W.E.B. Griffin - The Corps VII - Behind the Lines

"Would you explain that?"

"They're killing people they find with arms, or trying to help us; but not even the Japs are going to start killing people over a book of matches. They're still trying to push that 'Greater Asian Co-prosperity Sphere' business. They would lose face doing something brutal over matchbooks."

"Charley Willoughby, General," Pickering said, "seemed to be fas-cinated with Captain Weston's views about the Japanese philosophy of occupation. And with the principles General Fertig has laid out for his psychological-warfare operations."

"Did he really?" MacArthur said impatiently.

"Yes, Sir," Colonel Stecker said. "I had the feeling that General Fertig was setting that sort of thing up the way General Willoughby would himself."

"Fascinating," MacArthur said. "I will discuss that with him." He turned to Weston.

"And you don't think, Captain, that putting my name on it was going a bit too far? Instead of, for example, the American flag, or crossed Filipino and American flags, something on that order?"

"No, Sir. Without the name MacArthur, all they'd be is matches."

"You see, Douglas?" his wife said. "I told you."

"Well, I don't mind being proven wrong by an expert," MacArthur said.

"Sir, could I ask you for a favor?" Weston asked. "Could I ask you to autograph one of these for me?"

"You would like my autograph, Captain?"

"Yes, Sir. If you would please, Sir."

"Not on a matchbook, Captain," MacArthur said. "But I'll tell you what I will do. If General Pickering will bring you to my office at, say, oh nine hun-dred tomorrow, I will be happy to give you my autograph. It will be affixed to a document awarding you the Silver Star medal for conspicuous gallantry in action."

"Yes, Sir."

If a medal is well deserved, Fleming Pickering decided, the circumstances surrounding its award are not really important. And it is probably very cynical of me to suspect that the notion to decorate you for your valor come shortly after you told El Supremo the Filipinos regard him as a god.

"Douglas, what time did you order dinner?"

"Right now, my love," he said. "Captain Weston, would you do Mrs. MacArthur the honor of taking her in to dinner?"

[SIX]

Office of the Director

Office of Strategic Services

National Institutes of Health Building

Washington, D.C.

0900 Hours 8 January 1943

"I didn't know if you would want to see this or not," L. Stanford Morrissette said, laying a long sheet of teletypewriter paper on the desk of OSS Director William J. Donovan.

"What is it?"

"A synopsis of Waterson's debriefing of the officer who came out of the Philippines on the submarine."

"Why did you think I wouldn't want to see it?"

"There's nothing new in it. All it does is confirm what Lieutenant McCoy has been reporting all along. And McCoy's reports, which you've seen, have much more detail."

Donovan shrugged and pulled the long sheet of teletypewriter paper across the green blotter of his desk and began to read it.

T O P S E C R E T

URGENT URGENT

BRISBANE NUMBER 138

1500GREENWICH7JAN43

FROM CHIEF OSS STATION

BRISBANE AUSTRALIA

TO DIRECTOR OSS

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH BLDG

WASHINGTON DC

SUBJECT OPERATION WINDMILL

RE YOUR MESSAGE FROM MORRISSETTE FOR HAND DELIVERY TO GEN MACARTHUR: UNDERSIGNED ATTEMPTED TO DELIVER SAME TO GEN MACARTHUR. WAS ADVISED BY COL SIDNEY HUFF, AIDE DE

CAMP, THAT SUPREME COMMANDERS BUSY SCHEDULE PRECLUDED RECEIVING ME. GAVE MESSAGE TO HUFF. HUFF SUBSEQUENTLY TELEPHONED TO STATE QUOTE ONLY SPECIAL COMMUNICATIONS CHANNEL WITH WHICH GEN MACARTHUR IS FAMILIAR IS CONTROLLED BY BRIG GEN FLEMING PICKERING USMC AND ANY REQUESTS FOR ITS USE SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO HIM ENDQUOTE. UNDERSIGNED THEN ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT BRIG GEN PICKERING AND WAS INFORMED THAT HE WAS NOT PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN BRISBANE. REQUESTED

THAT HE CONTACT ME ON RETURN. HE HAS NOT YET DONE SO. SUBSEQUENTLY LEARNED THAT HE WAS ON ESPIRITU SANTO ISLAND DIRECTING OPERATION WINDMILL.

UNDERSIGNED WAS CONTACTED 1600 6JAN43 BY COL JACK NMI STECKER USMC WHO STATED BRIG GEN PICKERING HAD RETURNED TO BRISBANE BUT THAT HIS BUSY SCHEDULE PRECLUDED HIS MEETING WITH ME. HE ALSO STATED THAT PICKERING HAD BROUGHT WITH HIM CAPT JAMES B. WESTON, USMC, WHO HAD BEEN SERVING AS G-S US FORCES IN PHILIPPINES AND THAT CAPTAIN WESTON COULD BE MADE

AVAILABLE FOR OSS DEBRIEFING 0800 HOURS 7JAN43

SYNOPSIS OF DEBRIEFING OF CAPTAIN JAMES B. WESTON, USMC, BY UNDERSIGNED 1005-1240 7JAN43 FOLLOWS:

(A) WESTON IS MARINE AVIATOR CAUGHT IN PHILIPPINES AT OUTBREAK OF WAR AND ATTACHED 4TH MARINES ON CORREGIDOR. WHILE ON A SUPPLY MISSION ON BATAAN PENINSULA, LUZON, WITH SGT PERCY LEWIS EVERLY USMC ON 1APR42 THEY FOUND THEMSELVES BEHIND ENEMY LINES. UNABLE TO RETURN TO CORREGIDOR, THEY DECIDED TO ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE TO AUSTRALIA BY SMALL BOAT.

ON 80CT42, THEY LANDED AT GINGOOG BAY, MISAMIS-ORIENTAL PROVINCE, ISLAND OF MINDANAO, HAVING BEEN JOINED ENROUTE BY TWELVE OTHER US MILITARY AND NAVY PERSONNEL SEPARATED FROM THEIR UNITS. ON LANDING THEY FOUND NAILED TO TELEPHONE POLE PROCLAMATION ISSUED BY BRIG GENERAL WENDELL FERTIG ANNOUNCING HIS ASSUMPTION OF COMMAND OF ALL US FORCES IN PHILIPPINES.

ON 110CT42 CONTACT WAS MADE WITH FERTIG NEAR M0NKAY0, DAVAO-ORIENTAL PROVINCE. FERTIG INFORMED WESTON THAT HE WAS LTCOL CORPS OF ENGINEERS, RESERVE, AND THAT HE

HAD DECLARED HIS RANK TO BE BRIG GEN IN BELIEF THIS WAS NECESSARY TO COMMAND RESPECT OF FILIPINO MILITARY AND CIVILIANS. AT THIS POINT WESTON PLACED HIMSELF AND HIS MEN

UNDER FERTIG'S COMMAND. FERTIG APPOINTED WESTON CAPT AND EVERLY 2ND LT IN USFIP. WESTON STATED THAT IT IS FERTIG'S POLICY TO RAISE US OFFICERS WHO PLACE THEMSELVES UNDER HIS COMMAND AT LEAST ONE RANK IN USFIP, AND TO COMMISSION US NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICERS IN USFIP. SIMULTANEOUSLY WESTON WAS NAMED G-2 USFIP AND EVERLY HIS DEPUTY.

DESPITE CRITICAL SHORTAGES OF ALL SUPPLIES AND WEAPONS ACTION AGAINST JAPANESE COMMENCED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. SHORTAGE OF WEAPONRY SUCH THAT AMMUNITION FOR US.30-06 ENFIELD RIFLES LOCALLY MANUFACTURED USING BRASS CURTAIN RODS FOR BULLETS, LOCALLY MANUFACTURED BLACK POWDER, AND MATCHHEADS FOR PRIMERS. WESTON STATED FERTIG BELIEVED ANY COMBAT ACTION AGAINST JAPANESE WOULD CAUSE FILIPINOS TO ACCEPT HIM AS CG USFIP. WESTON STATED USFIP NOW ALMOST ENTIRELY ARMED WITH WEAPONS CAPTURED FROM JAPANESE.

WESTON STATED THAT AFTER WORD OF INITIAL EIGHT OR TEN COMBAT ACTIONS AGAINST JAPANESE CIRCULATED THROUGHOUT MINDANAO FOLLOWING HAPPENED:

1. US AND FILIPINO MILITARY PERSONNEL WHO HAD EITHER NOT SURRENDERED OR WHO HAD ESCAPED BEGAN TO COME TO HIS HQ FROM PLACES OF HIDING IN SUCH NUMBERS (WESTON STATES MORE THAN TWO THOUSAND (2000)) THAT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO EITHER ARM OR FEED THEM. MOST WERE ORDERED BACK INTO HIDING UNTIL SUCH TIME AS SUPPLIES BECAME AVAILABLE. OTHERS (PRIMARILY US AND FILIPINO COMMISSIONED OFFICERS) WERE ARMED AND DISPATCHED THROUGHOUT MINDANAO WITH ORDERS TO FORM NUCLEI FOR LATER EXPANSION OF USFIP.

2. FILIPINOS BEGAN TO ACCEPT REQUISITIONS AND PURCHASE ORDERS ISSUED BY USFIP FOR LATER PAYMENT FOR FOOD AND OTHER SUPPLIES.

3. A NUMBER OF US CITIZENS (WESTON ESTIMATES 300) CONTACTED USFIP FOR HELP IN EVADING CAPTURE AND/OR FOR EVACUATION FROM MINDANAO. IT WAS OF COURSE IMPOSSIBLE TO HELP THEM, AND THEY WERE ORDERED TO REMAIN IN HIDING FOR THE TIME BEING. THE NUMBER INCLUDES FIVE (5) MEDICAL DOCTORS AND ELEVEN (11) NURSES OF VARIOUS MISSIONARY ACTIVITES. TWO US MEDICAL DOCTORS AND SEX NURSES HAVE ACCEPTED COMMISSIONS IN USFIP, WITH UNDERSTANDING THEY WILL BE EVACUATED WHEN POSSIBLE.

4. JAPANESE ANTI-USFIP ACTIVITY PRESENTLY REQUIRES DEPLOYMENT OF ESTIMATED 20,000 TROOPS.

(F) WESTON STATES THAT IF SUFFICIENT SUPPLIES OF ALL SORTS CAN BE MADE AVAILABLE, USFIP CAN ULTIMATELY FIELD 20,000 TRAINED TROOPS. HE AND FERTIG BELIEVE, AS DOES COLONEL STECKER, WHO HAS GUERRILLA EXPERIENCE IN LATIN AMERICA, THAT BETWEEN SIX AND SEVEN JAPANESE TROOPS WILL BE REQUIRED TO ATTEMPT TO SUPPRESS EACH USFIP GUERRILLA.