THE GIRL WITH THE WHITE FLAG ...

THE GIRL WITH THE WHITE FLAG by Tomiko Higa, translated from the Japanese by Dorothy Britton (Kodansha: $8; 129 pp., illustrated). The photograph of a ragged little Okinawan girl carrying a white flag to “surrender” to American troops became one of the most celebrated images of the war in the Pacific. Tomiko Higa was that little girl. Separated from her family during the American invasion, the 7-year-old Higa managed to survive several days on her own. Although intended for juvenile readers, her recollections of fear and privation will also move adults. Amid the celebrations marking the end of World War II, her unaffected a memoir serves as a reminder that in any war, “non-combatants” suffer grievously.