Finally, Margret said, in a panting voice, “James, I need to breathe sometimes, just hold on a minute.”
“I’m sorry, Margret, I’m just so glad to see you, and I want to hold you so much and never let you go and . . .” He pulled her closer to him and kissed her passionately until there was a knock on the door. James could see it was Captain Jameson and quickly pushed Margret back a few inches saying. “Sir, please come in. We were unpacking my records and books.”
Jameson smiled when he saw the red smear of lipstick on James’ face and quickly backtracked. “Sorry, just wanted to tell you that there’s some food for us in the small dining room on the second floor. The ambassador is out of town but left orders for the staff to take care of us. So, if you can spare a few minutes, perhaps you two would like to eat?”
Margret appeared from the backside of the door after adjusting her blouse and hat and quickly agreed to the invitation. “Sir, thank you for the invitation. I will have Lieutenant Brand escort me there in few minutes after I visit the loo.”
Jameson stifled a laugh. “Take your time, they are setting things up, but do come soon otherwise Gunny and Laird will eat all the food.”
Jameson walked away smiling, remembering his wife, the early days of their romance, and the wild passion of discovery that only new love can bring. Life and love, he thought, change over time and if only those first few days and weeks of a new love could be replicated or preserved. He knew that was not the case because people did change, and lives were altered by events far beyond one’s control such as this war, but also one’s expectations change over time.
His life was good, and his success as a mathematician and a professor gave him a certain amount of financial independence which his wife appreciated, but he also knew she was not as content as he was. Perhaps it was the aging process. She was no longer the ingénue meeting up with the dashing young naval officer and going to gala receptions and parties. She was still a lovely woman with a good figure, but age was taking its toll. He had put on weight in the past few years, and as he approached his mid-forties, his appearance was changing. His hair was becoming grayer and was thinning. His late father had been almost bald by age fifty. He hoped that wouldn’t happen to him, but it was starting.
His wife was also changing. Her blonde hair was now turning gray and she was adding a little more weight. What had changed most was the attitude. Some say as you age you either accept the reality of getting older, not minding that certain plans or goals were not met, or you resent it. He wished he had done some other things in his life, but he did not fret over things in the past.
His wife, however, never let go of some of her girlish dreams. It was more about reaching a higher level of social status than money. She enjoyed being the brilliant professor’s wife, but she was not the wife of the dean or the president of the university. She had a nice house, but it wasn’t grand like others. She had gone on some wonderful trips when he was in the navy, but now the travel was relegated to conferences and conventions at other universities, many of which were in smaller towns and not glamorous places like New York City. Their two children were doing well with a boy now in the navy like his father and a daughter still in college studying art history.
Fredrick Jameson was a fairly content and happy man but worried about his wife and how she was coping with him gone all the time. She was still taking care of her sick mother. This was a good thing from the standpoint that she was not locked up in the house in Washington or his main residence near the college campus. But something was going to have to give, so life could return to what passed for normal. But as he walked toward the dining room, he smiled thinking of the days of his youth and the mystery of young love. He decided not to comment on the relationship between Margret and James, believing it was not his problem, just another memory of things long gone.
When everyone had gathered at the dining table, which for the first time included the entire team of men plus Margret, Jameson stood and announced, “Men, thank you for your diligence in the past few weeks in Britain. We have learned a lot, and it will pay dividends to our war effort. Great Britain has been battling the enemy for years while we have watched. Now it’s our turn to help them and all the people of the world who have been trampled and thrown into a hellish state of occupation.”
He smiled and scanned the small room again. Then he picked up his glass saying, “Men like you, and you, too, Petty Officer Bagley, are making a difference. We need to take back everything we have learned in Britain and use this information to ensure victory. The embassy staff has prepared us a great meal on very short notice, and I want to thank them for their hospitality and kindness. So, without further fanfare, I would like to propose two toasts. First, to the President of the United States and our Commander in Chief, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.”
Everyone rose and raised their glasses and then while still standing, Jameson continued. “And to his Majesty, King George VI and the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Mr. Churchill, we are coming to your aid, and we will never let you down.”
Everyone raised their glass again and drank the wine which wasn’t bad, even though the Marines would have preferred beer or better yet whisky.
Jameson sat down then Flannigan stood up. “Men and Petty Officer Bagley, I would like to propose a toast to our leader, Captain Jameson, who has driven us hard and defended us when needed. From him, we have all learned so very much. To the Captain.”
Everyone rose again and raised their glasses to Jameson who accepted the toast with his usual graciousness.
Dinner was served by embassy staff who should have had a night off with the ambassador out of town, but they wanted to demonstrate their affection for this band of men who appeared on their doorstep one evening and seemed to be very well connected. No one on the staff, including Major Jordan who was attending this dinner along with his executive officer, Captain Hill, had any idea of why this group was here or what they were doing, but they did know Jameson and team moved in rarefied air at the highest levels of government in Britain.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to James, so he stood up, which was very rare indeed and everyone looked at him with concern first and then with a bit of laughter as he introduced himself to the group. “Petty Officer Bagley, Captain Jameson, Major Jordan, Captain Hill, Captain Flannigan and members of this team. I want to thank you all for helping me, and the others accomplish our objectives on this trip. I know you were left in the dark on some of the things we are doing, but that’s best for all concerned.”
He looked around the table to see smiles on all the faces, except Flannigan’s who was always concerned James would say something to compromise the mission. “But I want to propose a toast as well. I have only been in the navy for a few months, and even though my late father was in the navy during the last war, I was never fortunate to meet or work with members of the United States Marine Corps. So, I would like to propose a toast to the men present and those who are serving throughout the world this evening. To the officers and men of the Corps, may your history be the guiding light to your future and may you always maintain its honor.”
Everyone jumped up and held their glasses high. Then, Major Jordan, looking around the table said, “To the Corps,” and everyone downed their drink. Flannigan smiled broadly at James signaling that he did a good thing. Gunny caught his attention a moment later and gave him a big thumb’s up. James had cemented his relationship with the entire unit, and he was no longer the boy wonder but a member of the team.
As the dinner wound down and the two young lovers were staring at each other constantly, and probably some feet were touching as well, Jameson made an announcement. “Tomorrow, there will be a series of meetings around the city. Petty Officer Bagley, if you would contact your superiors and request one more staff car for in the morning, I would be most appreciative. Secondly, we have been ordered home once we have a few more sessions with our British Allies. I cannot say exactly when this will happen, but I feel it will b
e within the next week, so act accordingly. As soon as I know about our travel plans, I will let you know. So, with that announcement, I’ll bid you all good night. We will leave the embassy at 0700 hours. Be ready and be smart. That is all.”
Everyone rose to let the captain exit. Major Jordan, Captain Hill, and Flannigan went with him. The gunny started to walk out, but Jameson waved him back in, glancing over at the two young lovers which meant to Gunny to keep an eye out for them and not let them leave the building alone. The gunny felt bad about the standing orders when it came to Brand. James was never to be alone except in his room or office, and a guard was to be watching to make sure he stayed in quarters unless escorted by two Marines.
Brand and Margret got up and walked to the front door of the embassy with the gunny a short but discrete distance away. They embraced, sharing a long kiss goodbye before she walked out to her car. The gunny could not hear what the two young people said to one another, but he didn’t have to imagine a lot. He was young once, he reminded himself, and if he had a chance at a smart looking girl like the petty officer, he would probably go over the hill to be with her, no matter the consequences.
Once the door closed, James walked back to where the gunny stood and smiled. The gunny said nothing about what he saw or thought. As he told himself, it’s not my job to be a babysitter nor was it to be a morals teacher. James looked at him unaware of the lipstick smudge on his face. Brand then looked around to make sure no one could hear what he wanted to say to the old sergeant and now a good friend. “Gunny, I think I’m in love, but I don’t know what to think. This is strange for a man of science. It’s very confusing and upsetting at the same time. What should I do, Gunny, about leaving Margret, I mean Petty Officer Bagley?”
The grizzled old Marine shrugged but knew that answer wouldn’t play with the scientist in front of him. “Mr. Brand, love is a crazy thing. It takes hold of you and pulls you under just like a sinking ship. Sir, I think she likes you a lot too, but it’s wartime, and I know the situation. Time is not on your side, but if you have the right kind of feelings, love will linger even if you are on the other side of the world.”
Brand did not smile but the gunny could tell the answer he had just provided was being filtered by more science than emotion. The gunny could see Brand needed more information so he took a breath and began again. “If she is the right one for you, then you can go back to the States and write letters to her, and I feel you will see her again real soon. The way you are working with the highest levels of both countries, you’ll probably get back together again. Trust me on this, Mr. Brand, it’ll work itself out.”
Brand smiled and agreed with the old sergeant then walked to his room with the gunny in tow as usual. When they reached his room, he looked at the gunny and said, “Thanks, Gunny, this is quite new to me, and I appreciate your wise counsel. Good night. I will see you in the morning.” With that, he closed the door, and the gunny walked down the hall to find out who had the evening duty of monitoring the love-struck wizard.
17
2 April 1942
The Admiralty Building
London, England
• India--U.S. Tenth Air Force flies its first combat mission, attacking shipping off the Andaman Islands; subsequently, concentrates on enemy positions in Burma.
The meetings began early in the morning with a briefing on the current logistic requirements for the naval war in the Atlantic. Jameson drove most of the discussion to give James time to move his mind from love story to the reality of war. A Royal Navy captain named Samuels was discussing the issue of procuring more escort vessels from the United States especially the destroyer escorts now under construction at various yards in America. The British had presented their ideas on such a vessel in early 1941, and the U.S. and British Navies finally agreed to a basic design and armaments. The British ships would be called Captain-class frigates and were somewhat larger than Commander Walker’s HMS Stork.
These ships were going to displace around fifteen hundred tons, be three hundred feet in length, and have a complement of 175 men. The frigate would be far larger than the Canadian Flower-class escorts and would be slightly faster with a top speed of twenty-three knots. The key to the ship’s design was basing it on the large American destroyer hulls. The regular U.S. destroyer needed to be able to keep up with the fastest ships in the fleet, such as the cruisers and the aircraft carriers, which could do more than thirty-two knots. The newest American Fletcher-class destroyers could hit thirty-eight knots. They were also armed with two torpedo mounts mid-ships, each holding four torpedoes. This extra weight and speed requirement meant using very expensive and slow to manufacture steam turbine engines, of which there were four separate engines with two distinct boiler rooms. The reduction gears which allowed the steam to turn the giant propellers were very hard to manufacture and were used in all classes of large warships.
The new destroyer escort did not need the speed, nor did it need torpedoes, so by reducing the need to have two separate engine rooms and the torpedo mounts topside, the ship could be seventy-five feet shorter and be driven by diesel-electric motors, like the ones used in submarines. These were purpose-designed escort vessels which could easily keep up with the top speed of designated fast convoys. The destroyer escort design could provide a good anti-submarine platform, armed with three-inch and later five-inch gun mounts and lots of anti-aircraft weapons with significant room for the depth charges and Y-Mount depth charge throwers. The crew size was also less saving nearly one hundred men per vessel. The other major advantage with the new destroyer escorts is that they could be built, launched and commissioned in half the time of a conventional destroyer, thus providing more escorts sooner.
The next shipbuilding priority, besides the established Liberty ship program, was the building of the escort carrier, which the Americans called the CVE. These ships could help close the air gap which currently existed in the Atlantic. The air bases constructed in the past two years had helped reduce the area the German U-boats could operate without fear of aerial assault. Bases were built in Bermuda, New Foundland, Iceland, Greenland, and Northern Ireland. Additional bases and capabilities were constructed in southern England and Gibraltar. The Americans had seen the range of the U-boat was beyond anything they had imagined, even though their own fleet submarines were designed with ten thousand-mile ranges. The additional Lend-Lease bases in Trinidad, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and Barbados were already adding search and escort capabilities covering the Caribbean and into the Gulf of Mexico.
The bases existed but not the aircraft and aircrews. The team had provided an assessment of what was required to make the air umbrella function across the coastline of the United States, but this was only a first step. The British were now putting pressure on the government of Portugal to enforce their long-lived treaty between both countries which would allow Britain to build air bases in the Azores, thus helping close another large area of the air gap. So far, Portugal had remained neutral, and under the dictatorship of Salazar, they were reluctant to let the British and now the Americans into their islands. They had a major fear of their fascist but also neutral neighbor, Spain, and did not want to push their country into the war against Germany. Britain continued to force the issue, but so far in early 1942, there was no agreement. This left no choice but to build a force of escort carriers to fill in the air gap.
The British captain discussed the success and some of the failures of their first efforts with the escort carriers. The HMS Audacity had been a success, but its vulnerability was proven when it was sunk during the Convoy HG76 operation where Commander Walker had rammed and sunk the U-574. Planes from the Audacity had helped hunt down and sink five U-boats during this operation. Commander Walker had discussed the need for more of these vessels for all future convoy operations.
Jameson asked about the loss of the small carrier and other British experiences such as the CAM ships, where a Hurricane fighter flew off a catapult attached to a merc
hant ship to attack marauding German bombers.
Captain Samuelson said there had been some successful uses of the CAM system, but the downside was the loss of the Hurricane. There was also the possibility of losing the pilot, if he was not fished out of the sea quickly since there was no place for the plane to land. He told Jameson the idea was a makeshift option only and not practical for the long term. Finding and fixing the position of German submarines was paramount. Attacking them was the second most important thing. If the British forces could do both, so much the better, but keeping the U-boats away from the convoys was the goal of all escort vessels and aircraft.
Brand began asking questions about the Audacity and the new American designed escort carriers. “Captain Samuels, could you walk us through your thoughts on how these ships should be equipped as far as aircraft types and quantities?”
Captain Samuels noticing the young lieutenant awaited his response with a pencil in hand, looked over to Admiral Ramsey who had arranged the briefing. He connected with Ramsey’s eyes and received a get-on-with-it look. “Lieutenant, we want to put a dozen planes on each ship with a complement of Swordfish which are slow but very accurate and some of our Fairley Fulmars. I would also like to put in a request for some of your aircraft as well. We have seen some of the operational specifications for your largest seaborne aircraft, the Grumman Avenger which would be a wonderful ASW aircraft. The Grumman Wildcat would also be useful as it is much faster than our Fulmar. The Swordfish is due for replacement soon, but perhaps some of your Lend-Lease aircraft would be a great addition to the Fleet Air Arm.”
Mission to Britain Page 20