Griffin W.E.B. - The Corps 08 - In Dangers Path

That figures, both that he's a pal of Charley Galloway and «all right.»

«And a fellow named Stevenson, who's in Galloway's squadron,» Pickering went on.

Which means by definition

… «One of Galloway's misfits?» Hart asked, surprised.

…

one of Galloway's misfits

.

«I don't think Galloway would volunteer this fellow for this to get rid of him,» Pickering thought aloud. «Or that Colonel Dawkins, for that matter, would permit him to do that. So he's probably all right.»

«Yes, sir,» Hart agreed. «They both know how important this is.»

«The other two officers, George, are Captain James B. Weston—«

«Our Captain Weston?» Hart asked incredulously.

«Our Captain Weston,» Pickering confirmed. «And the fourth one is Pick.»

«My God!» Hart said. «He didn't say anything to me when we were in Memphis.»

«Or to me,» Pickering said.

«You didn't say anything about Operation Gobi to him in Memphis, did you, George?»

«No, sir.»

«Then I guess he just saw General Mclnerney's request for volunteers,» Hart said. «And volunteered.»

«What I can't understand is why they took him,» Pickering thought aloud again. «I don't think he knows how to fly a Catalina.»

He doesn't. That explains that business in Jake Dillon's Special Channel

… Pickering picked up the Special Channel and read the last paragraph again.

…

They know Pick does not have the «extensive experience» flying the Catalina that the other three have. What Jake is doing is telling me that Dawkins is doing all he can to give Pick the training he needs

.

«They know what a hell of a pilot he is, General,» Hart said. «That's why they took him. It won't take him long to learn how to fly a Catalina.»

«And the same is presumably true of Jim Weston,» Pickering said. «He was selected because he was the best man available for the job.»

«Yes, sir.»

And the selector was Mac Mclnerney. Who would base his decision on that alone. With no consideration of fairness, of sending someone who hadn't spent a year as a guerrilla in the Philippines instead of someone who did. Or sending someone who has never been in combat at all

—

or hasn't already flown an incredibly hazardous mission like Pick did with Galloway to Buka

—

in place of someone who has

.

A general officer cannot permit himself to let his personal feelings interfere with his decisions, even when his decisions may send men to their deaths. Mac really likes Western, and he showed at Memphis—again—how much he likes Pick. But he's a Marine General, and he can

't

let anything get in the way of his responsibilities

.

So what does that make me?

The Easterbunny is getting next to me in the backseat of this staff car because I arranged it so that he wouldn't get himself killed storming some beach in the Solomons.

It makes me—because I would trade my life for a senior officer somewhere who would make the emotion-based decision to send someone else in place of Pick and Weston

—

a lousy general officer

.

«Pick will be all right, General,» Hart said, reading Pickering's mind. «And so will Weston. They walk between raindrops.»

«Well, we'll soon find out, won't we, George?» Pickering said.

note 88

The White House

Washington, D.C.

2315 16 April 1943

The President was sitting in his wheelchair in his dressing gown, lighting a fresh cigarette from the butt of another, when Admiral William D. Leahy, General George C. Marshall, and Colonel William J. Donovan were shown in.

He looks tired

, Donovan thought.

«Good evening, Mr. President,» Admiral Leahy said.

«What do we have here?» Roosevelt said, as he stuffed his fresh cigarette into an ivory holder and flashed his famous smile. «The Army, the Navy, and he who hears all evil, sees all evil, and speaks all evil?»

«Is that how you think of me, Mr. President?» Donovan asked.

«A poor attempt at humor, Bill,» the President said. «I tend to tell terrible jokes when I am forced to make decisions I would rather not make.»

There was no reply.

«Would anyone like coffee?» he asked. «Or something stronger?»

There was a chorus of «No, thank you, Mr. President.»

«Let me see it, please,» the President said.

Donovan reached into his interior pocket and handed the President a white blank, unsealed, letter-size envelope.

Roosevelt took two sheets of typewriter paper from it. He glanced quickly at both of them. «Oh, we've heard from Halsey, too?» he asked.

«I thought we should wait for Admiral Halsey's recommendation before coming to see you, sir,» Admiral Leahy said.

Roosevelt carefully read the messages.

T O P S E C R E T – M A G I C

OPERATIONAL IMMEDIATE

1005 GREENWICH 16 APRIL 1943

DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN

FROM SUPREME COMMANDER SOUTH WEST PACIFIC OCEAN AREAS BRISBANE

TO CHIEF OF STAFF US ARMY

WASHINGTON

EYES ONLY GENERAL GEORGE C. MARSHALL

INFO COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF PACIFIC

PEARL HARBOR

EYES ONLY ADMIRAL CHESTER W. NIMITZ

SUBJECT: OPERATION FLYSWATTER, REQUEST FOR PERMISSION TO EXECUTE

1. SUPREME HEADQUARTERS SWAPO HAS INTERCEPTED AND DECRYPTED THREE (3) MESSAGES FROM JAPANESE IMPERIAL GENERAL STAFF DEALING WITH VISIT TO BOUGAINVILLE BY ADMIRAL ISOROKU YAMAMOTO COMMANDER OF JAPANESE COMBINED FLEET BY AIR ON 18 APRIL 1943, INCLUDING DESCRIPTION OF HIS ROUTE, AIRCRAFT TYPE AND ESCORT.

2. SUBJECT MESSAGES WERE CLASSIFIED IN HIGHEST SECURITY CATEGORY. ANALYSTS ATTACHED TO THIS HEADQUARTERS BELIEVE THEM TO BE GENUINE, BUT SUGGEST THE POSSIBILITY THAT THIS MAY BE A RUSE ON THE PART OF THE JAPANESE WITH THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHETHER THE CODE USED HAS BEEN COMPROMISED BY US. IF IT IS A RUSE, ANY ACTION OF MINE TO INTERCEPT ADMIRAL YAMAMOTO WOULD CONFIRM THAT WE HAVE BROKEN THEIR CODE.

3. IT IS EMPHASIZED THAT MY ANALYSTS DO NOT REPEAT DO NOT BELIEVE IT IS

PROBABLE THAT THE MESSAGES ARE A RUSE, SOLELY THAT THIS IS A POSSIBILITY REPEAT POSSIBILITY WHICH SHOULD BE CONSIDERED.

4. AT MY DIRECTION, A MISSION CODENAME FLYSWATTER INVOLVING FOUR (4) ARMY AIR CORPS LOCKHEED P-38 AIRCRAFT BASED IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS HAS BEEN PLACED IN READINESS TO INTERCEPT AND DESTROY THE YAMAMOTO AIRCRAFT OVER BOUGAINVILLE. I HAVE BEEN ASSURED THE MISSION WOULD HAVE A SEVENTY-FIVE (75) PERCENT CHANCE OF SUCCESS.

5. IN VIEW OF THE RECENT POTENTIAL BREACH OF MAGIC SECURITY AT US MILITARY MISSION TO CHINA, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THERE MAY BE A TENDENCY TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION IN THIS CASE, BY DENYING ME PERMISSION TO EXECUTE OPERATION FLYSWATTER IN THE BELIEF THAT SO DOING WOULD PROTECT MAGIC.

6. BRIG GEN PICKERING'S REPRESENTATIVE WHO WAS IN CHUNGKING WITH GENERAL PICKERING HAS INFORMED ME THAT BOTH HE AND GENERAL PICKERING BELIEVE MAGIC WAS NOT REPEAT NOT COMPROMISED BY THE RECENT EVENTS AT US MILITARY MISSION TO CHINA. I HAVE COMPLETE CONFIDENCE IN GENERAL PICKERING'8 JUDGMENT IN MATTERS OF THIS NATURE.

7. NEVER BEFORE IN THE HISTORY OF NAVAL WARFARE HAS THERE BEEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO REMOVE A BRILLIANT AND FORMIDABLE ADVERSARY SUCH AS ADMIRAL YAMAMOTO FROM THE SCENE OF BATTLE, AND WE SHOULD NOT FAIL TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO BY TAKING COUNSEL OF OUR FEARS.

8. PERMISSION TO EXECUTE OPERATION FLYSWATTBR IS REQUESTED IN THE STRONGEST POSSIBLE TERMS.

DOUGLAS MACARTHUR

GENERAL, US ARMY

SUPREME COMMANDER SOUTH WEST PACIFIC OCEAN AREAS

T O P S E C R E T – M A G I C

«Douglas does have a way with words, doesn't he?» the President said, and turned to the second message, which was considerably shorter than MacArthur's.