Above the water are beautiful tropical islands. Below the water, a graveyard now decorated with incredible coral.
Nick flew torpedo planes during WWII. He cannot forget the Japanese captain (JC) with whom he made eye contact just before his torpedo slammed into the ship, killing JC. He returns to Truk in 1985 to dive on wrecks strewn around the Pacific island.
Junichi’s father served on a ship in Truk. He survived the war, but his health was broken. He asks Junichi to visit Truk.
Nick and Junichi end up on the same live-aboard dive boat. Junichi flies into a rage that people spend their vacations diving on the wrecks of Japan’s war losses. He blames Nick.
Both men come to realize that they buried their emotions to survive the war, but now, holding onto the past comes at the expense of their future. At the end are long philosophical discourses about these realizations.
Also of interest, Junichi’s wife’s experience as a child orphaned by the Tokyo fire bombings. The atomic bomb victims received all the attention while the 120,000 orphaned children suffered greatly.