGINAL: Feinder

The assumption of milk for ulcer treatment is because it's a base which would theoretically counter the alkaline of stomach acid.  As indicated, ulcers are bacterial in nature; and also pointed out, this wasn't known in the 1940s.

-F-

Not all ulcers are caused by bacteria. I have had them and there is no bacteria present. Mine are purely stress related and are treated by reducing the amount of stomach acid I produce through diet and medication.

[kaleun]

Second what Goodboyladdie says.
Not all ulcers are caused by bacteria. Stress related ulcers respond to a regime of bland diet (Even including milk) and antacids. Nowadays non Helicobacter related ulcers are treated with H2 Histamine receptor blockers (Like Cimetidine) or Proton pump blockers (like Nexium)
Nakagawa's regime would work if Ishii would follow it.

[Shark7]

ORIGINAL: kaleun

Second what Goodboyladdie says.
Not all ulcers are caused by bacteria. Stress related ulcers respond to a regime of bland diet (Even including milk) and antacids. Nowadays non Helicobacter related ulcers are treated with H2 Histamine receptor blockers (Like Cimetidine) or Proton pump blockers (like Nexium)
Nakagawa's regime would work if Ishii would follow it.

I've had the non-bacterial ulcers as well, but a key componant to treating them is not only reducing the acid, you really need to reduce the stress...and Ishii is not going to do that.

when I did get the ulcer, I was put on an acid reducer and encouraged to take a vacation and relax, which I did.

For anyone who hasn't had an ucler, the pain can be quite bad at times, and eating anything spicy or greasy just makes it worse.

[ChezDaJez]

ORIGINAL: goodboyladdie

ORIGINAL: Feinder

The assumption of milk for ulcer treatment is because it's a base which would theoretically counter the alkaline of stomach acid.  As indicated, ulcers are bacterial in nature; and also pointed out, this wasn't known in the 1940s.

-F-

Not all ulcers are caused by bacteria. I have had them and there is no bacteria present. Mine are purely stress related and are treated by reducing the amount of stomach acid I produce through diet and medication.

Actually they are still caused by bacteria. What stress does is weaken your immune system. That then allows the bacteria to begin growing and ultimately produce an ulcer. The pain is caused by gastric acids coming into contact with tissues that weren't designed to hold that type of fluid. That's where milk and antacids come in. Milk helps relieve the pain of ulcer perforation by reducing the acidity. It does not treat the ulcer itself. Antibiotics are still the treatment of choice for all types of ulcers including stress related.

Chez

[Feinder]

Kinda like a little gnome in your tummy using his pick-axe to try to escape.

-F-

[Cuttlefish]

November 19, 1944

Location: Tokyo
Course: None
Attached to: Disbanded in port
Mission: None
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: None

---

It is nighttime. In the narrow machine space where they sling their hammocks five members of the crew are pursuing various activities before turning in. Shiro, as usual, is sitting on a crate, his back against a bulkhead, carving something from a small piece of wood. Oizuma is changing the water in Benzaiten’s terrarium. Riku and Shoji are sitting cross-legged and playing cards while Yoshitake watches from his hammock and offers occasional unnecessary advice.

Shiro stops carving and sets aside both wood and knife. With his hand he carefully sweeps up stray wood shavings that have dropped to the deck,

“What do you guys think you’ll do after the war?” he asks the other four. There is a pause. It is a question none of them has asked in some time. Early in the war it was a favorite topic of conversation among the men but sometime in the last year it simply stopped being discussed. Somewhere along the line their glorious youthful inability to really believe in the possibility of their own deaths came to an end. It was replaced, slowly, by doubts about whether or not they would survive and then by a growing feeling of fatalism and doom.

Riku folds his cards. Perhaps he discerns that Shiro has intentionally asked this question to get them thinking about living again and to boost their spirits, because he speaks before any of the others has a chance to inject a negative comment.

“I think I will go into business,” he says. “Perhaps some kind of import/export business.”

“You would be good at it,” says Oizuma. Riku’s ability to acquire money is still legend among the crew, despite the fact that he has played things straight for some time now. “You’ll be rich in no time.”

“It isn’t about getting rich,” says Riku. This inspires chuckles from some of the others. “No, really!” he says. “I would not complain about it – I will have six children to feed, remember! – but things in Japan must change after the war, whatever happens. Look at this war we are fighting. We are trying to fight a modern war with an economy that still has one foot in the last century. It is very hard to do. I really think that if Japan is to take her place among the leading nations of the world it must be done financially.”

“I will have to see that we remain in touch,” says Yoshitake. “That way I will never lack for someone to turn to when I need money! Now me, I would like to be an inventor. I like tinkering with engines and things.”

“Ah, a partnership!” says Shoji. “Ariga can finance Yoshitake’s workshop.”

“Of course,” says Riku. “In exchange for a fair share of the profits, naturally.”

“What, eighty percent?” asks Oizuma.

“I would not be greedy,” says Riku modestly. “Seventy percent would be enough.” There is general laughter.

“What about you, Snake Man?” says Yoshitake. “Do you still want to be a veterinarian?”

“A biologist,” says Oizuma. “I think I will return to school for a degree in biology. After that we will see what happens.” Everyone looks at Shoji, who shrugs.

“I don’t really know,” he says. “I want to get married and have a family. Maybe I will join my parents in running the shop.” The others know his parents run a small noodle shop.

“And you, Shiro?” asks Riku.

“I will return to Tendo and become a carpenter,” says Shiro. “I would like to make furniture. It would be pleasant to make beautiful things. And who knows, maybe I really will try to write that book.”

The conversation continues for a while and eventually drifts to other topics before the men turn in. Still, it has been pleasant for them to imagine for a while that there might be a future beyond the war. It is sometimes easy to forget that possibility.

[Feinder]

Maybe Riku and Yoshitake will suggest that the Mitsubishi factories be retooled from making Zeros to compact automobiles.  Sounds like a CEO and Chief Engineer...
 
[:D]
 
-F-

[kaleun]

[;)]

[bradfordkay]

I had a Plymouth Colt (Mitsubishi Mirage) some years back... I used to tell people that it was a direct descendant of the Zero fighter. 

[vettim89]

ORIGINAL: bradfordkay

I had a Plymouth Colt (Mitsubishi Mirage) some years back... I used to tell people that it was a direct descendant of the Zero fighter. 

I had a Plymouth Champ (same car I think). Best car I ever owned. Sucker got 50 MPG on the highway - no lie!

[DW]

I had a Datsun 240Z when I was a kid.

I did some reading up on it at the time, I discovered that Datsun was just another name for Nissian.

The article said that Nissian had changed the name because they thought the U.S. might be bitter because of the tanks and other assorted military equipment they had built during the war.

I thought of Japanese tanks and thought to myself... Yea...  It's a good thing you changed your name.  But, not because Americans are bitter, but because they'd think your stuff was junk!  [:)]

It was a good car though.  It screamed.