Michael T Pon

The Strongbox Michael T Pon

The U. S. Marines of today's world are not only dispatched to fight our enemies, but to win the hearts and minds of the populations oppressed by our enemies. This was not true of the U. S. Marines during the occupation of the Dominican Republic from 1916 to 1924. They were there to collect a debt. The Strongbox reflects life in the Dominican Republic during the horrors of the Trujillo regime that followed the occupation. Terrified, Papito dares plague and starvation in an abandoned village to escape. Many follow, living simple lives unnoticed by the regime until they are duped by one of their own. "Finally, it was in Moca that it happened. Everything fell to pieces. We had never seen a train. We waited at the station all morning, and finally it came - the iron horse. It was magnificent. When it stopped, steam filled the air. A yanqui marine walked toward us, waving us aside like so much filth. My brother's face changed from joy to hate. Go to the devil! he yelled, his fist landing on the yanqui's jaw, knocking him backwards into the crowd. La Guardia descended on my brother with rifle butts. The yanqui ordered his arms held behind his back. He was limp and bloody when the steam cleared. Then they threw him onto the train he so much wanted to see. That is when I jumped on them, trying to release him, to get the crowd to help. But no one helped. I was thrown into the boxcar with my brother, hogtied, with an armed guard, a dominicano who would not let us go."