James spent a sleepless night on the eighth worrying about his life at the University. He would be safe, while others would be in harm’s way. He was not a very outgoing person, but he longed to have comrades like he had seen in some of the movies about the British and their ongoing life-and-death struggle with the Nazis. He wondered if he was man enough to even put on a uniform, and if he did, could he fight? He had used his father’s old World War I Springfield rifle to shoot deer, but that was all about eating, not about killing. Would killing a man be different? He wondered about his life on the home front doing research and going to meetings with men twice his age, while everyone who looked at him would think him a coward.
Within two more days, the young man’s emotions eclipsed the musings of the scientist, pushing them into a corner of his mind, where they only meekly protested. James now developed a plan to become a regular young man who answered his country’s call.
2
11 December 1941
New York City
• Germany and Italy declare war on the United States.
• United States declares war on Germany and Italy.
• Marines on Wake Island repulse Japanese landing attempt and sink two enemy destroyers.
• Japanese naval vessels sunk at Wake Island:
• Destroyer Hayate by marine shore batteries.
• Destroyer Kisaragi by marine aircraft.
On December 7 the world changed, and James was like most Americans, shaken by the unexpected attack on Pearl Harbor. He had seen the world changing, and his close association with Dr. Fermi had already colored his world view with the horrors of Hitler and Mussolini and knew full well that America would be pulled into the war. His greatest concern on the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor was that he would miss out on the war and be stuck in some research institution for the entirety of the action. As a young boy, he had heard stories of his father’s adventures on a destroyer in the First World War, and he wanted to have similar experiences. But he knew if he tried to enlist with his credentials of being the youngest professor of physics in the country, he would be immediately sent to some research lab and left there for the duration. So, he devised a plan to become a normal eighteen year old who wanted to serve his country.
His first decision was to wait until December 11 to sign up. This gave him time to create a credible story about his life, one that would not expose his identity as a scientist. He knew if he told the people at the enlistment center that he was a college graduate, he would not be taken seriously unless he could prove it, which of course he could. By doing this, though, he would be stopped from entering the navy as a regular recruit. So, he devised a plan to join the navy as an enlisted man, so he could serve on a fighting ship. He would have to be very careful in taking his tests and interviews and not show off his brilliance.
James decided to build a new story for himself. He would have to use his real social security number and date of birth, but he could change his background by leaving out a lot of the details of his education. The biggest roadblock in his view was his quiet and introspective nature which did not fit the profile of a normal eighteen year old. He would have to grapple with himself to appear more aggressive in both speech and attitude which was a difficult internal struggle. He knew the key to securing an immediate appointment was his radio license which he had earned in 1935. The navy needed radio operators, and the skill was deemed critical to the war effort.
He walked over to the Broadway enlistment center which had been besieged for the first few days with crowds of men trying to enlist. He figured if he waited a few days the crowds would ease. There were still some twenty men ahead of him, but he was finally able to get in front of the petty officer doing the initial screening.
“Yes, you want to enlist,” the petty officer exclaimed in a tired voice.
“Yes sir, I want to sign up for duty on a destroyer, sir,” James said in a strong and resolute voice.
The petty officer looked up at him and asked how old he was even though he could see the young man was tall and strongly built.
“Sir, I turned eighteen last month, and I have graduated from high school.”
“What is your name,” the petty officer asked looking at the young man in front of him.
“James Brand, sir, and I was born in Arizona, sir.”
“Mr. Brand, you do not call me sir, I am a petty officer. You do not salute me or call me sir, is that straight with you?”
“Yes sir, I mean Petty Officer or should I call you something else.” James was a bit flustered now and stumbled over his words.
“You can call me Chief. Do you have any special skills or education that would make the navy want you on one of its ships?”
“Yes sir, I mean, Chief. I have a radio license and can send and receive Morse at sixty-five words per minute.” James beamed as he took out a piece of formal looking paper with the license information.
The chief examined the paper and verified it was an official FCC document. He then smiled and looked up at the young man.
“Now, Mr. Brand, you came to the right place. The navy needs good radio operators, and if you are as quick as you say, we can get you processed today. Is that what you want?” The chief looked at the young man with a new sense of interest and wondered what other specialties he had. The head of recruiting in Washington sent a telegram to all recruiting locations to be on the lookout for anyone with radio skills or other technical training. These men were to be flagged and their details sent to navy headquarters for immediate selection and qualification. The navy knew it took months to train a mediocre radio/telegraphist and any previous experience was given top priority.
The chief had James sign some papers and then had a seaman first class take him upstairs to interview with the lieutenant charged with finding the especially talented people for which the navy was looking. The seaman had James sit outside an office with two other young men, both about four to five years older than James, who were talking about their experiences in ship building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Both, it seemed, had experience in large steam turbine engines that were also very important to the navy. James sat and listened but did not offer anything of importance to the conversation. He had learned from his mother and his mentor at Cal Tech, Iggy, to listen more and talk less, which allowed him to better analyze situations. After a wait of about twenty minutes, he was ushered into the office of Lieutenant Holmes, a reservist who was at least forty-five years old and had been recalled to duty for the duration. He had several rows of ribbons which showed he had seen service during WWI. From the looks of it, he was a technical man.
Lieutenant Holmes looked up from his desk and motioned for James to take a seat. The lieutenant asked for his license, the type of radio he had, how he maintained it, and wondered about his speed in taking and sending messages. Finally, he asked the question that James knew was coming.
“So, Mr. Brand, with your experiences and technical knowledge, why do you want to join up now? You could easily sit out the war in some radio company or get a government job that wouldn’t put you in harm’s way. Why do you want to join the navy?”
James was ready with his response knowing it had to sound spontaneous and somewhat like a regular eighteen year old would say.
“Sir, I don’t like the way the Japs attacked our country, and I know that my radio knowledge would help the navy. I want to see action, and if my radio background helps me get on a fighting ship faster, then I am ready to ship out today.”
The lieutenant smiled and said he would expedite the young man’s enlistment, schedule for the regular intelligence and physical exams, and get him a quick test on his radio proficiency if possible. If this went as planned and James was not telling big stories about his background, he could guarantee that James would be headed to basic training within a week. James beamed at the news and asked, “When do we get started?”
Lieutenant Holmes barked an order to the seaman sitting at a desk nearby a
nd told him to take James down to get a physical. “Put him first in line and stay with him. If there are no problems, bring him back here and then we can get him tested.”
James and the young seaman walked out of the room and into a new life, one that was quite different from anything the young Mr. Brand had ever known.
3
12 January 1942
Washington, D.C.
• Authorized enlisted strength of the navy is increased to 500,000.
• Bataan, Luzon, Philippines--Japanese exert strong pressure against II Corps, particularly on the western end of the line, while taking positions for concerted assault. 51st Division (Philippine Army) is hard hit and gives ground, some of which is regained after reserves are committed.
Adm. Ernest J. King had been appointed commander in chief of the U.S. Fleet (COMINCH) on December 20. The president had charged him with getting the navy going again after the debacle at Pearl Harbor and the subsequent poor showing by fleet elements of the Asiatic Fleet and the growing menace posed by Hitler’s submarines in the Atlantic. The U-boats of the German Kriegsmarine had started their Operation Drumbeat along the Eastern Seaboard, and ship losses were growing with little in the way of solutions. Adding to his woes was the lack of ships of all classes, the lack of trained crews and what he sensed as a lack of leadership at all levels of the service.
President Roosevelt had known King for many years, and this connection would be invaluable to King and the navy throughout the war years. FDR had chosen King for the top leadership position, and within another month he would combine Admiral Stark’s job as Chief of Naval Operations with that of the commander in chief of the U.S. Fleet. King had asked that these jobs be combined so all decisions would be in the hands of one man, and knowing Stark was now stained with the Pearl Harbor fiasco, things were moving the way King wanted.
He had inherited some of Stark’s staff but believed in putting his own people in key positions. Only a few senior officers were with him through the war years, and one of them was Rear Adm. Russel Willson whom he chose as his chief of staff and as his deputy chief of staff he picked Rear Adm. R. S. Edwards. The other person who would have a huge impact on the navy was Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Vice Admiral Fredrick J. Horne, who would be the face of the navy before Congress and who would deal with the huge challenge of logistics and procurement that were not in the temperament of Admiral King.
Added to this group of high-powered people was the head of the War Plans Division OP-12, Rear Adm. Kelly Turner, who would make his mark later in the war as the leader of amphibious operations in the Pacific. Kelly had the unenviable task of developing the plans tied to the overarching strategy being established by the president, the British military, and of course his boss, Admiral King. He would establish the basic formula for the war in the Pacific as well as the logistic life blood for the war in Europe.
King had been at the White House meeting with President Roosevelt and Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. George Marshall. The meeting was an update for the president on the war situation, especially the situation in the Philippines and the planning for movement of troops and material for the expected European front. The president was open to most discussions and liked hearing the views of his two top leaders, but when he decided it was final, both military chiefs accepted this as part of the constitutional process of civilian leadership. Right after the meeting was over and the two military leaders were leaving, FDR asked for a minute of King’s time to discuss one more subject. This was common practice, and Marshall was not concerned about anything going on without him. Often, it was the general that was called back for another round of questions, so this was normal for the way FDR operated.
“Admiral, I want you to look at this letter and see what you can do about it,” FDR said to King as he took the letter and quickly read it. He knew full well the power that the name Einstein had in the government, particularly with the president and his scientific council headed by Dr. Vannevar Bush. He realized some of the new gadgets and technologies they were working on would help win the war and especially help the navy. King returned the letter asking, “Sir, I can find out if we have this young man and pull him out of training if that is what you want.”
FDR, smiled as he picked up his cigarette, “Ernest, I think that would be a good idea, but I also believe this young prodigy would be an asset to the navy, rather than locked up in some college lab doing things for Bush and his colleagues. Perhaps, you could loan him out from time to time, but it may be a good idea to have your own resident wizard under your command. This young man did the patriotic thing, and he should be rewarded for it, but let’s keep him in the navy.”
“Sir,” King stated, “I can find him and have him report for duty on my staff in the research division. If he is a recruit as this letter states, we can make him a reserve officer immediately based upon his completion of college and graduate school. I will let you know when we have him and keep you posted on what we do with him.”
“That will be fine, Admiral, and keep me apprised of how he works out so I can tell Professor Einstein that we have saved this young man from the clutches of galley duty.” FDR always capped his comments with what he thought was a humorous comment and King knowing his predilection for humor, smiled and asked if there was anything else. “Yes, here is the FBI file on the young genius which makes for very interesting reading. He has been cleared for top secret research, and this may help you in your dealings with him.”
The president handed off the file and with a wave of the hand and a shake of the head, King knew he had been dismissed. He stood at attention and said, “Thank you, Mr. President. I will report back when I have some information.” King turned and exited the office as the president looked at the pile of correspondence burying his desk.
Admiral King left the White House in his staff car accompanied by two aides and a marine driver. As the car pulled out of the driveway, he pulled out the FBI file and began to read.
Confidential Report—James Edward Brand, Ph.D.
Date of Birth: November 12, 1923, Flagstaff, Arizona
Marital Status: Single
Summary of Findings: The subject of this report is a citizen of the United States in good standing and with a strong sense of loyalty, duty, and patriotism. He is very young to be so highly educated, but appears to be much more mature than most young people. His early family life was astonishing based on his access to the top scientific minds in astronomy and at a very young age participated in the discovery of the planet Pluto. His parents were both college graduates, father deceased, and he excelled early on in all academic endeavors. All the individuals interviewed were unanimous in their praise for his moral character, scientific prowess, and ability to process large and complex information.
Education:
Bachelor of Science, Arizona State Teachers College, 1936
Masters of Science in Mathematics, California Institute of Technology, 1938
Doctorate in Applied Physics, Columbia University, 1941
Language Skills: Proficient in German, French, Italian, Spanish and Japanese
Conclusions: Mr. Brand is well qualified for all areas of scientific research and has no known vices and is therefore recommended for top security clearances for government projects.
King stopped reading after the summary and scanned the next few pages with the names of interviewees, including several top scientists, the presidents of MIT and Harvard, as well as Dr. Fermi. A full page was dedicated to Brand’s publications and various patents in the areas of electrical research, communications, and aeronautical engineering. King smiled as he closed the file and thought about the president helping the navy get a top man like James Brand. But first, he had to find him and then put him to work.
When King got back to the Navy Yard, he called his chief of staff, Rear Adm. Russel Willson, and reviewed the previous meeting. He gave Willson a list of various action items needed for the report requested by the president and General Mars
hall. He was about to dismiss Willson when he recalled information in the letter and a note written on his action pad which he carried to all meetings with the commander in chief.
“Russel, the president has requested that we find a young sailor, who in his exuberance to fight the Japs, joined up last month. We need to pull him from training and bring him back to Washington.”
Admiral Willson, looked perplexed and asked his boss, “So somebody’s kid decided the navy was too rough and wants a free ticket out of the service? This kid must have a close connection with the president to have that much pull.”
King smiled at his top aide. “Nothing could be further from the truth. Seems the president is looking after the navy for once. This kid is a prodigy of some kind, and Einstein personally contacted the president about him. Our young recruit wants to fight and not spend the war in some research facility doing God only knows what. Our young recruit is only eighteen and has three college degrees including a doctorate degree in physics from Columbia. The man in the White House wants us to get him here and use him as we see necessary. Now, I like the idea of a young man so eager to fight, but knowing full well that once we understood his real background, he would be locked up in some government research facility. He must have lied about his background and credentials so we should talk to JAG about it, but I don’t see a problem. Go find out where he is, then get someone to get him out of whatever he is doing, get him commissioned, and back here.”
Admiral Willson took the piece of paper with the name on it and walked out of the office. He knew King very well and did not need further direction or small talk. King had a reputation for fast decisions and little time for idle chatter. He expected his people to do the same.
U-Boat Scourge Page 2