Bonds of War

Jesse Van Twelves kept his "rendezvous with destiny" during the savage, furious, sea battle for Guadalcanal in November, 1942. Still plagued by the demons of his war, Jesse is tormented by the knowledge that out of seven hundred men aboard his ship, the USS Juneau, he is one of ten to have survived the instantaneous destruction of his ship and the most brutal, intense suffering imaginable. Consequently, he has failed his only son, Donnie, himself hounded by the dark shadows of the Vietnam conflict. Father and son, in conflict, can't escape their feelings of defeat, failure and guilt. Jesse revisits the heartland, Waterloo, Iowa, for a re-dedication ceremony. There, via a flashback, he gives the present the slip and revists the past. He returns to the fullness, spontaneity and goodness of beginning and learns some important truths about himself, his buddies, the fallen, and above all, his son, Donnie.