by M. L. Maki
“What happened down in the RT classroom, Jim? I know you weren’t touring the ship.”
Holtz looks into his cup, “I tried to pull Hunt out of the brain trust and Captain Klindt read to me from the book. He made it pretty clear that Hunt is under his protection. He even called me a dinosaur. The thing is, why is she so important? You wanted her on that brain trust. You recommended her for jets. I know Carleton is an ass, but it was you that pulled him off her after the EA-6B thing. What’s the deal?”
Lee stares into his cup, “Lt. Hunt helped me through a really bad time, and has been discreet enough to keep her mouth shut about it since.”
“On the Kennedy?”
“Yeah, it was her first deployment and I was commander of the Ghost Riders.”
“I can’t imagine you needing her help with anything.”
“Well, I did. We were in Rota, and I was a mess. I was barely functional. I went on the biggest bender of my life. I spilled my guts to her, and she listened. She talked me through a terrible time, and then poured coffee down me, and walked me around until I was semi-sober, and got me back on board. After that night, she never said a word about it to anyone. Not a word.”
“I can’t imagine you drunk. I have never seen you drunk. We went on some benders together and it always you getting me back.”
Lee chuckles, “Yeah, I did a lot of that.”
“What could possibly cause you to drink like that?” Please, Rick, I just want to understand.”
“You’re still the same, like a dog with a bone. Can’t let it go. It isn’t an endearing trait, you know, but, you know how to keep your mouth shut.” Lee smiles at him, “Like that accident in VF-111.”
“Yeah, when Tri-pod took a hooker up in his F-4,” Holtz smiles.
“If I tell you, it would cost me my career. Hunt knows, but I don’t think anyone else does. Well, one guy.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me ‘til I’m done. You might regret it. Remember when we were in the Sundowners?” Holtz nods and Lee continues, “I went through my divorce then. We got back from deployment, hostage crisis. Anyway, I get back and my wife is gone, and she’s taken our daughter, Melanie. She’d just moved away, no warning. I stopped getting letters from her, oh, maybe halfway through deployment, but I thought, well, maybe something happened, maybe she lost my address…I don’t know. A desperate man has desperate thoughts. Anyway, I chased her down in Minnesota.
“When Rhonda took Melanie away like that, it broke something in my daughter. She was my special girl, only eight years old. I loved her so much. Rhonda knew that, so she campaigned against me. Rhoda kept moving and changing her name and my daughter grew up thinking her dad was a monster. I never stopped believing in…I never gave up, but it was hard, Jim, damn hard.
“My ex contacted me when Melanie turned eighteen. She’d dropped out of school and run away. I took leave, all I had on the books, looking for her. God, did I look for her. Then, ten months later, she shows up on my doorstep. I don’t know how she found me, but she did. She was strung out on, God…I don’t know what. I cleaned her up, got her into rehab, and I did good by her, Jim, I really did. I had a daughter again and life was wonderful…for about a year.
“She was haunted, looking over her shoulder, you know? She wouldn’t talk about it, but I knew her past was bothering her. I tried to give her all the love she missed. I did. One day, I come home from work and the door is smashed in, the house wrecked, and no sign of Melanie. I called the police and they told me she was in the hospital.
“Her past had caught up with her in a big way. Her old pimp found her. He raped her and beat her, beat my daughter to death. The doc just shook his head when I told him…I told him I’d give her my kidney, my spleen, my heart, hell, I’d give her my life. He just said that nothing could be done.
“I held my daughter in my arms and watched her die. She said, ‘Daddy, I’m sorry.’ But, damn it, Jim, she didn’t have anything to be sorry for.
“There was this black guy there, at the hospital. He found Melanie on the side of the road and got her to the hospital and called the cops. He stayed with her, Jim, this old guy. He didn’t know her at all. Didn’t know me, but he stayed and he prayed with her. I owe that guy. I owe him a lot.
Taking a deep breath, then a sip of coffee, he continues, “Lt. Hunt is the kind of woman Melanie could have been. She’s the kind of woman I wish my daughter had the chance to become. The first time I saw her…the face, the hair, she looks so much like Melanie. The same quirky smile, when she ever does smile. She was good to me. She could have, well, you know, but she didn’t. That’s worth something. And Jim, she has drive. She has a dream, and she believes in it. And you know what, I believe in it too. I’m glad they gave her a chance.”
“But can she fly? Can she fight? I understand, but if she can’t, she’s going to get someone killed.”
“Well, when she was in the training squadron I came through San Diego after Command College. I arranged to fly against her and Thud. I and a member of the aggressor squadron were planning to clean her clock. You know, teach her something. She waxed me, Jim. It wasn’t even close. So, the next time we meet, one on one, she had me with guns in about 30 seconds. Thud is good, really, she’s even better. We swapped around, because by then I’m thinking this old man has lost his edge. She got a sidewinder on the instructor in about 20 seconds. She’s good, Jim. I have three kills from Vietnam, and I say she’s good.
“I’m not asking you to give her any favors, and I’m not asking you to give her a ride. I’m telling you, Jim, give her a chance. She deserves a shot. And by God, she’s gonna get the shot my daughter didn’t. You wanted to know. You wanted to know, Jim, why I care about this girl, well, now you do.”
“Please tell me they found the guy. Please tell me he’s rotting in prison.”
“No, Jim, he isn’t rotting in prison. He’s rotting in the ground. I don’t want this talked around. I’m only saying this because we’re friends, but I killed that son of a bitch.”
“You shot him?”
“No, Jim, I killed him with my bare hands. When my hands got too bad, I used a hammer.”
“Did the police, um, did anybody find out?”
“I think the cops knew. I know the detective did. He told me he was absolutely, positively certain it was a Mexican gang. Then he suggested I wear gloves for a few weeks.”
“Does Hunt know?”
“Yeah, she knows.”
SAM AND GLORIA’S STATEROOM, 0230, 22 DECEMBER, 1941
There’s a knock, and Hunt, Hoolihan, brief in 30 minutes.”
Gloria, groaning, rolls out of her rack, “God, I hate early morning flights.”
“We’re going to war, Gloria.”
“Yeah, but why can’t we kill Japanese at a reasonable hour. Isn’t there a Geneva convention or something on that?”
Sam laughs as she rolls off the top rack and drops to the floor, grabs her gear and heads for the bathroom. Gloria follows, her hair in wild disarray, trying to get it out of her eyes. “You’re perky. You hiding coffee?”
“No, wish I was. You okay?”
“Yeah, if I stop grumping, then it’s time to worry. How about you?”
“I’m great.”
“Last night you looked like hell. Why the change?”
“We’re going to war, Gloria. I realized last night that if we do this right, my dad might not go through so much hell on Guadalcanal.”
“Oh, well, if we get dressed fast enough there may be coffee in our future, and breakfast. We can be well caffeinated while we save the world.”
BLACK KNIGHT READY ROOM, 0300, 22 DECEMBER, 1941
Spike and Hot Pants are almost the last ones in. They find seats with their RIO’s, Puck and GQ. Thud is in animated conversation with Speedy directly in front of them. He turns, holding a large book. “Hey, Spike, this book says the Long Lance torpedo used liquid oxygen. A few shots at a torpedo could cause a surface ship to explode.”<
br />
“Wow, Thud, we might be able to destroy a ship with guns. Good to know.”
CDR Holtz walks to the podium, “Okay, everyone, listen up. Assignments are as follows: Book, you will lead flight two with Bo-Bo, Johnny, and Gunner. I will lead flight one with Glow Rod, Jedi, and Bug. Swede, you will lead flight three with Spike, Hot Pants, and Thud. Now, I have asked Thud to brief us on the opposition aircraft we can expect to face. Thud.”
Thud starts, “The primary naval fighter is the A6M type 21 Zero. It has a top speed of about 300 knots, a climb rate of 3000 feet per minute, and a service ceiling of 33,000 feet. It has trouble in a dive. The control surfaces are too small and at high speeds has difficulty pulling out of a dive. It has two forward mounted .30 caliber machine guns and two 20mm cannon. The 20 mm could screw us up good, but they only have 100 rounds. The fuel tank is behind the pilot inside the fuselage. The tanks do not seal, so a couple of hits there, and it’s bye, bye Zero. Don’t get in a turning fight with a Zero. They had the best turning rate of any fighter in the war.”
Bo-Bo snickers, “I was just wondering if the Japanese carried sling shots, too. It worked for David.”
Thud replies, “The British army disregarded the Zulu warriors as primitive, and the Zulu wiped out whole units of British regulars during the Boer War. Just because the equipment is inferior, doesn’t mean the pilots are.”
Holtz adds, “Just listen up, Bolen, so I don’t have to write your mama explaining why Bo-Bo got a boo-boo. Continue, Thud.”
“The KI-27 Nate is inferior to the Zero in every way except climb rate. They are easy to tell apart because the Nate has fixed landing gear. Top speed on the Nate is about275 knots and the service ceiling is about 32,000 feet. The Nate will still out turn us, so we are better off going vertical. Most of the bombers are two engine types. The American Army Air Corp will probably have B-25 Mitchells in theater and they look a lot like a G2M Nell bomber. So, be careful what you shoot at. The rest of the Japanese bombers will have a single vertical stabilizer, which could possibly be confused with a C-47. What we know as a DC-3.”
“Won’t the big meat ball on the wing give it away?” asks Gunner.
“Don’t be an ass, Gunner. He’s trying to help,” says Gunner’s RIO, Wally ‘Nob’ Nelson. Thud ignores them and continues, “The Japanese started the campaign with over 600 aircraft of all types and about 200 of those are fighters of both types. Zeros outnumber the Nates, and the Zero has that 20mm cannon. Another thing, the bombers, including the single engine KI-30 Anne, are mounted with rear facing guns. If possible, the best approach angle is from the rear and below, or head to head and low. Of course, that won’t happen with torpedo bombers, they generally fly on the deck.”
Thud stops and looks at Holtz, who asks, “Questions?”
Chris ‘Klutz’ Brandt, Bo-Bo’s RIO, asks, “Do these old prop planes even count as a full kill? Hell, we’ll all be aces before the day is out, even the girls.”
Hot Pants says, “Spike and I will equal or better the count of any of you, Chris, except Thud. I bet he’ll be the squadron lead ace.”
Klutz says, “Is that a bet? What’s the bet?”
Hot Pants says, “If you lose, you all have to wear a pink bow on your uniform until we hit port again, or any of you sad sacks catch up with us.”
Holtz says, “I agree, and if any two of us outscore you, then, you two have to wear a tie.”
Spike and Hot Pants look at each other, “You’re on, except, you can’t Swede either, as he’s flying with us.”
Holtz says, “Deal. Do you all agree?” All the pilots nod. “Okay, then, Book, Flight 2 will make the run with the 12 A-6 Intruders of VA-52 Knight Riders, engaging troops, transports, and the fleet of Lamon Bay. You will fly the east coast of PI and avoid contact, unless attacked, until after the A-6’s attack. Once the Intruders expend their ordinance, you are to escort them back, and you are free to engage at will to accomplish the mission. Consider it a fighter sweep while covering the A-6s.
“Swede, you will approach from the east as well. Overfly Luzon, escorting 12 F/A 18s of VFA-22 Red Cocks. Your mission is to cover them while they engage the Japanese at the forward edge of the battle and the invasion beaches. I will be leading the escorts for the attack on the Japanese fleet with the 12 F/A 18s of VFA-146 Blue Diamonds. I will also have a flight of four from the VF-33 Tomcatters. Two Tomcatters will be covering the E-2C Ghost Rider. Two will be covering the refueling planes, and another four will be doing a fighter sweep between Taiwan and PI. Questions?”
Swede asks, “How many friendly aircraft are in theater?”
Holtz looks at Thud, and he says, “There is supposed to be ninety-one P-40 Warhawk fighters and thirty-four bombers, but I’m not sure what type and I have no idea how many are left.”
GQ asks, “Are we going to have Dust Off available when one of these guys hits the silk?”
Holtz says, “Not at first, so you’ll have to escape and evade. Once the skies are relatively clear, we’ll send in helos, any more questions?”
Thud raises his hand, “Yes, Thud?”
“Will I have to wear a pink ribbon, too, when you guys lose?”
“Nope, you’re playing for the other team today.” Everyone laughs, “Okay, lets break and go to Wardroom 3 for the final brief.”
As they walk out, Thud says to Spike, “So, me and Speedy we’re thinking…” and Spike gives him a wry grin. Thud continues, “Not like that, Spike. We’re thinking how to go after Zeros. What if we did opposed barrel rolls like this,” flying his hands through the air. “One of us takes the lead, you of course, and you do a barrel roll, say to the left, and I’d be a couple of hundred feet behind and barrel roll to the right. As we roll anything that comes into our sights with guns or the AIMs, we engage. We would be going way too fast for any of them to get on our six, and we could weave in and out and blow them away. We don’t want to get into a turning fight with them. That would be worse than getting into a turning fight with an F-16.”
“You’re right, but we should make the barrel rolls away from each other, less chance of a collision.”
“Yeah, I see that. I thought if I was behind, that wouldn’t be a problem, but then it’s harder to track the tangos. Okay, away from each other. So, what do you think?”
“It might work, Thud. I like it, kind of an updated offensive thatch weave.”
WARDROOM 3, 03 LEVEL FORWARD, 0345, 22 DECEMBER, 1941
Big pilot briefings have always been held in one of the wardrooms. It’s called a formal briefing, but it’s conducted more informally. The crews jostle around and give each other a hard time while waiting. They all seem to be in a good mood. As Spike walks in with Thud, she over hears an F/A-18 pilot, Rick ‘Jail Bait’ Funk, talking to Swede, “You know, going to briefings is kind of like being married.”
Swede asks, “How’s that?”
“Well, you have to sit around and talk about it all the time, instead of just going in there and getting it done.”
Spike chuckles, and Swede says, “You’re such a bonehead.” Spike and Swede go to sit with their RIOs and wingmen. As they settle in, Admiral Ren, Captain Johnson, and Captain Lee walk in. Someone shouts, “Attention on deck,” and everyone stands.
Admiral Ren says, “Carry on. Carry on. Captain Lee, you have the floor,” and the admiral sits down.
Captain Lee steps to the podium and goes over the three-pronged attack plan, explaining the duties of each squadron. “The objective is to sink all the enemy naval forces with a focus on transports, disrupt the landings, and pound the troops already on the ground. Sinking the Ryujo is, of course, a priority. The code phrase for sinking the carrier is ‘Death Star Down’.”
When the laughter dies down, Lee says, “Lieutenant Jackson could you come up and brief us on the Japanese forces in theater?” Thud walks forward and nervously repeats the same brief he gave his own squadron a few minutes ago. Then Lee asks each of the squadron commanders to explain how they intend to ex
ecute their part of the plan. When they are finished, Lee says, “Questions?”
An F/A-18 pilot, Elijah ‘Way Low’ Cruze, of the Blue Diamonds, asks, “Given we will not be getting resupplied, is it wise to expend Harpoon missiles against WWII ships?”
“It’s what we have and we’ll use them. It’s much better than losing any of our own ships. I’ve had quite enough of that,” answers Admiral Ren.
Lt. Hunt asks, “Sir, are the escorting F-14s going to carry any air to ground ordinance?”
“No, I see the F-14s as primarily air to air. However, as long as there are ships floating out there I would just as soon you didn’t come back with any ordinance. Is that clear?” Than comment starts a happy rumble and several people say, “Yes, sir!” Thud and Spike lock eyes.
One of the Red Cock pilots, Lt. JG Laramie ‘Six Gun’ Morrison asks, “Are we going to have any S-3s available for refuel?” The F-14 pilots chuckle, as the F/A-18 has notoriously short legs.
Admiral Ren says, “Yes, we will still need ASW, but we’ll keep a few gas stations orbiting below the E2C. They will be dispatched as needed.” Pausing a moment, he looks out at the eager faces, “Okay, folks, a lot of you are thinking this is going to be like shooting fish in a barrel. I’d like to wipe that thought from your mind. It may be propeller planes vs jets, but do not forget, you are going up against some of the best fighter pilots that ever lived. As we always do in training, the dog fight is against the other pilot as much as it is against the other plane. Now, let’s got out there and kick some ass.” The men erupt, cheering.
As they file out of the wardroom, Swede motions to everyone in his flight to join him, “When we tangle with the Zeros, remember to fight them in the vertical and don’t get in a turning fight. Thud is right, turn with a Zero, you lose. And, we’ll be dealing with ack-ack, so don’t ever fly a straight line. Remember to keep talking to each other. There will be sixteen planes flying together, so we need to pay special attention to avoid collisions. Keep your eyes out of the cockpit.”