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

The Admiral nodded, then gestured to Commander Sloane to again lead the way.

From the crest of the hill, the entire three thousand feet of runway could be seen.

Chief McGuire's complement of Seabees were scurrying all up and down the runway, some of them carrying sandbags. Lines of sandbags were laid across the runway at fifty foot intervals.

Neither Admiral Henton nor Commander Sloane could imagine what was going on. When Sloane looked around for Chief McGuire, he was annoyed—but not surprised—to find him standing on the canvas seat of a Caterpillar D-6 bulldozer parked fifty yards off the near end of the runway.

Chief McGuire was naked, except for a pair of khaki trousers cut off above the knees. A disgracefully beat up and dirty chief's brimmed cap on his head was the only symbol of his rank.

«Chief McGuire?» Admiral Henton inquired. «Is he the fellow on the bulldozer?»

«Yes, sir. Sir, in consideration of the heat, and the labor the men are performing, I allow considerable leeway in the way they dress.»

«I'm sure it gets hot as hell out here,» the Admiral said.

Chief McGuire got off the seat of the bulldozer and crawled up on the hood over the engine. «Clear!» he bellowed.

Faintly, Commander Sloane saw all the Seabees down the length of the runway run off the runway to seek shelter wherever they could find it, most often behind the bulk of eight bulldozers that were parked to the side of the runway.

Chief McGuire then jumped off his own bulldozer and disappeared from sight. He emerged a moment later at the wheel of a jeep that had been parked out of sight beside the 'dozer. He drove down the runway, slowing at each pile of sandbags. When he reached the end of the runway, he drove the jeep into a depression.

Very faintly at first, then more loudly and more clearly as it was repeated by Seabees along the edge of the runway, came the call: «Fire in the hole!»

The first muffled roar came a moment after the last «fire in the hole!» call was shouted, soon followed by a series of roars. Clouds of smoke then appeared at regular intervals down the runway where there had been lines of sandbags.

«My God!» Admiral Henton exclaimed.

Before the smoke cleared, Chief McGuire reappeared in his jeep and started back down the runway toward them. Soon after that, 'dozer engines were revving, and all of the 'dozers started to back up to the side of the runway. Eye hooks were fastened to holes in the pierced steel planking, then to the bulldozers. An engine revved, and a section of runway one hundred feet wide and fifty feet long began to slide off to the side.

«By God, that's clever!» Admiral Henton exclaimed. «You are to be complimented on your initiative, Commander!»

«Thank you, sir.»

«I suppose that trucks will now—« the Admiral said, and interrupted himself as trucks appeared. «Very clever,» he said. «One crew can salvage the pierced steel, while another starts laying the runway foundation. I'll bet you didn't get that out of a book, did you, Commander?»

«We pride ourselves on innovation, sir,» Commander Sloane said.

Admiral Henton started down the hill. Commander Sloane and the Admiral's aide followed him. They arrived just as Chief McGuire reached the end of the runway.

He looked curiously at the Admiral, the Commander, and the Admiral's aide, then drove up to them. He saluted, but did not leave the jeep.

«That was very impressive, Chief,» the Admiral said. «How soon can you start preparing the runway?»

«The dump trucks with the gravel will be here any minute,» McGuire said. «While they're dumping, we'll start laying the forms. As soon as the 'dozers get the pierced steel out of the way, they'll start scraping. Then we'll get the graders going. With a little bit of luck, we should be able to pour maybe a hundred feet by the time it's dark. It'll be slower at night, of course, and I don't like to pour unless I can really see what I'm doing.»

He did not once use the term «Sir,» Commander Sloane noticed. If the Admiral noticed, he did not take offense.

«Well done, Chief,» the Admiral said.

«Commander Sloane said you needed this runway in a hurry,» McGuire said.

«Tell me, Chief, do you happen to know a Major Dillon, of the Marine Corps?»

«Sure, we're old buddies. He a friend of yours?»

«I don't have that privilege, I'm afraid,» Admiral Henton said. «May I ask where you and the Major know each other?»

«L.A.,» Chief McGuire said. «We both used to work for Metro-Magnum.»

«The motion picture studio?»

«Yes, sir…«

That's the first time he said «Sir»

! Commander Sloane thought.

»… I was chief of construction,» Chief McGuire went on, «and ol' Jake was the publicity guy.»

«Well, Chief, I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that you're soon going to see you friend again.»

«Really?»

Admiral Henton handed Chief McGuire a sheet of teletypewriter paper.

P R I O R I T Y

S E C R E T

CINCPAC

1005 21 MARCH 1943

FLAG OFFICER COMMANDING US NAVY BASE (FORWARD) ESPIRITU SANTO

1. CINCPAC RECORDS INDICATE THAT CHIEF PETTY OFFICER PETER T. MCGUIRE, USNR, IS ASSIGNED TO 3RD USN CONSTRUCTION BATTALION ON ESPIRITU SANTO. YOU PERSONALLY OR A SUITABLY SENIOR OFFICER IF YOU ARE NOT AVAILABLE WILL ON RECEIPT OF THIS MESSAGE INTERVIEW CHIEF MCGUIRE AND DETERMINE IF HE IS PERSONALLY ACQUAINTED WITH MAJOR HOMER C.(NICKNAME) QUOTE JAKE ENDQUOTE DILLON, USMCR.

2. IF THE ANSWER IS IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, CHIEF MCGUIRE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY DETACHED FROM 3RD USN CONSTRUCTION BATTALION AND TRANSFERRED CINCPAC. AIR TRAVEL IS DIRECTED PRIORITY AAAAA.

3. CINCPAC WILL BE NOTIFIED BY SEPARATE PRIORITY MESSAGE CLASSIFICATION SECRET WHETHER CHIEF MCGUIRE IS OR IS NOT ACQUAINTED WITH MAJOR DILLON, AND IF HE IS, THE DATE AND TIME OF HIS DEPARTURE FROM ESPIRITU SANTO.

4. IF FEASIBLE CHIEF MCGUIRE SHOULD TRAVEL TO US NAVY BASE PEARL HARBOR ABOARD A PBY-5A AIRCRAFT. IN THIS CASE, CREW OF PBY-5A SHOULD FAMILIARIZE CHIEF MCGUIRE WITH ALL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AIRCRAFT, WITH EMPHASIS ON REFUELING, ENROUTE.

BY DIRECTION NTMITZ, ADMIRAL, USN,

CINCPAC OFFICIAL: D.J.WAGAM, RADM USN

S E C R E T

«Jesus, I wonder what the hell this is all about,» Chief McGuire said.

«I thought perhaps you could tell me.»

«'I haven't a clue, Admiral. Do I have to go?»

«One of the quaint customs of the Navy, Chief,» Admiral Henton said, smiling, «is that when the Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, says 'go,' we go.»

«I really hate to fly,» Chief McGuire said.

«So do I, Chief,» Admiral Henton said. «Why don't you give that TWX to Commander Sloane, so he'll know what's going on?»

«Sure,» Chief McGuire said. «Here you go, Commander.»

note 58

Office of the Chief Signal Officer

Headquarters, U.S. Military Mission to China

Chungking, China

25 March 1943

The dusty GM six-by-six truck jerked to a halt before the entrance to a tunnel. Outside was a wooden sign reading, «Signal Section, USMMCHI.» Lieutenant Colonel Edward J. Banning, USMC, holding a Thompson submachine gun in his hand, climbed down from the cab and walked to the rear of the truck. «We're here,» he announced, as he began to remove the chain holding the two-foot-high rear «gate» in place.

With a grace surprising for his bulk, Gunnery Sergeant Zimmerman jumped out of the truck. «I'll get that, Colonel,» he said.

When the gate was down, Captain Ken McCoy and Master Gunner Harry Rutterman jumped off the truck and started unloading their luggage and the crates marked «Personnel Records, Not To Be Opened Without The Specific Written Permission of the Adjutant General.»

Banning entered the tunnel. After his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he could see signs identifying the various offices the tunnel contained. It reminded him of Corregidor, except that on Corregidor the tunnels were lined with concrete; here the tunnel was naked rock. He found a wide area in the tunnel, a place where it looked like someone had decided to carve another lateral and then changed his mind.