“We had slept about two hours when we were awakened by the roar of airplane engines. It sounded as if there were hundreds of them. I jumped up and looked out the window of the pump house. Four fighters circled the area. Suddenly they went into a dive and came roaring over the pump house, missing the tall stack by only a few feet. To my horror, they started strafing my house with machine-gun fire. I wanted to cry. The one place that had made me happy was getting shot up. Before I could react, I saw more planes with bombs under the wings.
“Then I saw that the target was not the house, but the smokestack near the pump house. Bombs rained down on the smokestack. I yelled for Hall and Adams to take cover, knowing it was already too late. The bomb concussion alone would kill us all. The released bombs dropped down with a distinctive whistle. The smokestack was beginning to crumble. We waited for the explosion that would end our lives. After twenty minutes, all was quiet. Four bombs were sticking out of the ground at an acute angle. One had hit the stack and knocked it down. Fortunately, it had fallen away from the pump house. One bomb had buried itself in the ground up to the tailfin, as if there were a hollow area under it — like a cave or tunnel. I wondered if it had hit the tunnel to the house or whether there was another tunnel. All three of us stood in fascination, wondering when the bombs would explode.
“It was Adams who first noticed a trickle of sand was leaking out of one of the bombs. We went outside to take a closer look, and discovered the bombs were duds, filled with sand. It suddenly occurred to me that this fenced-in area was a training base. My father’s dream house was being used as a practice area to learn how to kill Germans.
“By ten o’clock we realized the training was over for the day. Hall said our first order was to secure the box. I suggested we bury it in the woods for now, and that way we would not have to carry it around. Hall and Adams vetoed the idea, and set the box behind the well pump in a corner.
***
“I wanted to visit my old house to see if I could find out anything about what had happened to my father. We went to the backdoor, and finding it unlocked, we entered. The house was much as I remembered it, except for being empty. All the rooms were bare of furniture, and many of the windows were cracked and broken. Several shell casings lay scattered in the rooms. There were holes through the walls where the planes had strafed the house. Adams and Hall wanted to go back to the pump house to sleep. I told them I would be along after I spent some more time in the house — and specifically in my old room.
“While reclining on the floor, I decided to read the packet Greta had given me months ago on the dock in France. In the packet were several things: my original passport in my real name, another thousand dollars, and a note from the admiral. There was also a war medal, and a translation of the tablet. The note from the admiral was in his handwriting.
“Dear Wolf,
“I’m writing you this note to tell you that I am very happy to have known you. I only hope that we can meet again. The mission I have sent you on is more important than you think. The translation that is included in the packet is the actual translation from the tablet; it is genuine. Have an expert in America verify the translation.
“You must complete the mission and have the tablet revealed to the public by American Nazis. No man has ever had a more important task. I know you will succeed.
“Always your Friend,
“Wilhelm
“P.S: I have also enclosed a medal — a medal for an honorable man.
***
“As I read the translation, I began to understand the admiral’s plan. The admiral had indeed developed a strategy which would shake the world and probably destroy the Nazi reign. I then knew I must implement the plan.
“It was eerie in the old house. A warm breeze filtered through the holes in the walls and windows. It made a continuous whistling sound, and suddenly I felt there was someone looking over my shoulder. It was then I first heard the voices. They said, ‘Listen to the admiral. He has helped us, and now it is your turn.’ The voices were exactly as the admiral had described them. I wondered why they were haunting me. Was there more than one? Were they men or women or both? I also wondered if they had left the admiral and attached themselves to me. Was I going crazy? Were they somehow connected to the tablet?
‘Who are you?’ I screamed, but the voices never replied. I finally reasoned that there was some sort of divine intervention, something supernatural, something unexplainable guiding me. I was sure it had to do with my mission.
“I suddenly felt I had to make plans to succeed in my mission. We needed a place to stay, and find good cover until the tablet could be revealed. ‘Use the tunnel,’ a voice suggested.
“I decided to see if the old tunnel was still passable between the pump house and my house. In the basement, I found the secret latch. The door opened easily. I turned on my flashlight. The passage had not changed since the last time I had walked it. I thought one of the bombs had penetrated it, but there was no evidence of a cave-in. As I reached the pump house, I took a chance on Adams and Hall being asleep. The trapdoor opened quietly, and I realized that they were not there. Where had they gone?
“I immediately went to the box and attempted to find a way to open it. As I studied the latches, it occurred to me that Hall would have added extra security. I decided to leave it alone. ‘Disable the radio; no longer make it able,’ a voice directed me. I remembered the admiral told me to disrupt communications. After opening the back, I took out a tube and banged it on the floor. Satisfied, I set it back. Next I rummaged through Hall’s pack, hoping to find the name of the person who expected the box. I could find nothing. Feeling dejected, I climbed back through the door and returned to the house.
“A voice using a riddle told me to take the hidden ladder up to the second floor. I had just replaced the wall in the closet when I heard a noise on the steps. The stairs creaked as I had remembered. I rounded the corner to find Hall coming up the steps.
“‘We were wondering when you would come back down,’ he said.
“‘I guess I was lost in thought,’ I replied. ‘Let’s pick some fruit and have dinner.’”
***
“That night, Adams said we needed to check in with the submarine. He took out the wireless and turned it on. It didn’t work. He took off the back and found a damaged tube.
“‘The wireless is useless,’ he said. ‘Without this tube it will not work, and I do not have a spare.’
“We all started to curse in German. Hall was slamming his fist into the wall.
“‘Well, at least we have a backup plan,’ Hall finally said to my horror.
“I inquired as to the details.
“‘The first team we put ashore is our backup. When we make contact, we will use their radio.’ He was more confident now.
“‘How are we to make contact?’ I had not been briefed on this. Clearly there were parts of this mission that I was not privy to.
“‘There’s a German grocer in town. The first team will contact him, and he will point them to us. One of us needs to go grocery shopping.’
“‘I’ll go,’ I said. ‘I speak English better than you do and know my way around.’ It would afford me the opportunity to discover the whereabouts of my father.
***
“It was about a mile and a half to Hoch Meats. I walked it without incident. When I entered the store, an older man behind the counter met me. He was huge and stood over six foot four. He probably weighed more than two hundred and fifty pounds. ‘How are you, Wolfgang?’ he asked. ‘I have been expecting you.’
“‘Good to see you too, Mr. Hoch.’
“‘So, you are finally back.’ It was a play to find out where I stood.
“‘That’s correct; I have been over on the continent for several years.’
“‘And how is my friend the Admiral Canaris?’ He was staring at me. ‘He told me to call you Wolf to verify I work for him. It is his pet name for you, no?’
“I didn’t know wh
ether this was the Nazi Hoch or the German Hoch talking. ‘I’m on a mission.’
“‘I know. Come in the back so we can talk.’
“In the back room we settled at a small table. ‘The other group will not be coming, you know.’ Hoch had taken the first step.
“‘Why is that?’ I asked.
“‘Because I called the FBI and told them where to find the idiots. I have worked for Canaris before, in submarines.’
“I couldn’t see someone this huge fitting in a submarine and was skeptical. ‘You were stationed in a sub?’
“He laughed. ‘Not exactly. I worked as a procurer. Met the admiral during the First World War, and have worked for him since. He is a true hero. I despise the Nazis, and I’m an American now. My son Frank and I will do whatever you ask.’
“‘First, tell me about what has happened to my father. We went to the old house, and it is now under control of the military.’
“‘I’m sorry to tell you that your father is dead. When the government confiscated the land in 1936, I heard he hung himself in a closet. I thought you knew. We sent a message to your mother, but she never replied. He had returned to Catholicism when you left, and the church got what was left of his estate. I’m so sorry, Wolf.’
“I was truly shaken by this, but the hatred for my mother now overshadowed my grief. ‘Thank you, I appreciate your concern.’
“‘Wolf, what can you tell us about your mission?’
“‘Not very much, I’m afraid. I was told to destroy the communications, which I did. I’m to ensure the box we carry gets into American Nazi hands. That’s all there is. By the way, Wolf is no longer; I’m Walter Pierce now. The two agents with me are Bernard Hall, who is security, and Andrew Adams, for communications. Neither of them was entrusted with the name we need to complete the mission. The admiral told me that Hall would have the name, but he was wrong. The name is the secret leader of the organization in the United States. I don’t know what to do.’
“‘Well, your mission may be over. Have you seen the news lately?’
“‘No, we’ve been at sea and only landed last night.’
“‘The Allies have invaded North Africa.’
“‘When did this happen?’
“‘They hit the beaches over a week ago. They are moving rapidly inland. Your mission may be cancelled.’
“‘No, I doubt it. The mission is really big, and still needs to be completed.’
“‘Just tell us what you require,’ Mr. Hoch replied.”
***
“I returned to the pump house and told Adams and Hall that the first team had not reported in yet. I had collected a sack full of groceries, and we ate well that evening, although we could not risk heating the food. I told the other men we would have to lay low for a few days while communications were reestablished.
“After a week we were getting tired of hiding. Finally Adams suggested we should rent a room and obtain transportation.
“The next morning I walked into Riverhead, the largest town in eastern Long Island, and bought a car for cash. Next, I searched the newspaper ads for a house to rent. It was just north of town. It was a big house with a driveway leading to a garage in back. It was far enough from neighbors that we would not be under constant view. I drove back to the old house, and realized I could not park the car along the road, as someone might see it. I decided to pull it over near the house, and jack it up as if we had a flat. I could always explain that I had run over to the house to see if anyone was there to help me. The plan worked fine, and in a few minutes, the three of us were in the car heading north.
“Hall, always concerned about security, said we needed to hide the box somewhere besides the rented house. I knew just the spot and pulled over by one of the fire lanes. We once again jacked up the wheel, climbed over the fence, and set off down the fire lane. We made a left turn which brought us to the top of a hill, where we could see for miles.
“‘This is the place,’ I announced.
“Hall said, ‘This is fine, but we need to mark the spot with something. Let’s wait until tomorrow to bury the box.’ We agreed to come back with some sort of a marker the next day.
“We moved into our furnished house. Hall found a metal pole and some paint in the garage. He wrote on the pole 19-42. It was, of course, the year we buried the box. We returned to the fire lane, and put up the marker. Precisely thirty steps south of the marker, we buried the box.
“We spent the summer waiting for some sort of communications. Each week I went to the Hoch grocery store. I bought all the different newspapers to keep track of the war. It was in late June when I read that the other six spies had been apprehended. We knew we were in trouble and had no choice but to wait for some communications from Germany. We learned one more thing — Germany was getting pounded.
“One day Mr. Hoch told me he had a message for us. Adams was with me and quickly read the message. It had come by regular post from Germany. It was coded, of course, but still passed through without any censorship.
“The message said a submarine would be one mile off the coast of the lighthouse on Fire Island on September 25 at 4:00 a.m. We were to obtain a boat to meet the submarine. The submarine would bring us a new wireless radio and new instructions.
“As head of security and the strongest of the three of us, Hall decided he should be the one to steal a boat to meet the submarine. I knew I was better on the water, but Hall was clearly more macho and was looking forward to the adventure. The voices told me, ‘Let him go; there will be a big blow.’ The morning before had been windy and raw. I knew the ocean would be rough, but Hall insisted we go. We left at midnight and drove through Remsenburg. We parked at the dock. The wind was tremendous now, and it was raining. I warned Hall not to go, that it was too rough, but he leaped off the dock and into a twenty-five-foot wooden boat with a small cabin. He told us he would be warm and dry in the cabin. He jump-started the boat, checked the gas, and cast off. We watched him disappear in the dark.
“At 5:02 a.m. the second largest hurricane to ever hit Long Island crossed over the shoreline on Dune Road. The Great Long Island Express of 1938 was the worst to ever hit the island. It killed three hundred and ninety people. This storm was the second worst. The nor’easter, as they call it, was the strongest kind of storm. It was preceded by a twenty-five-foot wall of water churning along at about seventy miles per hour.
“Adams and I were standing on the dock when we heard a tremendous roar like a train and noticed that all the water was being drained from the bay. ‘Tidal wave,’ I screamed at Adams, and we ran to the car. We leaped in and I gunned the engine, leaving rubber on the slick road. We raced down the straight road, hoping to reach high ground before the wave hit. I could see the wave in the rearview mirror — huge, all engulfing, roaring down on us.
“The road ended abruptly. We had to choose right or left. I went left, and thirty seconds later, we were hit by the wave. It had dissipated down to a ten-foot height, yet it rolled us over like a toy. We were just passing an open field, and we rolled inside the wave for about one hundred yards or more before slamming into the back of a motel. Adams was in the back of the car, and I was sprawled across the front seat when it was over. The windows held, but the car was on its side. We were also underwater. Getting my bearings, I realized our little submarine was not going to stay sealed for long — we had to get out. Adams had a huge gash on his head but otherwise seemed all right.
“‘Andrew, we need to get out of here. The windows will soon break and we will drown.’
“‘How are we going to get out? I’m not that good of a swimmer, you know.’
“‘I’m going to kick out the front window, let water come in, and then we’ll swim out. Once we get to the surface, we’ll find something to climb onto or something that floats. Are you ready?’
“I kicked the front window, and it collapsed inside. Water came rushing in, and soon the cabin of the car was full. I made sure Adams was behind me before swimming
out and rising to the surface. Water surrounded me. I was happy to see the top of the motel was above the waves. I swam to it and climbed on the roof, helping Adams get his footing.
“We sat on the roof for two days before we were rescued. The electricity stayed out on the whole end of the island for another eight days. The army had to come in to help save people. Forty people died that night, including Bernard Hall. We never got the radio.
***
“Adams and I were on our own now. We went through Hall’s things in the hopes of finding something more to help us. All we found of value was a Luger. Adams and I spent hours debating the mission and what we should do.
“Our orders were to wait until contacted, so that’s what we continued to do. Fall came, and we started to run short of money. I went to Mr. Hoch. He advised me to get a job. Hoch’s mood had also darkened.
***
“In November 1942, I took a job working at the North Fork Union Bank as a teller. Adams had no marketable skills, as he had been in the army since he was sixteen, but he sometimes hired out on some of the fishing boats in the area. We tried to stay away from the German community, as we believed many of them were now spies for the Americans. It was a lonely life.
“One day I was on my usual run to the Hoch grocery store. Upon entering the store, I could tell something was wrong. Frank Hoch was now behind the counter. He was perhaps sixteen. ‘Where’s your father?’ I asked.
“‘He’s in the hospital,’ the boy replied. ‘He had a heart attack yesterday. I’m here alone. Mother is by his side.’
“‘I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do? Do you wish for me to help in the store until he gets back?’
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