East, Winds Raining

It's Pearl Harbor Day in Odyssey, and Bart Rathbone rudely tells a Japanese American salesman named David Saburo to keep quiet about his father being at Pearl Harbor. Meanwhile, at the town war memorial, Connie finds her great uncle Joe Finneman lost in old memories, and he tells her what happened to him on December 7, 1941. Joe's best friend, Sam Saburo, a Japanese American translator in Honolulu, saw the warning signs everywhere - coded messages, burning papers at the embassy, a vanished aircraft carrier - but nobody in charge would listen. Then Sam disappears, and Joe's search earns him a bullet graze on a lonely beach before he finds his friend tied up in a cellar, holding proof that the attack comes that very day. The two race to sound the alarm, but the planes roar overhead first... and Sam drives straight into the attack to help, never to return. Connie assumes Joe must hate the Japanese - but Sam was Japanese, and one of the bravest men Joe ever knew. Just then the stranger from Bart's store steps forward: he is David, Sam's own son, and Joe joyfully welcomes him home while a red-faced Bart slinks back to his shop.

Found on At Home and Abroad Album 12 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0169 Hold Up! When a nervous stranger pulls a gun at closing time, Whit's End becomes the stage for a battle of wits - and a debate about whether people are really good at heart.

0170 A Test for Robyn A shortcut-loving Robyn learns the hard way that "cramming Thursday night" is no match for a big history test - or for her own conscience.

1 of 2 0171 The Cross of Cortes When a mysterious map from an old missionary friend draws Whit and Eugene to Mexico, their fact-finding trip turns into a treasure hunt shadowed by a dangerous rival.

2 of 2 0172 The Cross of Cortes A hunt for a legendary golden cross deep in a cave-riddled Mexican mountain turns treacherous when Whit, Eugene, and Dan discover they can't be sure who's really on their side.

0173 A Thanksgiving Carol When Eugene claims God has nothing to do with modern Thanksgiving, Whit and the gang set out to prove what the "thanks" is really about - by staging their own classic holiday tale on Kids Radio.

0174 Where's Your Daddy? A struggling mother and her two children, new to Odyssey and hiding a painful secret, find unexpected kindness at Whit's End as Christmas approaches.

0175 East, Winds Raining On Pearl Harbor Day, old Joe Finneman finally tells his great-niece what he saw in Honolulu on December 7, 1941 - and why his best friend, a Japanese American codebreaker, is the reason he can't hate anyone for that day.

1 of 2 0176 The Star A trip through the Imagination Station's new Christmas adventure separates Connie and Eugene in the ancient world, where each finds an unexpected guide on the road to the Christ child - and to King Herod's Jerusalem.

2 of 2 0177 The Star While Connie helps care for a very special newborn in Bethlehem, Eugene arrives in Jerusalem with three star-following magi - and their search for a newborn king draws the dangerous attention of King Herod.

0178 Room Mates When a college fumigation leaves Eugene homeless for a week, his distant cousin Bernard takes him in - and two stubborn know-it-alls discover just how hard sharing a house and a window-washing job can be.

0179 You Gotta Be Wise When a shock-rock cassette by local bad boy Rodney Rathbone sweeps through Odyssey, newspaper editor Dale Jacobs finds the battle over its lyrics landing squarely in his own daughter's bedroom.

0180 Isaac the Pure After a round of after-school jokes leaves him feeling dirty inside, a boy sets out to make himself completely pure - no matter what it costs him.

0181 It Takes Integrity When a cynical schemer runs unopposed for student body president, an idealistic school reporter enters the race to prove that integrity still matters in politics.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 13 more roles

1 featured character

Newscaster Corey Burton

12 supporting roles

Joe Finneman Parley Baer Joe Finneman Corey Burton Bill (a) Phil Lollar Kevin (a) Walker Edmiston Larry (a) Scott Rummel Private George Elliot Scott Rummel Mr. Fuji Actor Unknown John Lockard Kei Hayashi Naval Station Operator Lynn Luttrell Ensign Roberts Scott Rummel David Saburo Corey Burton Sam Saburo Kei Hayashi

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Paul McCusker Writer Phil Lollar Director · Producer Bob Luttrell Sound Designer · Producer Chuck Bolte Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

On Pearl Harbor Day, a distributor named David Saburo visits Rathbone's Electric Palace to take Bart Rathbone's order. When Bart learns that David is a Japanese American whose father was at Pearl Harbor, he bluntly warns him to keep quiet about it, insisting that a man with Japanese blood has no business sounding proud of that terrible day. David tries to explain, but Bart brushes him off and points him toward the war memorial at McAlister Park to look at the names of the men Odyssey lost.

At that same memorial, Connie finds her great uncle, Joe Finneman, lost in old memories. At her urging, he tells her what happened to him on December 7, 1941. As a young man, Joe worked as a courier for the government offices in Honolulu, and his best friend was Sam Saburo, a Japanese American translator with Naval Intelligence. Sam had grown convinced that Japan was about to attack. He had seen the clues pile up - intercepted messages like "East winds, raining" and "Climb Mount Niitaka," burning papers at the Japanese embassy, and a vanished aircraft carrier called the Akagi - but nobody in charge would listen, and Joe teased him for being obsessed.

Then, on the night of December 6, Sam disappears. Joe traces his suspicions to Fuji's all-night coffee shop, follows Fuji and a stranger to a lonely beach, and gets a bullet graze across his head for his trouble. By dawn Joe believes Sam was right. He watches soldiers at a radar station shrug off a swarm of blips on their screen, then finds Sam tied up in Fuji's cellar. Sam has decoded a warning that Japan will attack that very day. The two friends race for Pearl Harbor to sound the alarm, but the first wave of Japanese planes roars overhead before they arrive. While Joe collapses in despair by the roadside, Sam drives on into the attack to help - and never comes back.

Connie assumes Joe must hate the Japanese, but he gently corrects her; Sam was Japanese, and one of the bravest, best men he ever knew. Just then the stranger from Bart's store steps forward. He has overheard everything, and he reveals that he is Davey - Sam Saburo's son. Joe joyfully welcomes him and invites him home to swap family stories, while a red-faced Bart slinks back to his shop, wondering if he will ever learn.