Griffin W.E.B. - The Corps 09 - Under Fire

They were, McCoy noticed, all wearing freshly laun-dered utilities.

Zimmerman rose as McCoy approached the table. After a moment, Major Kim got up, and finally Taylor.

"Good morning, sir," Zimmerman said.

That explained the empty chair at the head of the table.

It was Zimmerman's method of making the pecking order clear to all hands.

"Good morning, gentlemen," McCoy replied, as he sat down at the head of the table. "Please take your seats."

A young Korean woman in a white ankle-length dress and white apron immediately appeared with a pitcher of coffee. She was no beauty, but she was female and young, and McCoy made a mental note to pass the word to the Marines that the help was off-limits.

Breakfast was in keeping with what were apparently the standards of life in the hotel; it was not at all like what the rest of the Marines in Korea were getting. They were eating powdered eggs with chopped Spam off stainless-steel trays and drinking black coffee from canteen cups. McCoy was served two fried eggs and two slices of Spam on a china plate. Another plate held toast. There was both orange mar-malade and butter.

It was too much for McCoy to let pass without com-ment.

"I'm delighted the Navy has taken over the mess, Mr. Tay-lor," he said. "We Marines are not used to living like this."

"But you can get used to it in a hurry, right?" Taylor said. "Actually, you have Major Kim to thank."

"Then thank you, Major Kim," McCoy said, in Korean.

Kim shrugged to suggest thanks were not necessary.

"Major Dunston said whatever I could do to..."

"Did he get into what we're supposed to do here?"

"No, sir."

"A Marine pilot has been shot down," McCoy said. "Near Taejon. There is reason to believe he survived the crash and may still be alive. For reasons I can't get into, it is important that we get him back. Or have proof that he's dead."

"If he has been taken prisoner," Kim said, immediately, "we can probably find that out, and also, probably, where he is being held. But... the Communists often do not take prisoners...."

"And they don't keep records of which prisoners were shot and where," McCoy finished for him.

Kim nodded.

"Right after breakfast," McCoy said, "you and I are going into Pusan. Major Dunston's been working on this overnight, and maybe you'll be able to help," McCoy said.

"Yes, sir."

I think he swallowed that.

"If we can locate him," McCoy went on. "My men here are trained to operate behind the enemy's lines. We may try to go get him."

Major Kim said nothing.

He thinks that's a stupid idea. But I think he believes me, which is important.

"The junk here, if we decide to go after this pilot, would be useful in infiltrating the team," McCoy said. "So while we are in Pusan, Lieutenant Taylor is going to see what shape it's in. If there's something wrong with it, it will have to be repaired. If it's seaworthy, we'll take it out for a dry run as soon as we can. Maybe as soon as this afternoon. Time is important."

Major Kim nodded.

"On the dry run-the practice run, the rehearsal run- we'll take half of the Marines and eight or ten of your men with us," McCoy said.

"May I ask why?"

"In the Marine Corps, we try to make a dry run as much like the real thing as we can," McCoy said.

"I will tell my lieutenant to prepare the men," Kim said.

And he swallowed that, too. So far, so good.

"I don't know how much, if any, fuel is aboard the junk," Taylor said. "Or available here."

"Give that problem to Sergeant Jennings, Mr. Zimmer-man," McCoy said. "Have it solved by the time we get back from Pusan."

"Aye, aye, sir," Zimmerman said.

McCoy looked down at his plate and was surprised to see he had finished eating.

He stood up.

"Let's get this show on the road," he said.

[FOUR]

MARINE LIAISON OFFICE USAF

AIRFIELD K-l

PUSAN, KOREA

1105 5 AUGUST 1950

"The Badoeng Strait's COD isn't here yet, McCoy," Cap-tain Kenneth Overton said when McCoy and Zimmerman walked into his office.

"Colonel Dunn said `by twelve hundred,'" McCoy replied.

"But you have an envelope," Overton said, smiling somewhat smugly, and handed McCoy a business-size en-velope, with "Capt K. McCoy, USMC" written on it in pencil.

McCoy took it and opened it. There was a note, written in pencil.

K-l, 0800 5 AUG

McCoy: I want to know what's happened to Pick Pickering.

I know what his father really does for a living.

The PIO at Eighth Army will know where I am.

If I don't hear from you, I will write my story on what I do know.

Jeanette Priestly Chicago Tribune

"Shit," McCoy said, and handed the note to Zimmer-man.

"Oh, Jesus!" Zimmerman said.

"When was she here?" McCoy asked of Captain Over-ton.

"She was here twice. Last night, right after you were. And again this morning. She was asking about a Major Pickering."

"What was she asking about Pickering?"

"If I'd heard anything about him."

"And had you?"

"Isn't he the guy who's been busting all the locomo-tives?"

"That's all you know about him?"

"I had the feeling the lady has the hots for him. She said he was aboard the Badoeng Strait, and she wanted a ride out to her."

"And?"

"Last night, I told her there wouldn't be a COD until first thing this morning. She was back here at oh seven hundred. A COD from the Sicily landed at oh seven thirty and she leaned hard on the pilot to take her out to the Ba-doeng Strait."

"And?"

"She's a persuasive lady. Good-looking lady, too. The Sicily pilot caved in enough to get the Air Force to radio for permission. It was denied. Then she asked if I ever saw you around here."

"And you told her `yeah'?" McCoy asked, icily.

"I told her you'd been here."

"And that I would be back before noon?"

"No. Just that you came by sometimes. And then she wrote that note and told me to give it to you."

"What are you going to do, Ken?" Zimmerman asked.

"I know what I'd like to do to her," McCoy replied.

"You and every other Marine in Korea," Captain Over-ton said.

"I'm not talking about nailing her," McCoy said.

He pointed to the telephone on Overton's desk.

"Can I get the Eighth Army PIO on that?"

"You can try," Overton said.

"Ernie, go to Eighth Army. Get her. Take her out to the Evening Star."

"What if she doesn't want to come?"

"Take her out to the Evening Star," McCoy repeated. "I don't care how you do it."

"How are you going to get back there?"

"Dunston said he would send Major Kim out there in a Jeep. I'll have Kim pick me up here. And I'll call Eighth Army-if I can get through-and get word to Miss Priestly that you're on the way."

"You want her to see the Evening Star?"

"I don't want her to write a story based on what she thinks she knows."

"And if she asks about Pick?"

`Tell her I'll tell her everything she wants to know," Mc-Coy said.

Captain Overton touched McCoy's arm and pointed out the window. An Avenger had taxied up in front of the Base Operations building.

"There's your Badoeng Strait COD," Overton said.

"Get going, Ernie," McCoy said.

[FIVE]

EVENING STAR HOTEL

TONGNAE, SOUTH KOREA

1215 5 AUGUST 1950

When McCoy and Major Kim drove around the hotel to the pier, there was a U.S. Army water trailer backed up to the shore end of the pier behind one of the freshly painted USMC Jeeps. A white legend on it read "Potable Water ONLY!!!" But what was coming out of the faucet and be-ing fed into five-gallon jerry cans was obviously not water. As soon as one of the jerry cans was full, one of the South Korean national policemen carried it onto the pier, to the side of the junk, and hoisted it high enough so that another Korean on the junk could reach it and haul it aboard. Then an obviously empty jerry can was lowered over the side to the man on the pier, who carried it back to the "water trailer" and took up his position in line.