‘’Uh, no, General.’ answered the sergeant, embarrassed, before making himself rare. MacArthur then started to inspect the wounded one by one, talking briefly with each of them and also distributing at the same time Purple Hearts8, of which an aide carried a box-full, while another aide noted down the names, units and serial numbers of the recipients, so that official lists could be made afterwards. A sizeable group of civilian reporters and photographers, along with two Army photographers, were following MacArthur, taking picture after picture. Brereton didn’t like this egomaniacal aspect of his commander, but he had to concede that he was a competent strategist and a strong-8 Purple Heart: American decoration given to personnel wounded or killed in combat, irrespective of rank or occupation.
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willed commander. Brereton saluted him when he arrived near Ingrid’s stretcher.
MacArthur returned his salute, then looked down at the teenager, who was still lying on her bare belly but had opened her eyes.
‘’Captain Dows, you would have made your adoptive mother proud today.’
The compliment made Ingrid smile.
‘’Thank you, General. I however only did my duty, like all those brave men around me.’’
‘’Well said, Captain. How are your wounds?’’
The Army doctor in charge of the infirmary, who was anxiously following MacArthur, took on him to answer.
‘’She sustained first and second degree burns to parts of her back, to her neck and to her left arm, General. Her burns are painful but superficial and she will be able to pilot again in a few weeks. She will however be left with some permanent scars.’
MacArthur looked again at Ingrid, truly saddened to see such a brave and beautiful girl in such a state.
‘’Captain Dows, I suppose that you realize that, with a total of 29 air victories, you are now officially the top American air ace of all times, dethroning Eddie Rickenbacker, who had 26 air victories?’
Many of the civilian reporters, who had not realized that, scribbled frantically in their notebooks or took pictures of her. Ingrid then answered MacArthur in a subdued voice.
‘’I know it, General, but is the American public or government ready to accept it?
Are they ready to follow the example of the British, who took the counsels of Nancy Laplante and are now using women fully in the war effort? You know that I am able to pilot a fighter only through the good graces of President Quezon, and that the American Army Air Corps would not accept me, even now.’
‘’Many things could be arranged with some good wil , Captain. For the moment, I am more than happy to have you as a Filipino Air Corps fighter pilot and I consider your services as such to be essential to my command and to the defense of the Philippines. I thus can assure you that you will get another fighter plane as soon as you are healed. I can also assure you that your incredible bravery and devotion to duty shown today will be rewarded properly. Captain!’’
The aide carrying the box of Purple Hearts stepped forward, letting MacArthur fish out a Purple Heart, which he then pinned to Ingrid’s pil ow, near her head, before coming to attention and saluting her.
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‘’Again, I wish you a prompt recovery, Captain.’’
Ingrid saluted back the best she could without exposing her naked chest.
‘’Thank you, General.’’
MacArthur, satisfied with himself, then made a last public gesture and looked at an aide while giving an order that all could hear.
‘’Lewis, make sure that Captain Dows gets a new combat uniform with the appropriate insignias and award ribbons. If a quartermaster refuses to give you a combat uniform for this air heroin, then you have my benediction to boot his ass.’
‘’Understood, General!’
MacArthur then quickly concluded his visit and left with his followers, leaving Ingrid with Brereton, his aide and a pair of reporters. The man in the couple of reporters smiled to Ingrid, his camera in his hands, while the woman stood ready to take notes.
‘’Uh, could we ask you a few questions, Captain? I’m Melville Jacoby, of the TIME-LIFE MAGAZINE, and this is my friend Annalee Whitmore, of the LIBERTY
MAGAZINE.’
Ingrid winced as the medic treating her put on a new piece of bandage, then nodded her head.
‘’I remember you. Go ahead, Mister Jacoby.’
‘’Well, you must realize that your case is rather exceptional, not to say unique, in American military history. It is also quite controversial in the United States. Could you tell me what makes you able to be a top fighter pilot, an occupation considered to be strictly for men?’’
‘’Mister Jacoby, nothing makes women inapt to serve as fighter pilots, contrary to the many tired and untrue beliefs held on that subject. The Soviets presently use women as combat pilots in at least three air regiments, and even use many as snipers on the battlefield. In Nancy Laplante’s time, in 2012, many air forces used female fighter pilots with great success. As for me personally, I possess a very acute eyesight, have excellent eye-hand coordination, a good sense of equilibrium and am in good physical shape. I am also said to have a rare natural talent for flying. I also learned in the past from a number of air aces in Europe, but the main thing is that I use the strengths of my plane as well as the weaknesses of the Japanese planes.’’
Annalee Whitmore then jumped in with a question of her own.
‘’Captain, why did you want to become a fighter pilot?’’
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‘’First, I love flying. I started flying on gliders at the age of twelve and was hooked on flying at once. Second, being a fighter pilot means to be able to fly the fastest and best performing planes in existence. Thirdly, as a fighter pilot, I am in a position which allows me to defend thousands of persons from enemy bombers and fighters. That last reason, more than anything else, motivates me to give my best in the sky of the Philippines.’
‘’Captain, many in the United States, including my own editor, say that it is immoral to let a woman fight, that women are too precious for the country to be risked on the frontlines.’ said Jacoby, trying to elicit a reaction from her. He was not disappointed, as Ingrid shot him a sharp look and raised her tone of voice.
‘’I’m too precious to be risked on the frontlines because I am a woman? And what do you think about all those young men here in this infirmary? That their lives are not as equally precious? Go tell such a stupid thing to the mothers of these men and you will see what they will tell you. Excuse my choice of words, but their asses are as precious as mine in my eyes. What is truly immoral is to demean the death of a man compared to that of a woman. Look at this man to my right! Take a picture of me and him, both on our stretchers, and publish it while asking which one of us is more precious in the eyes of the parents of that young man.’
Even Brereton was shaken as he looked at the young American, who was at most twenty years old and was covered with bloody bandages. Seen under that angle, many arguments against the military use of women became questionable, to say the least.
The other wounded men in the infirmary were not saying a word then while staring at Ingrid, some with grave expressions, others looking grateful. Mel Jacoby then took multiple pictures of Ingrid and of the young soldier. For good effect, Ingrid also added to the dramatic flair of the pictures by holding the left hand of the soldier while smiling gently to him. Once his photos were taken, Mel thanked Ingrid and left with Annalee.
Brereton nodded in approval at Ingrid.
‘’Captain Dows, I think that you just nailed one of the realities of war in a way I am not about to forget. I will await with impatience your return at the commands of a fighter. Good night and good luck.’’
Ken was next to show up forty minutes later, mad with worry. Nearly running to her stretcher, he kissed her passionately before speaking.
‘’My God, Ingrid! You really scared me today.’
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Ingrid smiled to him, trying to reassure him.
‘’And you think that I was not scared up there, faced with all these Japanese planes?’
Ken then eyed with sadness her burns, now covered with bandages or antiseptic cream.
‘’What did the doctor say about your wounds, Ingrid?’
‘’I got first and second-degree burns, but they are superficial and will heal in a few weeks. General Brereton told me that I am going to be shipped to Australia for treatment, along with other wounded pilots. General MacArthur also visited me and promised me another fighter plane, apart from giving me a Purple Heart. By the way, I now have 29 confirmed air victories and beat the old record held by Eddie Rickenbacker.
You are now married to the top American air ace of all times.’’
Tears rolled on Ken’s cheeks as he kissed her again.’’
‘’Just being married to you makes me proud, Ingrid. Let me just go find a combat shirt or a T-shirt for you: you should not stay bare torso like this.’
‘’Why not?’’ replied Ingrid, a malicious smile on her lips. ‘’I haven’t heard any complaints yet about that here.’
A concert of laughs and of spicy comments from the other patients made Ken smile. He then wiggled an index at her.
‘’You don’t need to raise the morale of the other wounded that way, my young perverted wife. I won’t be long.’’
By the time Ken returned a few minutes later with a green T-shirt given by one of the medics, he found Major Jesus Villamor and Major Francisco Bandong at the foot of Ingrid’s stretcher, speaking to her. Jesus gave a sober look at Ken.
‘’We came as soon as we learned where Ingrid was. I took the liberty to bring with me her backpack, fil ed with her things from Batangas, along with her rifle.’’
Ken nodded with appreciation as he eyed the Springfield 1903 lying beside the stretcher, along with a combat web belt supporting its bayonet and ammunition pockets. He then noticed a bit late the GLOCK 17L pistol which Ingrid was still wearing in its holster on her right upper leg.
‘’I approve of anything that can help her defend herself, Major Villamor. Thank you for coming, you and Major Bandong.’
The latter smiled politely while presenting him a large parcel wrapped in brown paper.
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‘’President Quezon was greatly relieved to learn that your wife is alive, Major Dows. He sent me to bring to your wife these two going out uniforms of the Filipino Army, specially tailored to fit your wife. He also told me to deliver this envelope, which contains your wife’s next three months of pay, in American dollars. She may need that money in Australia.’’
‘’Please thank in my name President Quezon for his consideration, Major Bandong.’ said Ken before accepting both the parcel and the envelope. He then gave the envelope to Ingrid, who pocketed it at once, revealing briefly her bare breasts in the process. A concert of admiring whistles greeted that, making Ken smile as he presented the T-shirt he had obtained for her.
‘’I believe that it is time for you to put this on, my beautiful temptress of a wife.’
Ingrid, grinning, got up on her knees and slowly put on the T-shirt, attracting more whistles. The doctor in charge of the infirmary arrived as Ken was putting in Ingrid’s backpack her new Filipino uniforms after first taking out of it a fresh combat shirt.
‘’Major, be advised that your wife wil be transferred tonight to the Sternberg Military Hospital in Manila for more elaborate treatment. From Sternberg, she will then be evacuated by air towards Darwin the day after tomorrow, in the early morning.’
‘’Thank you for informing me, and for treating Ingrid, Doctor.’
Ken then planted a last kiss on Ingrid’s lips.
‘’I wil bring you a few things in Sternberg to bring with you to Australia, including your portable radio and music collection: it should help your morale during your recovery.’
‘’Thank you, Ken. I wish that I could stay here with you.’
‘’Just come back at the controls of a fighter plane and you will make me happy, Ingrid. Take care of yourself.’
‘’You too, my dear Ken.’
Ingrid then looked at Villamor and Bandong, who were about to leave with Ken.
‘’Thank you for visiting me, Jesus. Major Bandong, tell President Quezon that I will return as soon as I can to continue defending the Philippines. Thank him as well for his consideration towards me.’
‘’I wil pass the word, Captain Dows.’
Once they were gone from the infirmary, Ingrid grabbed the fresh combat shit left by Ken and pinned to it her rank insignias, as well as the medal ribbons for her DSC,
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Silver Star, DFC and her new Purple Heart. She finally pinned on the left chest her insignia of fighter pilot. The young wounded soldier to her right watched her do that, then spoke in a weak voice.
‘’Captain, thank you for having spoken the way you did to those two reporters.’
‘’I only said the simple truth, Corporal. We are all equal in the eyes of God, after all.’
The young corporal, like many of the other wounded, nodded at those words. Without realizing it, Ingrid had just made herself be accepted as a combat comrade by many men who previously thought that she didn’t belong here.
06:31 (Manila Time)
Thursday, November 6, 1941 ‘C’
Clark Field, Philippines
Ken pressed cautiously Ingrid against him, careful not to touch her burns under her combat shirt as they stood beside the C-87 heavy transport aircraft which would fly her and the other wounded to Australia.
‘’Be back quickly and in good health, Ingrid. I already miss you.’
‘’And be careful yourself, my beautiful husband. I wil think of you every day while in Australia.’’
After a last, long kiss, Ken let her go with regret and grabbed her backpack to help her carry her things in the plane. Ingrid, on her part, grabbed her kit bag and slung her rifle on her right shoulder. Her pistol, as well as her web belt with bayonet and ammunition, were already around her waist. The couple was walking towards the access door of the C-87 when the noise of an approaching siren made them and the other passengers of the plane turn their heads to look at an approaching convoy of staff cars and jeeps.
Ingrid was the first to see the red pennant with three silver stars floating from the bumper of the leading staff car.
‘’It’s General MacArthur! Don’t tell me that he is traveling so early in the morning just for me.’
‘’It seems so, Ingrid.’ said Ken quietly as MacArthur’s car stop in front of her.
The couple came to rigid attention and saluted when the USAFFE commander stepped out. They were soon surrounded by civilian and military photographers as MacArthur stopped in front of Ingrid and returned her salute.
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‘’Captain Dows, according to Army regulations, I should be the one to salute you first and I am sorry to hold this ceremony in such an improvised way. Know that I received a message from President Roosevelt awarding you the Congressional Medal of Honor for your heroic actions of last Tuesday. I am happy to have been able to catch up to you before your departure for Australia.’’
While filmed and photographed from all sides, MacArthur took a small box from an aide and took out of it a medal shaped like a star with five points and suspended from a long sky-blue ribbon bearing white stars. He then clipped carefully its ribbon around her neck.
‘’Captain Ingrid Dows, of the 6th Pursuit Squadron of the Philippines Army Air corps, I am bestowing on you in the name of the President and the Congress of the United States the Medal of Honor, for extraordinary bravery and intrepidity well above the call of duty while engaged in active combat with the enemy. Congratulations, Captain Dows!’
Ingrid, her heart now racing, swallowed hard.
‘’Thank you, General! This makes me very humble indeed.’
‘’A fighter pilot, humble? That can’t be!’ joked MacArthur, making the others around him laugh. ‘’You can be truly proud of your exploits, Captain. Come back quickly from Australia at the commands of a fighter, so that I can watch you shoot down more Japanese planes. Good trip and good luck.’’
MacArthur gave her the small box containing a pair of undress ribbons for the CMOH, then took one step back and solemnly saluted her, to which Ingrid saluted back.
MacArthur then went back in his car and left with his escort of cars and jeeps. Ken then hurried to the plane with Ingrid, putting her things inside and kissing her one last time.
‘Take care, my love.’’
His heart heavy, Ken left the plane and walked away to a safe distance. He watched as the big transport started its four engines one by one and then started rolling towards the main runway with other C-87s. He waved with his hand as the heavy transport took off and turned South, towards Australia.
‘’Fly, my beautiful angel! Fly!’
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CHAPTER 6 – DARWIN
17:25 (Darwin Time)
Thursday, November 6, 1941 ‘C’
Consolidated C-87 LIBERATOR EXPRESS
On approach to Darwin, Northern coast of Australia Ingrid, numb from nearly ten hours of flying in the noisy heavy transport aircraft, woke up slowly when Helen Cassiani, one of the two army nurses escorting her and the eight other wounded in the C-87, gently shook her up.
‘’Captain Dows… Captain Dows, we are about to arrive in Darwin.’’
‘’Uh, thanks, Lieutenant.’ managed to say Ingrid before taking a deep breath to wake up. She then looked through the small window near her seat and saw that they were approaching a large bay in which dozens of ships were anchored. A small town and a port, along with two airfields, were also visible on the coastline. As she was observing the semi-arid landscape, souvenirs from nearly 700 years in the past came to her mind. Back then, she had been a nomadic aborigine man named Djanggawula who had lived with his tribe in the region south of Darwin. Djanggawula had lived to the old age for the time of 52 and had been the father of four children before dying from an infected wound during a hunting expedition. Ingrid whispered a few words in Wagiman, a dialect of the Ginwinyguan tongue which Djanggawula had spoken.
‘’The time of dreams is back…’’
The C-87 soon approached one of the two airfields, whose dirt and gravel strips were bordered by a sparse vegetation. The facilities at the airfield appeared to be minimal but the mass of planes and materiel cluttering the field made her swear.
‘’The idiots! They haven’t learned a thing.’
Juanita Redmond, the second army nurse aboard who was sitting near her looked at her with confusion.
‘’What do you mean, Captain?’
Ingrid gave a bitter look at the small, young and beautiful Latino woman.
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‘’What I mean is that the ones in charge of this airfield seem to have learned nothing from the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor, Lieutenant Redmond. Look at all those transport aircraft, lined up wingtip to wingtip. A single Japanese fighter could destroy them all in one pass. And all this materiel, fuel and equipment stacked like sardine cans in the open: a few bombs and everything would go up in smoke.’
Juanita, a young woman beautiful enough to become a Hollywood star, was silent for a moment as she stared at Ingrid. The teenage fighter pilot had quickly become a legend around the Philippines, with her phenomenal abilities as a fighter pilot allied to a beauty which made most of the soldiers and sailors dream about her. Many officers and soldiers had mocked at first the idea of a female fighter pilot. Their derision had however turned quickly to disbelief, then to respect as Ingrid accumulated air victories at a dizzying speed.
‘’But, if the attack on Pearl Harbor showed what the Japanese could do, then why would the commanders in Darwin fall for the same trick, Captain?’
‘’Because they are idiots or incompetents, or both.’’ replied at once Ingrid, who was getting more furious by the minute as she looked at the close to twenty four-engine transport planes lined up as if on parade on the airfield.
Her plane finally landed third out of the 25 C-87s back from the Philippines. It then rolled to a parking apron where a long line of ambulances was waiting. Ingrid got up with relief from her seat but waited for the other eight wounded, lying on stretchers, to be carried out before grabbing her backpack, kit bag and rifle and stepping out, careful not to rub her still very sensitive burns. An Australian Army doctor and a number of nurses and medics, along with two officers of the Royal Australian Air Force, or RAAF, were waiting near the ambulances to sort out the fifty or so wounded Americans who had arrived. Ingrid, standing near the end of the line, caused a small commotion when the Australians saw that she was a woman. One of the RAAF officers went to her at a near jog and stopped before her, detailing her with growing disapproval.
‘’What are you doing, carrying a rifle and a pistol, miss? You…’’
‘’First, Lieutenant,’ replied Ingrid, cutting him off in a cold voice, ‘’call me Captain, not miss! Secondly, I am a commissioned fighter pilot of the Filipino Army Air Corps and have the full right to carry weapons. Now, stuff your rear echelon asshole act and get lost! I am here to have my wounds treated, not to waste time with men like you.’
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‘’How dare you call me a rear echelon asshole?’ started to protest the Australian, not believing her. Ingrid then cut him off again.
‘’Because you are one, compared to me and all these wounded men, Lieutenant.
Now, I believe that you owe me a salute.’
The Australian, furious, swallowed his pride after a look at her rank insignias and at her medal ribbons and saluted her, then turned around and walked away. Now in a really bad mood, Ingrid continued to advance with the line, arriving finally in front of the Australian army doctor, a major. Ingrid saluted her after putting down on the ground her kit bag and coming to attention.
‘’Captain Ingrid Dows, 6th Pursuit Squadron, Filipino Army Air Corps, reporting for treatment, sir!’
The major, amused as well as surprised, returned her salute before looking briefly at the medical file which Helen Cassiani handed him.
‘’Hum, first and second degree burns to the back, neck and left arm. Your case, while painful, does not require urgent or intensive treatment. You will then be treated here at the infirmary of the station, rather than on the hospital ship MANUNDA, anchored in the port. You can get in in the fifth ambulance with your things, Captain.’’
‘’Thank you, Major.’’
Ingrid then carried slowly her things to the designated ambulance, joining there three other walking wounded Americans. One of them, a young anti-aircraft gunner with an arm in a sling, smiled at her as she climbed inside the ambulance.
‘’You sure plugged that big loud mouth, Captain.’’
‘’Let’s say that he asked for it, Corporal. How serious is your wound?’’
‘’Just a few pieces of shrapnel in the arm, Captain. I should be back to my gun in a couple of weeks.’
‘’That’s the spirit, Corporal.’ said Ingrid, smiling. The doors of the ambulance were then closed and it rolled for only a couple of minutes before stopping in front of the airfield’s infirmary. Entering with her things the wooden building, with a medic helping her by carrying her kit bag, she was greeted by a captain of the Medical Corps who was ready to treat her first. She however stopped him with a sign of the hand.
‘’I can wait, Captain. Take care of these men first, please.’’
Favorably impressed by her attitude, the young military doctor had Ingrid and two of the other wounded sit down in a small waiting room, admitting first the young gunner with the wounded arm in his examination room.
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Ingrid’s turn came after about forty minutes. Nearly asleep on her chair, she left behind her rifle and two packs and entered the examination room, where the doctor and a nurse were standing beside an examination table.
‘’If you can please remove your shirt and then lie on your bel y on the table, Captain.’’
Ingrid obeyed readily, revealing that she was not wearing a bra under her combat shirt.
‘’Excuse me for not wearing a bra, Doctor, but my back is too sensitive to stand straps.’
‘’I understand, Captain.’’ said softly the Australian doctor. ‘’You may now lie down.’’
Ingrid lay down as asked and did her best not to wince as the doctor, helped by the nurse, removed her bandages and inspected her burns. The doctor then gave his verdict a few minutes later.
‘’Your burns wil leave a few permanent but faint scars but should heal without a problem, unless infection sets in. I will now remove some pieces of burned skin, in order to minimize scarring, but wil first give you some morphine for the pain.’
‘’NO! No morphine, please, Doctor!’
‘’Are you sure, Captain? This wil be rather painful.’
‘’I don’t like the idea of losing control of my mind, Doctor. I will clench my teeth instead.’’
‘’As you wish! If you change your mind, just say so.’
The doctor then tried to relax her by talking with her while starting her treatment.
‘’So, Captain, how did you get those burns?’’
‘’I had to jump out of my burning P-40 fighter over the Philippines, Doctor. I had time to destroy seven Japanese planes before that but there were just too many of them.’
The nurse, like the doctor, was left open-mouthed for a second before speaking excitedly.
‘’You are the famous Lady Hawk, Captain?’
‘’Well, famous may be too strong a word, Nurse.’’
‘’Not at all! Do you know how many of our pilots are jealous of your score? They all wonder how you do it. Some even say that your scores are boosted for propaganda purposes.’’
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‘’Well, you can tell those pilots that, if they want to learn something about air combat, they are welcomed to come talk to me. As for the doubters, screw them!
I…OUCH!’
‘’I told you that it would be painful, Captain.’’ said the doctor. ‘’You better clench your teeth for the next few minutes: I’m starting the serious things now.’
Ingrid didn’t answer, closing her eyes and tightening her jaws to avoid screaming from the pain. The doctor then reassured her after about fifteen minutes, having applied new bandages.
‘’Here you are, Captain. We are done for the day. The nurse will now bring you to your bed in the ward. We are sorry if we don’t have private rooms but the nurse will pull curtains around your bed to give you some privacy. We will change your dressings once a day, until your burns start healing and the risk of infection will pass. You will then be able to handle light duties, but it will be a month or two before you can pilot a plane again.’’
‘’A MONTH OR TWO?! But, that’s an eternity for me and for the Philippines. My husband is still fighting there against the Japanese and we need all the fighter pilots we can get. The Japanese could have taken the Philippines in two months. Can’t you be more optimistic in my case, Doctor?’’
The army doctor hesitated, eyeing her before answering.
‘’Alright, I will do my best to speed your return to combat, Captain. Everything will however depend on how your burns will heal. If infection gets in…’’
‘’I understand, Doctor. Could I start exercising soon, by running or doing calisthenics?’’
‘’We will see in a few days, Captain Dows. You can now put your shirt back on.
Nurse, could you show her to her bed?’
A few minutes later, Ingrid was putting down her things besides a bed in a small ward, with the nurse pulling a curtain around the bed, which also had a mosquito netting and was near a window. She looked through the window for a few minutes, examining the airfield around the infirmary. The field personnel seemed busy refueling and servicing the C-87s which had arrived from the Philippines, while another group of transports were being loaded up at what Ingrid considered a lazy pace. Exhausted by her long air trip and her wounds, she put away her rifle and luggage in the nearby locker, then got down on her belly in the bed and went to sleep in a few seconds.
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03:47 (Manila Time)
Sunday, November 9, 1941 ‘C’
Observation tower of Fort Drum
El Fraile Island, Entrance of the Manila Bay
Philippines
The corporal of the 59th Coastal Artillery Regiment serving as one of the watchmen in the observation tower of Fort Drum stiffened when he spotted a dark mass about ten kilometers to the West. Adjusting the focus on his rangefinder, he soon had a clearer image of the unknown ship, which was nearly invisible in the dark.
‘’LIEUTENANT, I HAVE AN INTRUDER ABOUT SIX MILES AWAY, ON
HEADING 275.’’
The duty officer of the tower of Fort Drum, also known as ‘The concrete battleship’
because of its unusual construction, pointed his own rangefinder in the said direction and looked through his optics for a few seconds before shouting orders to his watchmen.
‘’ENEMY MINESWEEPER IN THE BAY’S ENTRANCE! WATCH FOR MORE
INTRUDERS!’
As the watchmen, now fully awake, were scanning slowly the waters of the bay with their binoculars and rangefinders, the lieutenant picked up the receiver of the telephone linking him with the command post of the fort.
‘’Hello! … This is Lieutenant Fullner, in the observation tower. We have spotted an enemy minesweeper in the entrance of the bay, about six miles away at heading 275.
The minesweeper is going at slow speed and seems to be opening a path through our minefields. My men are now looking for more possible enemy ships… Understood, Major!’’
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Fullner then hung up and was about to shout an order to the two men manning the big sixty inch-diameter projector situated on a platform above his head when a watchman shouted a warning.
‘’LIEUTENANT! TWO OTHER MINESWEEPERS ARE FOLLOWING THE
FIRST ONE ON BOTH FLANKS, ABOUT 200 YARDS BEHIND THE FIRST SHIP.
THEY MUST HAVE SWEPT THROUGH AT LEAST HALF THE DEPT OF OUR
MINEFIELDS BY NOW.’
‘’SHIT! GIVE ME A NEW AZIMUTH AND DISTANCE FOR THE LEADING
MINESWEEPER!’
‘’THE AZIMUTH IS NOW 278, DISTANCE 9,200 YARDS, SIR! THEY ARE
HEADING EAST AT ABOUT SIX KNOTS.’
The young artillery lieutenant picked his telephone receiver again and passed that information in an anxious tone, then asked a question.
‘’Should I light up our projector now, sir?’’
‘’Negative! Wait until our guns are trained on target and ready to fire. I wil give you the order when we are ready.’
‘’Understood, sir!’
Fullner hung up again and resumed his observation, this time with binoculars. The Moon was at its last quarter and the Japanese ships had been observed nearly at the maximum distance possible in the present light conditions. The two big armored turrets which constituted the main armament of the fort, each one housing two huge fourteen-inch guns, then started pivoting to point their barrels at the three intruders. Fort Drum was unique as a coastal defense fortress by being armed with battleship gun turrets. It also looked like a battleship, having been built around a rocky reef which had been razed first and then wrapped in a concrete shell up to ten meters in thickness, making it nearly invulnerable to ship guns. However, the builders of the fort had not built it with air attacks in mind, something that had become too obvious during the last three weeks, with Japanese bombers flying over Fort Drum with impunity.
The first shot of the battle was fired by one of the fort’s three-inch guns positioned on the roof of the fortress, which sent a star shell high in the sky to the West.
Fullner smiled ferociously when the light from the shell, now floating down under a parachute, made the three enemy minesweepers fully visible. The second shot came from one of the six-inch guns installed in casemates around the base of the fort. The
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heavy shell zipped just above the deck of the leading minesweeper, creating a geyser of water 200 meters past it. The four big fourteen-inch guns of the fort then opened fire, blinding for a moment Fullner and his watchmen with their departure flashes. More gun flashes then lit up the night as the heavy guns of Corregidor, Fort Hughes and Fort Frank, which also defended the entrance of the bay, opened fire as well. Despite the hurricane of shells fired at them, the crews of the Japanese minesweeper showed suicidal courage and continued sweeping a path in the minefields as if on an exercise.
Fullner was watching this, awaiting the first hit on the minesweepers, when a series of flashes on the horizon made him snap his head. His heart missed a beat as he understood that an enemy battle fleet, probably made up of battleships or heavy cruisers, had just opened fire. Rushing to his telephone, he called again the command post while expecting to hear soon the screeches of incoming heavy shells.
‘’MAJOR, A LINE OF ENEMY COMBAT SHIPS JUST OPENED FIRE ALONG
THE HORIZON. I CAN COUNT AT LEAST TEN HEAVY SHIPS.’
‘’TEN SHIPS?!’’ exclaimed the gunnery officer. ‘’Shit! Give me an azimuth and distance on the lead ship.’
Fullner looked through a nearby rangefinder while still holding the receiver and was passing on the first reading when the howl of a heavy shell came in. He only had the time to crouch down before he and the other occupants of the tower, which was made of an open lattice of steel girders and was not armored, were drenched by the spray of water from a series of near misses. He finally looked back in his rangefinder and gave a new reading, then shouted an order at his watchmen.
‘’EVACUATE THE TOWER! TAKE SHELTER INSIDE!’
As his men scrambled down the steel stairs, Fullner kept updating the azimuth and distance to the leading enemy battle unit. As the six-inch guns of the fort continued firing on the enemy minesweepers, the two main turrets pivoted again, aiming at the lead battleship and soon firing a salvo of four fourteen-inch shells. Fullner then observed their fall and gave a fire correction. Fort Drum’s main guns were firing their fifth salvo when the lead enemy minesweeper started sinking, reduced to a blazing wreck by multiple impacts from medium guns. A fourteen-inch shell fired by the Japanese battleship KIRISHIMA then hit the northwest face of the thick concrete shell of the fort, exploding and digging a crater in it but not penetrating all the way. Fullner was shaken but not wounded by the powerful blast and kept giving aiming corrections to the main turrets. Utterly terrified but resolved to stay at his post, the young officer did not have
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the chance to witness the first hit on the KIRISHIMA before a fourteen-inch shell exploded against the base of the tower, shredding him to pieces.
Ken Dows was running towards his trench, which was facing the sea and was part of the defensive perimeter of the Cavite Naval Base, when he saw the hit on Fort Drum. Jumping in his trench, he took place behind the field telephone installed below the sandbag parapet and looked around him. His Marines were reacting quickly and were also occupying their trenches. The artillerymen of the 200th Regiment were already at their post, pointing frantically their 90 mm guns towards the sea as the coastal guns of the bay’s forts continued exchanging fire with the Japanese heavy ships. The American forts were however over thirty kilometers away, while the Japanese ships were another twelve kilometers behind, so he could only see the flashes from gun departures and shells exploding. Ken finally decided to make a tour of the trenches of his company, which he had taken command of three days ago, after his predecessor had been killed by a Japanese bomb. The sea battle was still raging when he returned to his trench half an hour later.
06:41 (Manila Time)
Command bridge of the Japanese battleship NAGATO
Off the entrance to Manila Bay
Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku lowered his binoculars for a moment as the big sixteen-inch guns of his flagship fired another salvo, shaking the 43,000-ton battleship.
The battle, which had started with a rather slow exchange of fire due to the darkness, was now heating up seriously. To date, his four battleships and four heavy cruisers, which had rounded up the northern tip of Luzon during the night and sailed down the Filipino coast to the entrance of the Manila Bay, had only suffered minor damage from a few shell hits. The American mines cut adrift by the now sunk three minesweepers had by now ample time to float away, carried by the currents, thus opening the South Channel for his ships. It was now time to get down to serious business.
‘’Signal to Admiral Kondo on the KIRISHIMA: turn East and lead the battle line through the path in the minefields.’’
‘’Yes, Admiral!’’
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Yamamoto then observed, apparently impassive, as his eight heavy units steered towards the entrance of the bay in a long single line. In reality, the robust and tenacious resistance from the American forts had made him nervous. With the Sun now up, American bombers could now take off and attack his fleet, while the American submarines were also a major worry. However, by forcing his way inside Manila Bay, he could then systematically destroy with ship gunfire the naval installations in Cavite and the airfields of Nichols Field and Nielson Field. That job had initially belonged to the bombers of the Imperial Army and Navy, but the unexpectedly tough resistance of the American fighters and anti-aircraft guns had bitten big holes in the Japanese air units, with many air regiments having to be withdrawn from combat in order to be reorganized and reequipped, having lost sometimes up to two thirds of their planes. Taking the Philippines, apart from costing him dearly in ships, planes and men, was also upsetting mightily the overall strategic plans of Japan, forcing the reassignment of many ships and units to what was looking more and more like a bottomless pit. As the NAGATO was turning in sequence, Yamamoto gave another order.
‘’Launch our seaplanes number one and two. Have them take positions to spot and correct our incoming fire against Nichols Field and Nielson Field.’’
Less than six minutes later, as the line of Japanese ships was entering the cleared path in the minefields through the South Channel, two of the Aichi E13A seaplanes of the NAGATO were catapulted from the battleship and climbed into the sky, flying first to the South to avoid the dangerous anti-aircraft guns protecting Cavite.
Things became critical as the Japanese fleet sailed through the South Channel, passing between the American forts defending the bay. The American heavy guns only had rudimentary fire control systems and were mostly of old manufacture, things that had hurt their long-range accuracy. Now, however, the American gunners had daylight to help their aim, while their targets were within six kilometers of them. Despite the heavy fire from the 72 Japanese guns of sixteen, fourteen and eight inches in caliber, the eighteen old guns of fourteen, twelve, ten and six inches replied with a persistence that was to their honor. Some of the American guns were also mounted on retracting mounts, disappearing after each shot, time to reload and be raised again, thus making them very difficult to take out with direct fire. The Number One main turret of the KIRISHIMA was suddenly hit in its rear plate by a fourteen-inch shell from Fort Drum as it was pointing the opposite way, at Corregidor. Yamamoto saw a gigantic flame burst
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out of the stricken turret before it flew off in the air as a titanic explosion rocked the battleship. The KIRISHIMA, which was leading the battle line at a speed of 27 knots, wobbled in the water and started at once to sink by the bow. Apparently out of control, it started as well a wide turn to starboard, its forward half hidden by a cloud of black smoke. Yamamoto, containing his fury, gave a curt order to his signals officer.
‘’TRANSMIT BY FLAG AND LAMP IMMEDIATELY: FOLLOW ME AND
CONTINUE TOWARDS CAVITE.’
‘’Hay!’
As the NAGATO took the lead, Yamamoto examined the KIRISHIMA with the help of his binoculars and clenched his teeth: the forward half of its hull was ripped open over the fifth of the ship’s length, where its first main turret had been. The KIRISHIMA then received two more hits, this time in its superstructures. With its command bridge now on fire, the battleship was practically condemned. Yamamoto then had a minute later the small consolation to see one of the main turrets of Fort Drum be destroyed by a direct hit from a sixteen-inch shell. The other guns of the fort however kept firing, despite dozens of impacts on its concrete shell. A warning shouted by a nearby watchman then made his head snap around.
‘’LARGE FORMATION OF HEAVY ENEMY BOMBERS IN SIGHT!’’
Running to the port open bridge wing, Yamamoto pointed his binoculars at a big group of planes seemingly coming from Clark Field. Despite the distance, he identified them as being B-24 LIBERATOR heavy bombers, the most recent type of American bomber in service. There was close to thirty of them. For a moment, Yamamoto feared for his fleet. He then noted the strange conduct of the bombers, which flew in a long file instead of forming attack waves. Furthermore, the B-24s were apparently trying to stay away from his ships, heading due South instead. Yamamoto was confused by that for a moment: Japanese bomber crews which would act like this would be promptly executed for cowardice. The truth then brushed his mind and he walked quickly to one of the heavy, high-powered optical scopes of the bridge, pushing away the sailor manning it and pointing the scope at the planes. He swore loudly after a few seconds and looked at one of his aides.
‘’Commander, these planes are not bombers: they don’t have defensive turrets.
Come here and identify their exact type.’
The officer, a naval aviator, hurried behind the scope and looked for a few seconds before looking with surprise at his commander.
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‘’You are right, Admiral! These planes are C-87 LIBERATOR EXPRESS, a transport variant of the American B-24 bomber. What could they do here in such numbers?’’
‘’Transport in reinforcements and critical supplies, of course!’ replied Yamamoto while following the planes with his eyes as they flew southward. ‘’What kind of range do they have, Commander?’
‘’Uh, about 4,500 kilometers, according to our intel igence, Admiral.’
‘’Thus, enough to come straight from Australia, right?’’
‘’The Americans are operating an air bridge between the Philippines and Australia?’ said the aide, now understanding. Yamamoto nodded his head slowly.
‘’It seems so, Commander. I want you to follow visually those planes and to find their exact heading, so that we could later find out where they come from exactly. Then calculate how much they can carry on such a distance. Even if this raid does not succeed, at least we wil have learned something important today.’
‘’It wil be done, Admiral.’
A geyser of water from a near miss then sprayed the occupants of the open bridge, reminding Yamamoto that he had a battle to lead.
Ken Dows watched with growing worry the approach of the Japanese battle fleet, which was still exchanging salvoes with the surviving guns of the American coastal forts.
The lead battleship hit thirty minutes earlier was now sinking near Fort Drum, but that still left three battleships and four heavy cruisers which were about to come within gun range of Cavite. Ken revised his opinion when he saw the turrets of the lead ship pivot towards him and fire. He looked at the artillerymen near his trench, standing behind their 90 mm guns and protected only by sandbag parapets.
‘’BATTLESHIP SHELLS ON THE WAY! HIT THE TRENCHES!’
The gunners didn’t have to be told twice, diving head first in their own nearby trenches.
The terrifying screech of incoming heavy shel s passing overhead froze Ken’s blood in his veins for a moment as he crouched down in his trench. Thankfully, the first salvo of shells landed in the water in front of the Cavite docks, causing no damage. Ken knew however that this was only a start. A joyful shout then made him look up at the sky.
‘’OUR BOMBERS ARE COMING!’
Ken effectively saw an attack formation of twelve B-17 bombers approaching the Japanese fleet at high altitude. He watched with hope their attack as the Japanese
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ships kept shelling Cavite and its harbor. One heavy shell finally hit its mark, exploding in the middle of barracks near the docks. Another twenty or so big caliber shells exploded inside the naval base before the B-17 dropped their bombs. To Ken’s disappointment, none of the bombs made a direct hit. They however forced the Japanese ships to zigzag, which completely threw off their shooting against Cavite.
Ken, who took that occasion to inspect visually the damage to the naval base from a distance, suddenly saw a submarine which was coming out of the harbor while diving.
‘’But he’s mad! Either he will be pulverized by the Japanese or he wil get stuck on the bottom.’
The Japanese shellfire soon resumed, making him forget about the reckless submarine commander. Still harassed by surviving American coastal guns, the Japanese units proceeded in systematically destroying the installations of Cavite as the Marines could only watch, helpless. A big storage tank full of aviation gasoline erupted in a spectacular fireball, raining burning fuel all over the base and starting many fires. As Ken was about to write off the base as finished, one of the Japanese heavy cruisers was rocked by four enormous geysers erupting against its flank in quick succession. Ken screamed with joy when he understood that the submarine which had left the harbor had just torpedoed the cruiser. Without destroyer escort and with his ships inside a bay that severely restricted ship movements, the Japanese admiral probably decided that the game wasn’t worth it anymore and turned around his ships, all of which were already damaged to various degrees. That did not stop a battleship from being soon hit by two torpedoes. Contrary to the heavy cruiser, though, it managed to sail out of the bay with the other five surviving Japanese units after a last exchange of fire with the coastal forts. Ken nervously wiped off sweat from his forehead, happy to be still alive. Many Americans had however died today, while the installations of Cavite were devastated. Looking with his binoculars at the Japanese heavy cruiser that was now sinking inside the bay, he saw a number of lifeboats and rafts being put at sea. Looking at his second in command, a young captain in his twenties, he gave a few orders in a firm voice.
‘’We will disperse our men along the coastline, in order to stop or capture the Japanese sailors coming from that sinking cruiser. Tell the men to be wary if attempting to take prisoners: the Japanese are likely to resist or even to commit suicide. Our men wil shoot first and ask questions later: I don’t want to lose men on this. I will take the first and second platoons with me in trucks. You stay here with the rest of the men to hold our positions.’
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‘’Yes, Major!’
Calling forward the light trucks of his company, Ken mounted with 65 of his men in them and led his small convoy along the road which followed the southern coastline of Manila Bay, stopping at intervals to drop his rifle squads at eight points chosen by him close to the location where the Japanese cruiser had sunk. Staying with his last squad, Ken arrived at a beach six kilometers from Cavite as two life rafts overloaded with Japanese sailors were approaching the coast. At least twenty Japanese were aboard the rafts, with many more holding to them and pushing them towards the beach.
Jumping out of his jeep, Ken ran to the shore, his rifle in hand and followed by nine Marines, while one Marine manned the machinegun mounted on his jeep. Arming his Browning AR-41 assault rifle, Ken deployed his rifle squad in extended line along the beach and shouted in Japanese at the sailors, now about a hundred meters away, using one of the phrases he had learned from Ingrid.
‘’SURRENDER OR DIE!’
‘’NEVER!’ Replied at once in a defiant tone a young Japanese officer. Ken shook his head slowly, having hoped for a more reasonable answer. His next words were in English, to his Marines.
‘’THEY ARE REFUSING TO SURRENDER. SLOW FIRE, ONE BULLET PER
TARGET. TAKE YOUR TIME AND SHOOT TO KILL!’
His Marines, finally able to let out their rage and hatred contained for weeks now against the Japanese who had been bombing them nearly every day since October 20, obeyed him without hesitation. Doing as if at a firing range, they aimed carefully their shots and started killing the Japanese sailors. Ken also started firing, shooting first the officer who had answered him and feeling no remorse as he shot bullet after bullet.
20:19 (Manila Time)
Operations center, Japanese battleship NAGATO
170 kilometers northwest of Manila
South China Sea
While showing an impassive face, Yamamoto felt discouragement and sadness fill him as he read the casualties list for the operation while standing near the big chart table, observed by his staff officers. Lost during the attack on Cavite were the battleship
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KIRISHIMA and the heavy cruiser SUZUYA, with the battleship HIEI seriously damaged by two torpedoes and now on its way to Japan for repairs under the escort of two destroyers. All the other ships of his force, including his own flagship, had suffered various degrees of damage from the gunfire coming from the American coastal forts.
Worse, his battle squadron had been ambushed by three American submarines during its withdrawal, losing the heavy cruisers ATAGO and MAYA, which had absorbed a total of eleven torpedoes. Over 4,000 of his officers and sailors were now dead or missing, including two of his best squadron commanders, Vice Admiral Kondo and Rear Admiral Kurita. For that price, he had been able to inflict severe damage to the Cavite Naval Base and to the coastal forts. However, his ships had been unable to fire on Nichols Field and Nielson Field, as his two spotter seaplanes had been shot down by a solitary gray P-40 fighter. He could only characterize this operation as a costly failure. Raising his nose from the list of casualties, Yamamoto looked at his aviation staff officer.
‘’Commander Kawaguchi, what are the results of today’s air raids on the Philippines?’’
The officer carefully chose his words, not wanting to appear defeatist.
‘’Three raids were launched today, Admiral: one against Clark Field, one against Nichols Field and one against Cavite. In the three cases, our planes encountered American fighters and anti-aircraft gunfire but were able to drop their bombs on target.
Our losses in all three raids were light.’
‘’Light, Commander? What is light for you?’’ asked Yamamoto in an irritated tone. ‘’Our carrier squadrons are now down to 65% of their original strength and our stocks of bombs on our carriers are dwindling rapidly. Despite all this, the Americans stil find a way to send up fighters to intercept our bombers.’
‘’But the Americans have only a handful of fighters left, Admiral. A few more raids and there wil be none left.’
‘’And what tells us that they won’t get more fighters, probably via Australia?
Talking about that, were you able to find out the probable destination of those transport planes we saw in the morning?’’
‘’Yes, Admiral! Those C-87s were most probably heading to Darwin, on the northern coast of Australia. Darwin is by far the Australian airfield and port nearest the Philippines and would constitute a logical base for an air bridge.’’
‘’Are you thinking about attacking Darwin, Admiral?’’ asked the captain of the NAGATO. Yamamoto nodded in response.
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‘’This may prove necessary, Captain. That air bridge is the sole external source of supplies for the Americans in the Philippines, who had been firing thousands of anti-aircraft shells in the last weeks. Without that air bridge, they will probably run quickly out of shells, something that would make our bombing raids much easier. The same could be said about the stocks of torpedoes for the submarines of the Asiatic Fleet, which are a curse upon our fleet. If we could cut that air bridge from Australia, then the Americans wil quickly run out of ammunition, spare parts and medical supplies.’’
‘’But that would delay further our invasion projects for the Dutch East Indies and Burma, Admiral.’ objected the army liaison officer attached to Yamamoto’s staff. ‘’We have already redirected much precious resources from those vital objectives in order to take the Philippines, and we stil haven’t landed troops there.’’
Yamamoto threw a cold look at the colonel.
‘’And what would be the chances of success for the invasion of these territories if the Americans are permitted to keep control of the Philippines, Colonel? Do you want to have to explain to His Majesty the Emperor why the Americans still can bomb Japanese home territory with their B-17s? The American submarines in Cavite and their heavy bombers in Clark Field are too much of a long-range threat to our forces and to Japan itself. We must eliminate those threats! In my opinion, Burma is a secondary objective for us. The oil fields of the Dutch East Indies are however of prime importance to us. I will thus counsel to the Prime Minister to launch a limited invasion of the Dutch East Indies, centered on the oil fields, while keeping the Philippines under sea and air blockade. Before any landings in the Philippines, though, I want to cut that air bridge from Australia.’’
Yamamoto then looked around the chart table at his staff officers.
‘’Are there more objections or suggestions? No? Then I wil send tonight a message to Tokyo, asking for its approval of the plan I just outlined. You are dismissed, gentlemen.’’
20:56 (Manila Time)
Operations center of the Asiatic Fleet
Manila, Philippines
Like Yamamoto, Admiral Hart had to deal with his lot of bad news and with a long list of losses, mostly in Cavite. As for the army, the gunners of the coastal forts had
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suffered severely, even though they had made the enemy pay a heavy price for their incursion. However, despite the 860 American soldiers, sailors and airmen killed today, Hart still could legitimately consider this battle as a victory. Another victory, in a sense, was the fact that the air bridge with Darwin was still operating, with 32 heavy transports having landed just before Sunset, loaded with over 120 tons of munitions and vital spare parts, including 36 precious torpedoes for his submarines, which had done such a stellar job today. Equally important was the fact that those 32 transport planes were going to be able to evacuate most of the men seriously wounded in the Japanese attack. This was alleviating a major subject of concern for him and General MacArthur. This medical evacuation route also did a lot for the morale of the men, who knew that they would not be stuck, wounded, at the mercy of a Japanese invasion. After a last glance at his charts, Hart then gave his orders for tomorrow.
‘’Gentlemen, I want the torpedoes received tonight to be loaded as quickly as possible on our submarine tenders and in our submarines presently in Cavite. Our submarines presently at sea, except for the TARPON and SCULPIN, will continue to patrol Filipino waters and to harass the Japanese ships they find. As for the TARPON
and SCULPIN, once fully rearmed and refueled, they will leave tonight for the Japanese home waters and take ambush positions off Tokyo Bay, to wait there for any Japanese warship of value. To sink their ships so close to home should keep the Japanese focused on us. As for Cavite, I want our stocks and equipment there dispersed out of the base as much as possible, to make them less vulnerable to bombardment. I will send another message to Admiral Stark tonight, asking him to send more submarines from Pearl Harbor to support the TARPON and SCULPIN off the Japanese coast.’
‘’And our surface fleet, Admiral?’’ asked a staff officer.
‘’Our two old cruisers and our destroyers wil stay in reserve for the moment.
Even with the recent heavy enemy losses, they are still not up to engage the Japanese fleet in decisive combat. Finally, I want our seriously wounded men to be evacuated by air tomorrow morning. I want a list of replacement personnel made quickly as well and sent to Washington. Our ranks are already way too thin to my taste.’’
‘’More fighters and bombers couldn’t hurt either, Admiral.’ said a commander, making Hart nod at that.
‘’Amen to that, Commander.’’
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09:08 (Darwin Time)
Tuesday, November 11, 1941 ‘C’
Infirmary of RAAF Station Darwin
Darwin, Australia
‘’Well, I have the pleasure to announce to you that your burns seem to be healing without signs of complications, Captain Dows. I now consider you medically fit for light duties. However, it is still too early for you to pilot a plane, especially a fighter. You may now dress.’
‘’Can I start exercising again, Doctor?’’
‘’Moderately only, and doing nothing that could infect your burns. Quick walks or on the spot calisthenics are acceptable. I will write down a medical chit to certify that you are on light duties.’
‘’And how much longer wil I have to stay in Darwin, Doctor?’’ asked Ingrid, who was becoming bored to death. The Australian Army doctor thought over his answer for a moment.
‘’I suppose that a two-week medical leave period in Melbourne or Brisbane would help your healing…and your morale. I will talk to the commander of your transport group, Colonel Sneed: technically, he controls all the American personnel here in Darwin.’’
Instead of encouraging her, the mention of Sneed discouraged Ingrid. She had earlier tried to convince the old colonel, who had no combat experience in his whole career, to disperse his planes and supplies to at least make them less vulnerable to air attack.
Sneed’s response had been that there was not enough space around the airfield to properly disperse his planes, which was partially true. Sneed had also given at the same time the impression to Ingrid that he didn’t take her seriously.
‘’Yeah! He could very well send me to Tasmania if he could.’’
The doctor smiled at that, knowing how Sneed was.
‘’Well, at least you wouldn’t have to constantly turn down the advances of drunk soldiers in Tasmania, Captain. Now that you are better, I will transfer you in the room used by Nurse Watkins, so that you could finally have some privacy. You can free your actual bed right now.’
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Once out of the treatment room, Ingrid moved her things to the room of the head nurse, then changed into a loose-fitting sports outfit of T-shirt, shorts and running shoes.
Buckling around her waist the fanny pack she had inherited from Nancy, she put in it her Discman CD player and connected it to a pair of light headphones, then went out to the back of the building, where she would be partially out of sight. Playing one of her favorite CDs, she started doing stretching and warming up exercises before starting the serious workout. Despite her attempts at being discreet, she soon attracted within twenty minutes a growing crowd of admirers. Finally having had enough of the lecherous looks from about sixty Americans and Australians watching her exercise, Ingrid stopped for a moment and shouted at the men around her.
‘’DON’T YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO DO? THERE IS A WAR TO FIGHT, IF YOU HAVEN’T NOTICED. DISPERSE NOW BEFORE I CALL IN THE MPs!’
Some of the men did walk away then, but many others stayed, grinning like idiots and refusing to leave. Swearing to herself about the poor level of discipline on this airfield, Ingrid finally decided to walk away. Thankfully, none of the men followed her and she started on a quick-paced walk around the airfield. As she had covered about one third of the length of the perimeter and was passing near the piles of supplies haphazardly dropped in one corner of the airfield, she saw between the widely spaced small trees a nearly naked man with dark skin who was looking at her with apparent curiosity.
Slowing down her pace, then stopping for a moment, she took a chance and shouted out in Wagiman to the Australian aborigine.
‘’Hello! My name is Ingrid. Can you understand me?’
The man, looking surprised at first, then smiled and answered her in a dialect close enough to Wagiman for her to understand.
‘’You speak the tongue of a nearby clan, white girl. How come?’’
‘’I once spent some years in this region in the past.’ answered Ingrid, basically saying the truth. ‘’What is your name, friend?’
‘’Gwandwiligin!’’
Ingrid then approached the aborigine and gave him a sign of friendship.
‘’In the past, the aborigines I knew called me Djanggawula. You may call me that way if you wish so: it would please me.’
‘’Then Djanggawula it is. Are you staying here for long?’’
‘’Only a few more days at the most. Is your camp very far from here?’
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‘’My hut is about an hour’s walk from here. I was returning to it after hunting and gathering some food for my family. You are welcomed to come visit it.’
Ingrid looked at the old canvas bag slung across the chest of the aborigine: it contained a few roots and wild berries. There was also a young kangaroo suspended in his back, probably killed with one of the three primitive javelins he held in one hand.
‘’I would be happy to meet your family, Gwandwiligin. Lead the way.’
Walking behind the aborigine, Ingrid waited to be hidden from the airfield by the trees, then stopped briefly to take off her T-shirt, tying it around her waist before resuming her walk with her torso bare, happy to be able to freely soak some sunrays. The aborigine man took that in stride and didn’t ogle her, since female aborigines did not wear tops in the bush.
‘’You are indeed not a typical white girl, Djanggawula.’’
‘’Not one bit, friend.’’ replied Ingrid, smiling maliciously.
Ingrid returned alone to the airfield more than three hours later, feeling good about having been able to get back in touch with her old aborigine roots. The head nurse intercepted her the moment she entered the infirmary to wash and change herself.
‘’Captain Dows, Colonel Sneed called an hour ago to say that he wanted to see you in his office.’
‘’Did he say what it was for?’’
‘’Don’t know! Uh, I have been looking for you for a while now. Where were you, Captain?’
‘’Me? I was in the bush, doing a walkabout.’
Leaving the mystified nurse there, Ingrid went to take a sponge bath, in order not to wet her bandages. Once washed, she put on a clean combat uniform, buckling as well her pistol belt around her waist to remind the men around the station that she was a combatant, and not simply a pretty toy for their entertainment. Walking out of the infirmary, Ingrid adopted a quick step along the dusty road leading to the airfield’s headquarters, ignoring the male stares she attracted on the way. She smiled to herself while thinking at the reaction of all these men if they ever learned that she was only sixteen, and not eighteen as her official military file and her passport stated.
She found the American section of the headquarters boiling over with activity, with clerks and officers doing their best to coordinate and administer the airlift program
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for the Philippines with the few resources available in Darwin and the rest of Australia.
Ingrid didn’t envy their job, which was a nearly impossible one. In contrast, the Australian part of the headquarters looked like a retirement home, with a few officers and NCOs sipping calmly on tea cups while seemingly accomplishing as little as possible.
That same lazy, careless attitude was in fact reflected throughout the various Australian units and services in and around Darwin, as if the war didn’t exist. Colonel Sneed’s aide, a young and sympathetic captain of the Air Corps, greeted her with a big smile.
‘’Aah, Captain Dows! I wil go tell the colonel that you have arrived.’
Ingrid needed to wait for less than a minute before being introduced in Sneed’s office, which was cluttered with piles of papers, files and other documents. She came to attention and saluted in front of Sneed’s desk.
‘’Captain Dows, 6th Pursuit Squadron of the Filipino Air Corps, reporting as requested, sir!’
Sneed returned her salute while glancing at her pistol.
‘’At ease, Captain. After seeing you last Friday, I sent messages to ask what to do with you once you were declared fit. Now that the doctor has declared you fit for light duties and suggested that you take some medical leave, I can tell you that Brigadier General Julian Barnes, newly arrived in Australia, is now the commander of all American units in the country. He arrived in Brisbane with a convoy originally destined for the Philippines and transporting reinforcements and equipment, including a number of disassembled P-40 fighters and A-24 dive bombers. General Barnes has ordered that all American pilots, aircrews and ground crews available in Australia, including those on medical leave, be sent to Brisbane, to help in the assembly of his planes and then to fly them in a succession of humps to the Philippines. You and two other wounded pilots from the Philippines who are convalescing will go to Brisbane and report to General Barnes, to get new orders from him. You will leave on a C-87 tomorrow morning for Brisbane, along with a group of wounded men due to be returned to the United States by ship. My aide, Captain Manning, will give you the details of your trip, along with your travel orders. Do you have questions, Captain?’
‘’None, sir! Thank you very much, sir!’ replied Ingrid, happy.
‘’In that case, dismissed!’
Ingrid saluted him again, then left his office and went back to see again Captain Manning, bending over his desk and looking tenderly at him with her big blue eyes.
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‘’My good Captain Manning, I am told that you have the details and papers about my trip to Brisbane tomorrow morning.’’
Manning, melting under her smile, handed her a large envelope.
‘’Certainly, Captain Dows. Here is your itinerary, your travel claim and your mission order for Brisbane. Is there something else I can do for you?’’
Ingrid flashed him a warm smile before answering.
‘’Unfortunately, no: I am married.’
Manning became as red as a tomato as Ingrid took the envelope and left, while the other officers and clerks around him broke out in laughter. Once out, Ingrid started walking at a relaxed pace to return to her room. Looking up at the blue sky, she saw the condensation trail of a solitary plane overflying the station at high altitude, coming from the North. Intrigued, she followed the trail with her eyes for a moment, doubt and suspicion growing in her mind. Deciding to make sure, she ran back to the headquarters building and went to see Manning again, worry showing on her face.
‘’Captain Manning, do you have a pair of binoculars here that I could borrow for a moment?’’
‘’Why, Captain Dows?’’ said the aviator, surprised by her request. ‘’Did you see a kangaroo?’’
‘’No, a suspect aircraft overflying the station. Do you have binoculars here? This could be important.’
Manning hesitated for a moment, then got up from his chair and went to an equipment locker, taking out a pair of heavy, powerful artillery binoculars of the model used by air observers. He gave them to Ingrid, then followed her outside, curious. Pointing the binoculars at the plane still overflying the station, Ingrid swore violently after a few seconds.
‘’SHIT! THAT’S A JAPANESE RECONNAISSANCE FLOATPLANE!’
‘’Are you sure?’’ Said Manning, unable to believe her at first. Ingrid nodded her head.
‘’Positive! I make it as an Aichi E13A JAKE floatplane, a model often carried on Japanese heavy cruisers. Here, look for yourself!’
Manning took the binoculars and looked up for about ten seconds before speaking while still observing the plane.
‘’I am not very good at plane recognition, but this is definitely a floatplane, with one engine and two floats.’
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He then turned his head towards the nearby headquarters building and shouted out loud.
‘’SERGEANT RITTER! BRING ME A PLANE RECOGNITION MANUAL, ON
THE DOUBLE!’
By the time that the NCO ran out with a recognition manual in his hands, the plane above them did a slow turn and retraced its steps, but on a parallel trail to the first one.
‘’He’s doing a photo-reconnaissance run.’ said Ingrid as Manning flipped through the recognition manual to the page on the Aichi E13A. After a second good look at the plane, Manning nodded his head, his expression hardening, before handing the binoculars to his sergeant.
‘’Sergeant, look at that plane and confirm to me that this is indeed a JAKE
floatplane.’’
The NCO looked up for a few seconds, glancing a couple of time at the recognition manual to check some features, then looked with alarm at his officer.
‘’Shit! This is indeed a JAKE, sir. What could it mean?’
‘’That a Japanese naval strike force, possibly one that includes carriers, is approaching Darwin to attack it.’ answered Ingrid, glum. ‘’According to the history as know by Nancy Laplante, the Japanese attacked Darwin, using a number of fleet carriers and devastating the airfields and the ships moored in the port. Colonel Sneed must be told about this.’
Manning then took a quick decision and started running towards the entrance of the building while shouting at Ingrid and his sergeant.
‘’STAY THERE AND CONTINUE OBSERVING THAT PLANE! I’M GOING TO
GET THE COLONEL.’
Less than two minutes later, Manning was coming out at a run, followed closely by Colonel Sneed. Ingrid gave the binoculars to the latter while pointing at the plane, which had turned again for a third pass.
‘’We have a JAKE Japanese reconnaissance floatplane overhead, Colonel. It has been flying racetrack patterns and came from the North, sir.’
Sneed didn’t say a word at first, looking through the binoculars as Ingrid spoke again.
‘’The JAKE is the only single-engine floatplane with two floats in service in the Pacific area, sir. Furthermore, no allied floatplane with one engine and two floats exists, except for the French Latécoère 298, which is not in service in the Pacific. All other allied floatplanes either have one float only or have two engines.’
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‘’Damn! You’re right, Captain Dows.’ said Sneed after consulting the recognition manual and taking a last look at the plane, which was now turning again, this time flying away. ‘’The JAKE is usually carried on Japanese cruisers or seaplane tenders.
According to this manual, it has a range of over a thousand miles, which means that there is at least one Japanese cruiser within 500 miles of Darwin.’’
‘’I strongly suspect that there is a lot more approaching us right now, sir.
According to the history known by Nancy Laplante, the Japanese attacked by air Darwin, using a number of fleet carriers, and bombed the hell out of this airfield and the port area.’
Sneed looked at Ingrid with a mix of surprise and curiosity.
‘’How would you know that, Captain Dows? The information from Nancy Laplante was kept highly classified.’
‘’She was my adoptive mother, sir.’ said in a sober tone Ingrid, making the men around her open their eyes wide in surprise. ‘’She educated me and passed on to me her knowledge of the future…and of this war. We can now expect in the next few days, maybe as soon as tomorrow morning, a massive Japanese air attack by carrier-borne planes.’’
‘’But there are no fighter planes here and only a few machineguns for air defense. Even around the port, we have only the guns on the ships there to defend against air attacks.’
‘’I know that too well, sir.’ replied Ingrid, sounding bitter. ‘’We can thank the carelessness and lack of planning of the Australians for that. They have been officially at war for two years now and they still act here as if they are at peace. The only thing we can do on our part is to disperse as much of our planes and equipment as fast as we can, to minimize the damage from an attack on Darwin. If the Navy commander in the port could be convinced to take similar precautions, so much the better, sir.’
Sneed looked up at the departing Japanese plane, which was now heading North-northeast.
‘’His heading is roughly 030. Its ship must be somewhere around the Sea of Ceram, possibly even further South than Ambon. You have experienced Japanese air raids for weeks in the Philippines, Captain Dows. What is your best guess for the timing of a Japanese air raid on Darwin following this reconnaissance flight?’’
Thanking mentally the fact that Sneed was showing common sense and was not dismissing her warning, Ingrid answered after thinking for a few seconds.
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‘’My bet is that the Japanese wil approach further during the night before launching an attack at dawn, either tomorrow or the day after. We should thus expect them in the mid-morning, time for them to get here from their carriers. The Japanese normally try to fly their ultimate reconnaissance missions on an objective within a day or two of a planned attack, sir.’
‘’Then, we have little time to lose.’ replied Sneed in a firm tone before looking at Manning. ‘’Captain, call the airfields at Batchelor and Parap and tell them to get ready to receive a large number of C-87s. We are going to disperse our planes before the night, once they are loaded up for their next run to the Philippines. We will also move as much of our stocks of fuel to those fields as time permits, plus will disperse what’s left here.’
‘’Can I help, sir?’’ asked Ingrid, making Sneed look at her, thoughtful, before he nodded his head and smiled to her.
‘’You certainly can, Captain. You can follow me around and use your experience of combat with the Japanese to counsel me on how to prepare this airfield for an air attack.’
‘’What about the port, sir?’’
Sneed’s smile faded then.
‘’Unfortunately, I have no authority on the American ships moored in the port.
The best I can do is to warn them about this Japanese reconnaissance flight. We also will have to prepare to receive our planes now on their way back from the Philippines.
Let’s get inside: we have a mil ion things to do and quite a few messages to send to pass the warning around.’
To Ingrid’s fury, but not to her surprise, the Australian commander and the RAAF
staff of the airfield all but ignored the warning passed by Sneed, discounting it as
‘misidentification of some allied plane’. Worse, the local commander refused to lend the help of his men to the efforts at dispersing the American planes and equipment presently on his airfield, calling it a waste of time and effort. The Australian Navy officer in charge of the port of Darwin proved as skeptical and unhelpful, declaring rather summarily that no Japanese fleet had been signaled anywhere near Australia or even the Dutch East Indies. As for the few American ships present in Darwin, mostly transport or support ships, they took their cues from the Australian port commander, deciding that his opinion was worth more than the one from an American army commander. Adding to Ingrid’s fury, and also to that of Colonel Sneed, was the fact that the Australians on the airfield,
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on top of refusing to help, also mocked the Americans running around them and working to disperse as much equipment and supplies as possible before the next morning. The return from the Philippines of the 26 C-87s which had departed at dawn from Clark Field added to Colonel Sneed’s worries, as the hundred or so American wounded aboard them had to be treated quickly. After a telephone conversation with Brigadier General Barnes in Brisbane, Sneed and Barnes decided to refuel the C-87s on arrival and send them with the wounded still on board directly to Brisbane for treatment. Barnes, as overall American commander in Australia, was able at the same time to convince the American ships in the Darwin harbor to raise anchor and sail out during the night. When Sneed told Ingrid that she would be sent to Brisbane with the wounded about to arrive from the Philippines, she refused politely, pointing out that there were many men in Darwin who were more seriously wounded than her. Sneed nearly ordered her then to get on one of the planes, but one look at her resolute face and to her Medal of Honor ribbon convinced him to respect her request to stay until the more seriously wounded could be evacuated first. The C-87s already present in Darwin were loaded up with priority supplies for the Philippines and departed for Clark Field two hours after the passage of the Japanese floatplane, a factor which helped calm somewhat the worries of Colonel Sneed. Once the planes which had returned from the Philippines had been refueled and had departed for Brisbane, leaving the airfield in Darwin nearly empty of planes, Sneed then concentrated his men’s efforts on dispersing the most dangerous or vulnerable supplies stacked around the airfield, with the priority put on the ammunition and fuel. Those were trucked to short distances off the airfield and dumped in small, well-spaced piles under camouflage nets around the bush. Ingrid, despite of her wounds, worked all day and night, helping Sneed’s men as much as she could, notably by helping prioritize the movement of planes, equipment and supplies. By the time that the Sun rose the next day, a Wednesday, Ingrid was exhausted and covered with sweat and dust. She however refused to go get some sleep, feeling that the Japanese attack was imminent and not wanting to be caught napping then. There was anyway a lot still left to be done, with thousands of tons of supplies still littering the airfield and needing to be dispersed.
Ingrid was having a cup of coffee and a quick late breakfast when the faint noise of distant planes approaching the airfield made her come out of the headquarters building to look up at the sky. Her blood froze in her veins when she spotted over 150
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planes approaching from the Northeast in multiple V-shaped waves. She ran up the steps of the headquarters entrance while shouting.
‘’THE JAPANESE ARE COMING! SOUND THE ALERT!’
While the Americans inside started moving at once, the few Australian officers and airmen present in the building simply looked at each other in indecision. Only the noise of distant explosions coming from the port area finally made them move, but not in the way Ingrid had hoped. Instead of using their telephones to alert the various sections of the airfield and to have the air raid siren sound the alert, the Australians ran out at once, heading for the bushes to go hide there. In Nancy’s history, this disgraceful scramble to safety and the subsequent exodus of most of the Australian servicemen in Darwin to other towns to the South would be sarcastically called ‘The Great Darwin Handicap’.
Swearing on seeing this, Ingrid took on her to run to the nearby empty watch tower and climbed it, turning the handle of the alert siren once on top. The sinister owl of the siren at least made the other occupants of the airfield take shelter, even though there was little else that could be done about the incoming Japanese planes. The Japanese planes were nearly overhead when Ingrid decided that it was time for her to climb down from the watch tower and find a shelter. As she was running towards a shallow ditch parallel to the main road around the airfield, she saw the Australian doctor and his few nurses and medics still in the process of taking the wounded out of the infirmary. Changing direction, she ran to the infirmary and entered it as Nurse Watkins also went back in to get another patient.
‘’Let me help you, Nurse Watkins.’
The Australian senior nurse smiled briefly on seeing her, nodding her head and pointing at a patient who was trying to walk out by hopping on his one good leg.
‘’Then help support that man, Captain.’’
‘’Got it!’
Taking position to the left of the patient, so that he would not touch her burns on her left arm, back and neck, Ingrid made him put his hand on her right shoulder and escorted him out of the infirmary and towards the roadside ditch, where the other patients were taking cover. Once the man was safely down in the ditch, Ingrid ran back into the infirmary and grabbed her backpack, kit bag and rifle and ran out again to the ditch, dropping her things in it and crouching down as the first bombs, dropped from high altitude by Nakajima B5N KATE carrier-borne bombers, started to fall on the station.
The few Australian planes on the airfield, along with two American C-87s immobilized for
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repairs were quickly bracketed by 250 kilo bombs and burst into flames one after the others, while the piles of supplies and equipment still left in the open were also hit. A few bombs also cratered the two landing strips, making them temporarily unusable. One bomb hit a corner of the headquarters building, blowing open the façade and killing the servants of one of the two only anti-aircraft machine guns on the station, which occupied sandbagged positions on each side of the headquarters building. To the indignation of Ingrid and of Chief Nurse Watkins, who was looking in the same direction, the two servants of the remaining machine gun then ran out into the bush, abandoning their post.
‘’The bloody cowards!’ spat out the Australian nurse, furious. The sight of the machine gun, left without servants, was too much for Ingrid, who got up on her feet, her rifle in hand, and started running towards the machine gun, 150 meters away.
‘’WHERE ARE YOU GOING, CAPTAIN?’’ shouted Watkins. ‘’COME BACK!’
Ingrid didn’t answer her, continuing her sprint while ignoring the bombs exploding around her and the station. Climbing over the sandbag parapet of the machine gun position and leaning her rifle against the sandbag wall, she inspected quickly the machine gun, a .303
caliber Vickers mounted on an anti-aircraft tripod: it had a full belt in place and four more boxes of ammunition lay near it. Knowing that she could do nothing about the KATE
bombers, which flew too high for her machinegun, she waited for the VAL dive bombers to start their attacks, her two hands on the firing handles of the Vickers. She was still waiting when Lieutenant Dave Carey, one of the American wounded still in Darwin, entered the sandbag position, limping as quickly as he could with a tight smile.
‘’I thought that you could use a loader, Captain.’’
Ingrid smiled tenderly to him, appreciating his courage.
‘’In that case, open these ammunition boxes and prepare them for loading, Lieutenant.’
The first VAL bombers started diving two minutes after the KATE level bombers had finished dropping their bombs. Most of the planes parked on the station were now burning or were damaged, while a number of buildings had been hit. Thick columns of black smoke were also rising over the port and harbor area, where bombs were still exploding. Ingrid was furious at these sights, for many reasons: for the losses in lives and materiel, which were bound to impact on the precious air bridge with the Philippines; for the stupidity and incompetence of many Australian and American officers in Darwin
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and, finally, for the fact that, after being officially at war for two years already, Australia was still so unprepared and careless that Darwin could find itself under attack with no fighters or anti-aircraft guns, or even ground troops, to defend such a strategically important location. That she had to man herself with the help of another wounded American the sole machine gun left to defend the station only added to her bitterness.
She however did her best to control her rage and keep a cool head, knowing that she would soon be in what Nancy would have called a target-rich environment and would probably become quickly herself a prime target for the Japanese. Looking around her, she saw an Australian Avro ANSON twin-engine coastal patrol aircraft sitting less than fifty meters away from her, apparently still mostly intact. That plane was bound to attract a dive bomber or two, so she prepared herself to greet warmly any Japanese plane that would dive on that ANSON. Effectively, a pair of VALs quickly dove on the Australian plane, one behind the other. Because of the limited range of her weapon, Ingrid had to wait until the Japanese dive bombers were at an altitude of 800 meters before opening fire, after the first VAL had just released its bomb and was starting to raise its nose up.
Firing short bursts, Ingrid made the VAL fly through her lines of tracers, but without apparent results, while the Japanese’ bomb exploded just besides the ANSON, flipping it upside down and destroying it. The VAL then passed right above Ingrid as it came out of its dive, giving her a chance to fire a long burst at its belly from less than 300 meters, pressing on the trigger until her machine gun went silent, short of bullets.
‘’NEW AMMO BELT!’ she screamed to Carey, while opening at the same time the breach cover to expose the feeding claws of the weapon. In her haste to reload her Vickers, she did not see the VAL on which she had fired on continue its dive at a slight angle, its pilot killed by one of her bullets. The explosion which resulted from the crash of the dive bomber finally attracted her attention and that of Carey.
‘’MY GOD, WE GOT HIM!’’ shouted Carey, jumping with joy. Ingrid smiled as well but reminded him that there was more to do as she cocked twice the breechblock of her machinegun in order to load a fresh round in the weapon’s chamber.
‘’One down, 149 to go! Let’s serve our next customer now.’
Those words quickly cooled down the enthusiasm of the fighter pilot, who then got ready with another belt of ammunition as Ingrid pointed her machine gun at the second VAL, which had already flown over them. The pilot of the second VAL, seeing that he had lost his leader, performed a tight turn at low altitude to return over the station and look for the ones who had shot his leader down. Ingrid didn’t fire then and stayed immobile, to stay
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unnoticed as long as possible and take the VAL pilot by surprise. The latter, his vision partly blocked by his big Mitsubishi Kinsei 44 14-piston radial engine, didn’t see the small silhouette waiting for him. With a target coming at him in a straight line and at low altitude, Ingrid’s aim was greatly simplified and she fired a long burst into the nose of the dive bomber. The VAL suddenly turned into a flying torch; its forward fuel tank pierced by many bullets. Its pilot and rear machine gunner were still screaming with pain while burning alive when the VAL crashed on top of the already ruined Avro ANSON.
Despite her joy at having shot down two VALs, Ingrid concentrated her attention on the Japanese planes still flying over the station, ignoring the enthusiastic screams coming from the Americans and Australians who had taken cover in the nearby roadside ditch. With her position situated near the headquarters building, she soon had two ZERO fighters speeding directly towards her, apparently intent on strafing the building behind her.
‘’Uh, Lieutenant Carey, you better stay down behind the parapet now: this wil become real y exciting very soon.’’ said Ingrid in a tense voice. The ZERO fighter, with its two 20 mm cannons and two 7.7 mm machine guns, vastly outgunned her but she still had a slight chance to survive against one ZERO. Against two ZEROs, she was now nearly as good as dead. Her stomach knotted by fear and feeling her hair rise on her head, she concentrated her full attention on the two approaching fighters, adrenaline flooding her veins and experiencing tunnel vision as well while hyperventilating. The two ZEROs, flying side by side, opened fire well before she did, strafing the headquarters building and turning it into a sieve. She heard many bullets whistle by her, with more bullets impacting against the sandbags of the parapet. One 20 mm cannon shell even exploded against the outside base of the parapet, but its fragments didn’t penetrate the double rows of sandbags. Firing only at the last moment, as the ZEROs were about to overfly her, she aimed at the nose and belly of the leading ZERO. The Japanese fighters were then past her, leaving Ingrid to wonder how she could still be alive. Taking a deep breath to chase her fear, she looked at the ZEROs which were now flying away.
Only then did she see that she had hit her target, with the leading Japanese fighter now trailing black smoke.
‘’WE GOT HIM!’
Ralph Carey, still hiding behind the parapet and severely shaken by his close call with death, got up with difficulty on his one good leg and patted Ingrid’s shoulder.
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‘’Captain, I would follow you in Hel if need be.’
Still breathing fast and as tense as an iron bar, Ingrid looked around her and saw that all the Japanese airplanes were now turning around and regrouping before leaving in the direction of the Northeast. She had to sit down on top of her position’s parapet, her legs shaking, as she realized how close to having been killed she had come. Carey also sat beside her and took out a pack of cigarettes from one pocket, offering one to Ingrid.
‘’Cigarette, Captain?’
‘’No but thanks, Lieutenant. I don’t smoke.’’
‘’Even after such a moment?’’
‘’It’s tempting, but no. Damn, I was never as scared as I was during the last minute.’’
‘’The same for me, Captain.’’ replied Carey before looking around him at the ruined airfield. ‘’The Japanese sure gave this station a beating this morning. There must be dead and wounded men everywhere. Thank God that you did alert us to that scout plane yesterday, though. Imagine if this airfield would be still full of C-87s.’
‘’Then, our air bridge to the Philippines would be history, Lieutenant. Stil , we will have to repair the landing strips before our C-87s returning from Clark Field can land here. Let’s go see how the other wounded are faring.’
The duo barely had time to get up on their feet before Colonel Sneed, accompanied by four of his staff officers, including Captain Manning, arrived at a run, their uniforms covered with dust and dirt. To Ingrid’s surprise, Sneed saluted her first, his eyes fixing her with admiration.
‘’Captain Dows, you just gave us an incredible demonstration of courage and cool-headedness. Be assured that Brigadier General Barnes will hear about this.
Lieutenant Carey, I also intend to mention your heroic conduct today.’
‘’Thank you, Colonel.’ said softly Ingrid. ‘’Unfortunately, I’m afraid that this airfield is now a complete shamble.’
‘’You are too right about that, Captain.’’ said Sneed, nodding his head, before looking at Captain Manning. ‘’Captain, find out if a radio or a telephone is stil working inside the headquarters building. We must warn General Barnes in Brisbane and General Brereton in Manila about this Japanese raid. Tell them that those planes came from carriers and that Darwin Airfield is presently out of service. Major Cuccinik, tell Batchelor and Parap airfields to be ready to receive our C-87s when they will arrive this afternoon from Clark Field. Lieutenant Hughes, take a jeep and go see in what state are
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the port and the ships moored in the harbor. I want a list of the damages and losses there. Captain Simpsons, you will be in charge of the rescue operations here. From what I was able to see up to now, it seems that we can’t count on our Australian comrades for nothing here. I will try to find Wing Commander Griffith in the meantime, to liaise with him.’
‘’Can I help with something, Colonel?’’ asked Ingrid. Sneed nodded his head at once.
‘’Yes, you can, Captain. Find the men and equipment still available around the station and have repairs started on the two landing strips. Find out at the same time how much aviation fuel is stil left intact around the station.’
‘’Wil do, sir!’ replied Ingrid, saluting Sneed. The latter was about to return her salute when he froze and looked down at Ingrid’s right armpit.
‘’Uh, did you have a hole in your shirt before this attack, Captain?’
Ingrid, surprised, looked down at her armpit and was shocked to see the hole that a 7.7
mm bullet had made in her shirt just under her right armpit, having missed her by a few millimeters.
20:41 (Brisbane Time)
Friday, November 14, 1941 ‘C’
Reception lobby of the Lennon’s Hotel
Corner of George, Ann and Adelaide Streets
Downtown Brisbane, East coast of Australia
‘’Hey, Jim, stop ogling that magazine! I would like to look at that babe too.’
‘’But I’m reading the article to see what they say about her tactics against the Japanese.’ protested Lieutenant Jim McAfee, of the 16th Bomber Squadron (Light), getting a sarcastic reply from his squadron mate, Lieutenant Bob Ruegg.
‘’Yeah, that’s why you have been looking at the same picture during the last minute? The one that shows her bare torso and lying on her bel y?’’
One of the four pilots looking at the copy of the TIME-LIFE MAGAZINE over the shoulder of McAfee, who was sitting in one of the sofas of the hotel’s reception lobby, then took his defense.
‘’Hey, we also want to read the article.’’
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Captain William Hipps, commander of the 16th Bomber Squadron, smiled in amusement at the exchange while reading the latest edition of the main daily newspaper in Brisbane.
Since he and his men had arrived by sea five days ago with the convoy escorted by the cruiser PENSACOLA, they had been working hard to reassemble their Douglas A-24
dive bombers, which had made the long sea trip across the Pacific in giant crates. The opportunities to relax and change their minds at night were however fairly limited in Brisbane, save for the pubs and clubs where they could go drink. Hipps had however made abundantly clear to his men that he expected them to be sober and fit in the morning. Flirting with the local girls was a risky activity, in view of the jealous attention with which Australian men guarded their wives and daughters. That mostly left reading or listening to news of the war in newspapers and on the radio. The news from the Philippines were regularly featured in the news, while the Japanese attack on Darwin was on all the lips. However, few details were known publicly about that attack, thanks to official censure.
As McAfee finally handed his magazine to Bob Ruegg, a group of American pilots and aircrews entered the hotel lobby at a tired pace, escorted by Major Hicks, an officer on the staff of Brigadier General Barnes. Hipps and his men had seen such processions twice already and understood that those aviators were arriving from Darwin with a new lot of wounded. McAfee, who was already regretting having given his magazine to Ruegg and was watching the newcomers enter the lobby, nearly strangled up with surprise when a beautiful teenager in combat uniform entered, carrying a rifle, a backpack and a kit bag. He then smiled with contentment as he followed Ingrid with his eyes.
‘’Hey, guys, forget the magazine: the real deal is here.’’
Hipps, like the rest of his men, watched with intense curiosity as the teenager went to the reception desk with the rest of her group. Bandages were visible on her neck, sticking out of her shirt’s collar.
‘’My God! She’s even more beautiful than on this picture.’ exclaimed a bit too loudly McAfee, deciding Hipps in reminding something to his men.
‘’Calm down, guys! This girl is married to an officer of the Marines who is presently fighting in the Philippines. She also has the rank of captain and is a recipient of the Medal of Honor, so please show her respect and courtesy.’
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‘’But her rank must not be for real, Captain.’’ protested Samuel Dil ard. ‘’She’s in the Filipino Army, not the United States Army.’
That got him a warning look from Hipps.
‘’She got her rank of captain directly from General MacArthur, who is our theatre commander, Dil ard. You want to discuss that point with him?’’
‘’Uh, no, Captain.’’
‘’Good! Now, I believe that it is quite late already and that we have a lot of work to do tomorrow, so I counsel you to go up to your rooms and go to bed, gentlemen.’
His pilots obeyed reluctantly, commenting between them about what they had seen of the girl. McAfee however made sure to grab the magazine left on a table by Ruegg before going up to his room.
After leaving her two pieces of luggage and her rifle in the small room with private bathroom assigned to her, Ingrid followed Major Hicks to the door of a room on the highest floor of the hotel. Knocking on the door and waiting for a response, Hicks opened the door after hearing an answer, leading Ingrid in the room and coming to attention, imitated by Ingrid.
‘’General, Captain Dows here has just arrived from Darwin and is carrying a report from Colonel Sneed for you.’
Brigadier General Julian Barnes, an old and experienced aviator, got up from behind his desk, which was actually a simple folding table set up in the lounge of his suite, and returned their salutes. He couldn’t help be shocked by the young age of the beautiful girl wearing the rank insignias of a captain. She however wore as well a fighter pilot’s wings insignia and the ribbons of the Medal of Honor, DSC, Silver Star, DFC, Purple Heart and the Presidential Unit Citation, or PUC. This was definitely no ordinary girl.
‘’At ease! Show me this report, Captain Dows.’
‘’Here it is, General.’ replied politely Ingrid while stepping forward and taking out the envelope she had brought from Darwin. Barnes took and opened the envelope, taking out a document counting a few pages and sitting back to read it. Ingrid stayed quiet and still as Barnes read. The old brigadier general finally shook his head in disgust.
‘’This could have turned into a true disaster if not for your timely sighting of that Japanese scout plane, Captain Dows. However, the lack of warning or even of proper
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response from the Australians is simply inexcusable. Are the Australians in Darwin this incompetent?’’
‘’If I may speak frankly, General.’ said Ingrid while coming to attention. Barnes eyed her with interest.
‘’Go ahead, Captain.’’
‘’General, this fiasco is due mainly to serious deficiencies in the warning and command system of the Australian Air Force, including the total lack of radar stations, fighter planes and anti-aircraft guns, slow and non-secure communications lines and, especially, a confused and inefficient chain of command. Colonel Sneed covers that last point in detail in his report, General.’
‘’Did he show you his report, Captain?’
‘’Actual y, General, he asked me to help him write the section containing the details about the Japanese attack on Darwin Airfield.’’
‘’I see!’ said Barnes before rereading that part of the report. He finally put down the document and looked again at Ingrid.
‘’Did Colonel Sneed show you his report in its entirety, Captain?’
‘’No, General! Only the part concerning the Japanese attack and the probable causes of the failed response.’’
‘’Well, he mentions you by name at the end of his report and recommends that you be assigned to the reassembly of the P-40 fighters we brought by sea, then that you help convoying them to the Philippines via the Dutch East Indies. Know however that the few fighter pilots that I have here are mostly inexperienced and never saw combat.
They seriously need in my opinion some serious extra training. You will thus take charge of those fighter pilots and teach them all you can about how to fight the Japanese. These pilots are lodging here in this hotel, like the pilots and aircrews of the 27th Bombardment Group, which arrived here with 52 Douglas A-24 dive bombers.
Major Hicks will introduce you to these pilots tomorrow morning. Report to him at eight tomorrow morning, in Room 607, in combat uniform. Dismissed!’
Ingrid, happy to see Barnes show confidence in her, saluted him and pivoted on her heels, then walked out. Barnes signaled Hicks to stay and spoke to him once the door closed behind Ingrid.
‘’What do you think of her, Major?’’
‘’That she looks even younger that I expected, General. She however appears competent and surprisingly mature for her age.’
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‘’Hicks, know that the last page of Colonel Sneed’s report is actual y an official letter of recommendation for a medal: he wants a Silver Star for her. According to what he wrote, it seems that this young girl amply deserved it. Here, read!’’
Hicks took the letter and read it quickly before looking back at his superior with wide eyes.
‘’This girl is positively incredible. The DSC wouldn’t be too much for what she did in Darwin.’’
‘’Yeah, and she already won it in the Philippines. Girl or not, we just can’t waste such talent, especially now.’
08:14 (Brisbane Time)
Saturday, November 15, 1941 ‘C’
Reception lobby of the Lennon’s Hotel
Brisbane, Australia
The 58 pilots in combat uniform were waiting in a corner of the hotel lobby, ready to receive their instructions for the day from Major John ‘Big Jim’ Davies, the commander of the 27th Bombardment Group, when Major Hicks showed up with Ingrid close behind him. With all eyes now on Ingrid, Hicks exchanged a salute with Davies and spoke to him briefly in a low voice before departing, leaving Ingrid besides Davies. The latter signaled Ingrid to join the other pilots, then spoke up in a firm voice.
‘’Gentlemen, I would like to introduce to our group Captain Ingrid Dows, also known as ‘Lady Hawk’, from the Filipino 6th Pursuit Squadron. She will work with us to help reassemble our A-24s and P-40s loaded on the MEIGS, then will act as air combat instructor for the few lost fighter pilots in our midst.’
Davies let the few laughs caused by his joke quiet down before continuing.
‘’As you know too well, despite three days of intense efforts, there is stil a lot left to do before our first plane is finished assembling and is ready to be tested in the air.
We will thus report again this morning to Captain Gunn, at Eagle Farm Airfield. The fighter pilots in our group will work under Captain Dows on the P-40s, while we will concentrate on our A-24s. Two buses are waiting at the main entrance to bring us to the airfield. Let’s move, people!’’
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Ingrid waited to be next to last, just ahead of Major Davies, to board the first bus, wanting to avoid having wandering hands rub against her body. Davies noticed that and gave her a reassuring smile.
‘’Don’t worry about my men, Captain: they can behave went they want to.’’
‘’Men wil be men, Major.’ replied Ingrid with a slight smile, not wanting to antagonize him. ‘’As for me, I’m no virgin myself, so I wil try to minimize temptation…on both sides.’
A number of young pilots around her then faked indignation at her incendiary declaration, while Davies rolled his eyes.
17:25 (Brisbane Time)
Lennon’s Hotel, Brisbane
Ingrid was exhausted, covered with sweat and dust and was famished when she entered the hotel lobby with the other pilots. She was however happy, first for having helped assembling a P-40F fighter at Eagle Farm Airfield, second for having had the chance to meet there an old friend she had known in the Philippines. Paul Irvin Gunn, a small 42-year-old man with a moustache, had been a commercial airline pilot in the Philippines and had first met Ingrid when she had started taking flying lessons at Nielson Field. Now, Gunn wore the rank of captain and was in charge of assembling the planes brought by ship to Brisbane. Gunn, who had traveled with Ingrid in her bus back to the hotel, patted her right shoulder once in the lobby.
‘’My wife and kids are due to meet me here before going to a restaurant for supper. It would real y please me if you could join us.’’
‘’I would be most happy to, Paul. Let me just go up to my room to shower and change first.’
When she reappeared in the lobby 35 minutes later, Ingrid was wearing her adjusted going out uniform of the Filipino Army, plus was carrying a regulation black purse, making the men present in the lobby stare hungrily at her. Paul, who was waiting with his wife Clara and his four young children, simply smiled in amusement on seeing her.
‘’You wil always have an effect on the men around you, Ingrid, whatever you wil wear.’
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‘’Thanks for the compliment, Paul.’ said Ingrid before sharing a hug with Gunn’s wife. ‘’I’m happy to see you again, Clara.’
‘’Me too, Ingrid. You certainly made a name for yourself in the last few weeks.’
‘’Hey, I was simply defending myself. The Japanese have the bad habit of constantly flying across my sights.’
Paul Gunn broke out in laughter on hearing that.
‘’Ingrid, you are the gutsiest girl I ever met.’
‘’You should have met my adoptive mother: compared to her, I am positively lame.’’
Paul’s smile faded as a dreamy expression came on his face.
‘’Nancy Laplante, the most extraordinary woman to ever be. I would have loved to meet her, just to speak with her of course.’
‘’Of course!’ replied Clara Gunn in a sarcastic tone. ‘’Well, let’s find a good restaurant now: the kids are famished.’
Walking out of the hotel with the Gunn family, Ingrid went with them to a small restaurant on George Street. It was now a bit past six in the evening and the Sun had just set. They also quickly found that it was the closing hour for the bars and pubs, judging by the number of drunk Australians circulating on the sidewalks. Paul Gunn instinctively put one arm around his wife’s shoulders to discourage possible advances from drunken men. On her part, Ingrid kept her right hand close to the opening of her service purse, which contained her telescopic steel baton and her compact GLOCK 26 9
mm pistol inherited from Nancy. Their group however made it without incident to the restaurant, where they took a table in the half full dining room. A loud speaker was broadcasting some music from a local radio station, helping to give the place a more relaxed environment. The Gunns and Ingrid promptly chose from the menu and placed their orders, then started conversing together while they waited for their food. They were served twelve minutes later and were starting to eat when the music on the radio was interrupted by the voice of an announcer.
‘’Ladies and gentlemen, we regret to have to interrupt briefly our musical program in order to pass a special news bulletin. The Australian High Command has announced that the Japanese have attacked this morning the Dutch East Indies and Timor, with sea landings in Medan, Batavia, Fretan, Wetan, Kendari, Bali, Ambon and Kupang, plus
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making airborne landings around Palembang. The Dutch colonial forces are however resisting the invaders with determination and are causing them heavy losses.’
‘’In clear language, the Dutch were taken by surprise and are fighting a rear-guard action.’ said Ingrid in a low voice as the music resumed. Clara Gunn looked at her with shock.
‘’You don’t think that the Dutch are able to repel the Japanese?’’
Ingrid shook her head, her face somber.
‘’No! The Japanese naval and air superiority is too great for that. Unfortunately, the Japanese just achieved two important things: they will now be able to exploit the oilfields and refineries on Java and Sumatra and, at the same time, they shut down to us the airfields of the Dutch East Indies. Paul, what is the range of the A-24?’’
‘’About 450 miles with a full load of bombs, or 1,100 miles without bombs.’
‘’Hum, that means that our A-24s could not get to Kupang or Ambon, the two points closest to Darwin, and come back, even without bombs. Has someone in General Barnes’ staff realized yet that the A-24s and P-40s that we are reassembling here are essential y useless because of their short range? We don’t have access anymore to the Dutch East Indies airfields which would have allowed our aircraft to get to the Philippines by a series of staging points, while our planes don’t have enough range to hit those same airfields, which will soon be used by the Japanese to hit Australia.’’
Paul Gunn swore quietly when he realized that Ingrid was right.
‘’My God! That leaves us with only a handful of medium and heavy bombers able to attack the Japanese and with nothing to reinforce the Philippines. But we can’t simply let these planes dismounted and do nothing with them, Ingrid.’
‘’No, but their utility is now limited to the direct defense of Australia and nothing else, unfortunately, unless we find a way to augment dramatically their range, something I strongly doubt.’
Paul, his mind struck by Ingrid’s verdict, thought furiously about how to circumvent that problem, eating absent-mindedly during the rest of the meal. Embarrassed for having causing Paul to neglect his family, Ingrid did her best to distract Clara and her four children, telling them stories about her flying. Paul was still absorbed in his thinking when the group returned to the hotel after supper. Saying goodbye to the Gunns, Ingrid then went to her room and took off her uniform to be more at ease. Sitting at the small desk of her room, she started writing a memo addressed to General Barnes, with the firm intention to give it to him first thing in the morning. Her memo done, she went to
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bed but had problems falling asleep, haunted by the thought that she and the other pilots were wasting their time with inadequate planes. What the American forces needed in the Pacific were planes with really long range, not light bombers which would need four stopovers just to get from Brisbane to Darwin. Unfortunately, Washington seemed unshakeable about its doctrine of giving absolute priority to the European front, at the expense of the Pacific front. The A-24s and P-40s in Brisbane would thus have to do.
09:26 (Brisbane Time)
Sunday, November 16, 1941 ‘C’
Temporary headquarters of the United States Forces in Australia (USFIA) Lennon’s Hotel, Brisbane
Brigadier General Julian Barnes swore in frustration as he examined his map of the Pacific Southwest and of Australia, with Ingrid’s memo in his hands. He had no choice but to agree with her: the dive bombers that he had brought from the United States, along with over 800 men of the 27th Bombardment Group, were now effectively good only for local defense. The Dutch liaison officer in Brisbane had unfortunately confirmed the bad news about the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies and had told him that the Dutch forces wouldn’t be able to resist for more than a week. He couldn’t even send his planes to the Philippines by stages anymore. Discouraged, Barnes looked at his staff officer in charge of aviation matters, Major Hicks.
‘’Well, I’m afraid that the Japanese truly screwed us up this time. Apart from gaining the oil wells of Java and Sumatra, they also cut off our route to the Philippines.
Now, only our C-87 transports can make it to the Philippines. Unless we can improve dramatically the range of our A-24s, they will be stuck in Australia. Captain Dows is right: we need B-17s, B-24s and P-38s here in Australia. If not, Washington will have to try to slip a sea convoy loaded with planes to the Philippines, with the real risk of seeing that convoy be intercepted by the Japanese fleet.’
‘’What about Dows’ suggestion to reload our planes on our transports and sail immediately for the Philippines, while the Japanese fleet is busy invading the Dutch East Indies?’
Barnes was silent for a long moment, debating what was one of the most difficult decisions of his career. The worst part was that he did not really have the authority to take such a decision by himself. However, waiting for a decision from Washington on
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this would take many precious days and would close the window of opportunity that he had now. Fully realizing that he could end up in front of a court martial if he ever lost his convoy at sea, Barnes took a deep breath and signaled his signals officer to approach him.
‘’Captain MacNamara, write a coded message destined to General MacArthur in Manila, CRITIC priority and TOP SECRET. Put as well Admiral Hart, of the Asiatic Fleet, as info recipient, but nobody else, especially not Washington or Hawai .’
‘’Uh, understood, General.’ replied MacNamara, realizing that his superior was probably about to overstep his authority. He was not disappointed when Barnes started dictating his message.
‘’To General MacArthur, from Brigadier General Julian Barnes, Commander USFIA in Brisbane. Following the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies, the A-24
and P-40 planes brought to Australia by sea are now out of range of the Philippines.
Pursuant to the directives of the War Department, which places the highest priority in reinforcing our aviation in the Philippines, I have thus ordered that the planes and materiel unloaded from the PENSACOLA convoy be reloaded aboard their transport ships, so that the convoy could secretly sail to the Philippines as quickly as possible. I am hoping to push my convoy through while the majority of the Japanese fleet is still occupied around the Dutch East Indies. The window of opportunity is however very limited and your authorization is requested in the shortest possible time, to allow me to send my convoy as soon as possible. The utmost discretion on this subject is also required, as any security leak could endanger the convoy. I await with impatience your directives. Signed, Julian Barnes, Brigadier General. Add as an annex an abbreviated list of the materiel and planes contained in the convoy and the list of ships in the convoy, along with the planned route to the Philippines. Encode it and send it as fast as you can, Captain.’’
‘’Right away, General!’
Barnes then turned to face Hicks.
‘’Major, stop immediately any unloading work off our ships and have everything which was already taken off put back aboard our transports. The planes already assembled will be transported whole, as deck cargo. Be discreet about those orders, though: I don’t want those damn Australian newspapers or radio stations to announce publicly our impending departure.’’
‘’Understood, General!’
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Next, Barnes looked at his Australian liaison officer.
‘’Major Somervil e, I want you to put an official gag on the radio stations and newspapers in Australia, especially those in Brisbane, to prevent any rumors or speculations about our convoy which could put our men and ships at risk. Also, tell your damn stevedores to stop working to rule: we are at war, if they haven’t understood that yet.’
‘’Uh, I wil do my best, General.’
08:33 (Manila Time) / 10:33 (Brisbane Time)
Office of General MacArthur
USAFFE HQ, Manila
Philippines
‘’General, you have a message with CRITIC priority from Brigadier General Barnes, in Brisbane.’’
Douglas MacArthur, who was discussing with Admiral Thomas Hart their respective situations facing the Japanese, took the message handed by an aide and thanked the junior officer before starting to read. Hart saw him soon smile as he read.
‘’Some good news, General?’’
‘’Possibly, Admiral. Brigadier General Barnes, in view of the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies, which just cut off the air transit itinerary between Australia and the Philippines, has ordered the PENSACOLA convoy to be reloaded with the planes and materiel already landed in Brisbane. He is asking my permission to send the convoy to Manila, while the majority of the Japanese fleet is still busy around the Dutch East Indies. Barnes just proved that he has both guts and initiative. My God, this could real y work, if he acts quickly.’
‘’What exactly is transported by that convoy, General?’’ asked Hart, instantly interested. MacArthur handed him the message while answering him.
‘’A complete dive bomber group of 52 Douglas A-24s, forty P-40s, an aviation depot and forward maintenance unit and three field artillery regiments. Here, you are an info addressee.’
Hart, reading quickly the message, hesitated on seeing the extremely limited list of addressees.
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‘’The Pacific Fleet headquarters and Washington are not getting this message?
But Barnes is risking a court martial if he loses his convoy after sending it like this without higher authorization.’’
‘’A good leader knows when to take an initiative without wasting time to ask for authorization, Admiral. Barnes just proved that he is one of them. I will immediately answer him to tell him that he has my authorization to send the PENSACOLA convoy on its way to Manila as soon as possible. What could your fleet do to help this convoy arrive in one piece, Admiral?’’
Hart thought his answer for a moment before replying.
‘’It is true that Japanese ships are somewhat rare around the Philippines these days, while the intensity and frequency of the air raids have gone down quite a lot, thank God! I can move a few of my submarines to sweep down and cover the proposed route of the convoy, to chase away any Japanese ship which could spot the convoy. The unloading of the convoy once in Manila harbor will however take many days, during which those ships wil be very vulnerable to air attacks. This is a risky bet indeed.’’
‘’All bets worth taking are dangerous, Admiral.’ said MacArthur in a firm voice.
‘’You may start sending your submarines. On my part, I wil make sure that everything is done in Manila harbor to expedite the unloading of this convoy once it gets here. God, what I could do with three full artillery regiments.’’
20:17 (Brisbane Time)
Wednesday, November 19, 1941 ‘C’
Brigadier General Barnes’ office
Lennon’s Hotel, Brisbane, Australia
‘’At ease, gentlemen…and lady!’
Ingrid, like the fourteen other fighter pilots ordered to show up in Barnes’ suite, adopted a relaxed position and waited in silence as Barnes reviewed a message in front of him on his work table. Barnes finally looked up from the message and examined the young pilots lined in front of him.
‘’I know that you are all busy packing up your things for your departure at sea tonight, but I just received this message from General MacArthur which concerns you directly. As you already know, the men of your group were sent to Australia as reinforcement for the various pursuit squadrons in the Philippines, with a secondary
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mission to deliver forty P-40F, our latest model of the P-40, which were brought aboard the PENSACOLA convoy. As such, you had not been assigned yet to a specific squadron and had no commanding officer, nearly all of you being fresh out of the fighter school in Luke Field and having also completed the P-40 conversion course. Well, this message from General MacArthur assigns you finally to a squadron and a commander.
You will now be part of the 17th Pursuit Squadron, a provisional unit, and your commander will be Captain Dows, a veteran and air ace from the Philippines.’’
Barnes watched carefully the reactions of the male pilots at his last sentence, expecting objections from them at being put under the command of a woman. While he saw some surprise and skepticism on a few faces, none of them was stupid enough to protest a decision coming from a lieutenant general. Satisfied, Barnes continued.
‘’Other fighter pilots who had been wounded in the Philippines and then sent by air to Darwin for treatment will accompany you on the convoy. While still considered as convalescing, those whose healing is considered advanced enough are being sent back to their respective squadrons in the Philippines, where they will complete their medical recovery and then will be given new fighter aircraft out of the lot of P-40s transported by the convoy. Twenty of the P-40Fs in the lot are however reserved exclusively for the use of the 17th Pursuit Squadron and of the 6th Pursuit Squadron of the Filipino Air Corps.’
Seeing Ingrid smile on hearing his last words, Barnes looked at her and nodded his head once.
‘’You wil certainly be happy to learn that Major Vil amor is stil flying from Batangas and shooting down Japanese planes on a regular basis. It seems that two of his original squadron pilots who had been wounded in combat are now fit again to fly.
Four of the twenty P-40Fs I mentioned earlier will go to the 6th Pursuit Squadron, along with sets of spares, while you will keep the remaining sixteen P-40s for your squadron, Captain. Once you are in the Philippines, with your planes assembled, your squadron will operate from the airfield in Batangas, which is still the home of the 6th Pursuit Squadron. The facilities there are limited, but Batangas has the advantage of having been mostly ignored by the Japanese, since only a single plane was using it. In advance of your arrival, General Brereton has ordered that an engineer unit improves the facilities of the airfield as discreetly as possible, in order to avoid unwanted attention from the Japanese. Another advantage is that the 6th Pursuit Squadron, while it was down to only one pilot and one plane, still has a full complement of ground servicing and
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support crews familiar with the P-40. Your ground echelon is thus already in place and ready to receive you. You will all travel on the MEIGS, which will carry the twenty P-40s assigned to you. Now, this leaves me with only one more last thing concerning you.
Squadron, ATTEN…HUT!’’
As the fifteen fighter pilots came to attention, Barnes got up from behind his work table and, grabbing a small box on his table, approached Ingrid, stopping one pace in front of her.
‘’Captain Ingrid Dows, of the Filipino Air Corps 6th Pursuit Squadron, I am happy and honored to award to you your second Distinguished Service Cross, for your heroic actions in defending Darwin from Japanese air attack on November twelve of this year.’
Barnes then opened the small box and took out a DSC with oak leaf cluster, pinning it to Ingrid’s combat shirt, above her left breast pocket. Taking a step back, he saluted her, with Ingrid proudly saluting back. The brigadier general then looked at the male pilots in the room, giving them a sober, nearly severe look.
‘’Gentlemen, never let the youth or sex of your new squadron commander fool you about her abilities as a fighter pilot and officer. I have had to deal with hundreds of young pilots in my career and I can say with confidence that few of them ever showed abilities as high as those demonstrated to date by Captain Dows. Listen to her and obey her without reserve and you will be able to hurt badly the Japanese in the air. Well, that is all that I had for you, gentlemen and lady. You are dismissed to your rooms. Captain Dows, please stay for a moment more.’’
Now somewhat nervous, Ingrid, stayed at attention while the fourteen male pilots left the room. Barnes then spoke to her in a friendly tone.
‘’Captain Dows, many people in the United States are disturbed by the fact that you are a fighter pilot, even though you are officially part of the Filipino Air Corps. They will most probably be even more disturbed to learn that you are now the commanding officer of a United States pursuit squadron. Know however that I am not part of that crowd. You amply proved your valor in combat and showed intelligence and initiative, which I appreciate a lot. I know however that your lack of formal military training as an officer is putting you at a severe disadvantage in terms of filling the administrative duties a squadron commander is normally expected to accomplish. I have thus assigned to you and your new squadron two experienced officers, one an administrative officer, the other a logistician. You will also have with you Captain Paul Gunn, who will act as your
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maintenance officer. These three officers, along with eight clerical, signal and logistical NCOs, will travel with you on the MEIGS: you will thus have ample opportunity to get to know them. Here is a copy of the message from General MacArthur naming you commander of the 17th Provisional Pursuit Squadron, plus a mission order signed by me.
Do you have questions, Captain?’
‘’Only one, sir. Since I am now in command of a United States pursuit squadron, does that mean that the United States Army is ready to accept me officially as an officer and a fighter pilot, sir?’’
That brought a pained look on Barnes’ face, who answered her in a soft voice.
‘’Unfortunately, no! I realize how stupid and il ogical this could appear to you, but you are still officially considered simply as a Filipina officer in temporary command of an American unit. Present Army regulations still prohibit women from serving, except as nurses. I was made to understand that the President himself is trying to change that, but it would technically take an act of Congress to officially change those regulations. That could stil take quite some time.’
Ingrid hid as best she could her bitterness and kept her voice tone neutral.
‘’I wil stil do my best to serve the United States and the Philippines, sir.’
‘’That’s the spirit, Captain.’’ said Barnes, smiling to her. ‘’Good luck in your new command, Captain. I am sure that you will accomplish great things.’
‘’Thank you, General!’
‘’You are welcomed, Captain. Dismissed!’
Ingrid saluted Barnes, then turned around and left his suite, her heart beating at an accelerated pace: fighter squadron commander at the official age of eighteen, after only a month as a fighter pilot. The fact that she was in reality only sixteen only added a spicy touch to her situation.
01:29 (Brisbane Time)
Thursday, November 20, 1941 ‘C’
Army transport ship USAT MEIGS
Brisbane harbor
Having dropped her things in the small cabin assigned to her on the big transport ship, Ingrid went out on the forward weather deck to look at the lights of Brisbane as the ships of the convoy started peeling off the quays. The MEIGS, like the other ships of the
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flotilla, were in complete blackout condition, contrary to the city of Brisbane, which seemed to have no worries at all about possible Japanese air or sea raids. Seeing Paul Gunn leaning against the deck’s railing, near one of the P-40F which had been assembled at Eagle Farm Airfield and was now firmly tied to the deck under a protective tarp, Ingrid went to lean on the railing next to him. She immediately noticed his sober expression.
‘’You are missing your family already, Paul?’’
Gunn nodded slowly his head while stil contemplating the city’s lights.
‘’I do, Ingrid. My greatest fear is to never see my wife and kids again. I am now leaving them alone here in Brisbane, without any guaranties that I will be able to return to them.’
‘’Paul,’ said softly Ingrid, ‘’I am certain that they have as much confidence in you as you do in them. You just need to have confidence in yourself. You and your family wil survive this war, I am sure of that.’
Gunn turned his head to look at her, thoughtful.
‘’Ingrid, you are truly a girl apart. On one side, you have the beauty and youth of a teenager, on another the wisdom of an old traveler who has seen everything. In comparison to you, your pilots look and sound like rambunctious kids. Where does this incredible maturity of yours come from?’’
Ingrid hesitated before answering him: Paul Gunn and his family had quickly become some of the best friends she and Ken counted in Manila and she had full confidence in the veteran aviator. The secret she kept was however a big one. She finally decided that, if she could reveal her secret to General MacArthur, she could do the same with a good, trusted friend.
‘’Paul, I am an old traveler who has seen everything…for over 7,000 years.’
As Gunn looked at her with total incomprehension, she took a few minutes to tell him how she and Nancy had suddenly and simultaneously started to remember their past incarnations, mentioning in passing her past life as a young woman from Mindanao who had died over 500 years ago. Despite being thoroughly shaken by Ingrid’s revelations, Gunn seemed to believe her nearly at once.
‘’I always wondered how a young German teenager could have learned in Europe two obscure dialects like the Cebuano and the Tagalog. And you don’t know why you and Nancy Laplante got to remember your past incarnations?’’
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‘’Paul, don’t laugh, but I think that it was a gift from God. As for the why, I don’t know. I however intend to use this gift to help the ones around me…and to better understand our Japanese enemies. I was a Japanese geisha in the 9th Century and lived then at the imperial palace in Kyoto. I can speak and read Japanese fluently, plus dozens of other languages and dialects, most of them now extinct.’
Gunn stared at her in silence for a moment before speaking quietly.
‘’Ingrid, even without this capacity to remember your past lives, you are stil an extraordinary girl. None of your lives could have prepared you to become the ace fighter pilot you are today.’
‘’Thank you, Paul.’ said Ingrid, flashing a tender smile. ‘’You are yourself a man that I am proud to call a friend. Between friends, I have another confidence for you, a confidence that you must absolutely keep to yourself.’
‘’Uh, let’s see: you are an angel from Heaven?’’
‘’Not real y. In reality, I am sixteen years old, not eighteen. I lied to the Luftwaffe recruiters when I volunteered to become an auxiliary just before my fifteenth birthday.’
‘’Good God! Sixteen and already wounded once in air combat. That is nearly obscene.’’
‘’What is truly obscene is this damn war and its collection of atrocities.’’ replied Ingrid as she watched the heavy cruiser PENSACOLA glide silently past the MEIGS.
08:42 (Brisbane Time)
Forward weather deck of the USAT MEIGS
Coral Sea
Ingrid, wearing a combat uniform and with her pistol strapped to her upper right leg, had assembled her pilots, her ground support NCOs and her three support officers on the forward deck, near a tarp-covered P-40F, wanting to introduce herself and each other. She flashed a charming smile as she started her introductory speech.
‘’Welcome all to the 17th Provisional Pursuit Squadron, gentlemen. For those of you who don’t know me yet, I am eighteen years old and was born in Berlin, Germany. I became an orphan in 1940, when a British bomb killed my whole extended family during a bombing raid on Berlin. I then enrolled as an auxiliary in the Luftwaffe, out of a desire to avenge my family and to help protect my country. If any of you is tempted to think that I joined the Luftwaffe because I was a convinced Nazi, then don’t! I was actually a
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German Jew, something I kept secret from my recruiter, thus have absolutely no love for the Nazis. My future adoptive mother, Nancy Laplante, then captured me, along with many other Germans, during a raid in France last January. Eventually, she and her husband, a major in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, adopted me and I was finally pardoned by the British, who then let me leave for the United States after the death of both Nancy and her husband. I have thus been orphaned twice. Before leaving London, I married a major of the Marine Corps and followed him to his new post in the Philippines. My husband Ken is a big, tough guy standing six foot two. You thus may look and dream, but you can’t touch.’’
A concert of laughs greeted her joke. With the atmosphere now more relaxed, she went to more serious things.
‘’For those who are wondering how a young girl without any formal training as a fighter pilot could become the American Ace of aces, there are three factors to explain that. First, flying comes naturally for me. Second, during my time as a Luftwaffe auxiliary, I was able to frequent some of the greatest German fighter pilots serving in France. Those German aces were in turn more than happy to describe in detail to me their air combat tactics and to teach me the theory of deflection shooting, with of course a bottle of wine and a bed handy nearby.’
Exclamations of amusement and false indignation met that declaration, with the young pilots facing her obviously envious of those German aces.
‘’Third, and most importantly, Nancy Laplante educated me in secret while I was still interned by the British, teaching me about the future, this war and combat planes, including Japanese planes and their strengths and weaknesses. This last point, more than anything else, will be primordial for your future successes against the Japanese. I know that you all learned the standard air tactics of the Army Air Corps during your fighter pilot course. You can however take those tactics and throw them in the garbage can: against the Japanese, these tactics wil only get you kil ed in short order.’
One of the young pilots immediately raised a hand to ask a question.
‘’Why do you think that Army air tactics are inadequate, Captain? Our instructors at fighter school were experienced, competent aviators.’
‘’I don’t doubt it, Lieutenant. However, those instructors probably never saw real air combat in their career, since the last time the United States flew combat missions was in 1918, a full generation ago. More importantly, they never flew against the Japanese or their planes. I saw quickly over the Philippines the results of those
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standard Army tactics against the Japanese: our pilots got wiped out in short order. If you don’t adjust your tactics to use the weaknesses of the Japanese planes, then they wil eat you raw for breakfast. When I speak about Japanese weaknesses, don’t think that I mean to say that the Japanese are bad pilots. Nothing could be further from the truth. The pilots that you will face are very well trained and experienced, most of them having fought over China for years. Their planes are also excellent in general terms, even though they have some significant weaknesses. What you heard in the United States about the Japanese being inferior pilots and their planes and equipment being junk is nothing but racist, xenophobic nonsense. Tomorrow, I will start giving theoretical lessons on the Japanese planes and tactics, where I will cover in detail the dos and don’ts of air combat against them. Now, about a point that I hope I will not have to repeat to you. In Batangas, you will be working closely with Filipino ground crews and soldiers and at least one Filipino pilot. You will treat those men with the same respect as you would American servicemen, as I will not tolerate any racist attitudes or remarks from you.’
Seeing one of her pilots make a face at that, she stared hard at him.
‘’Do you have a problem with that, Lieutenant Simpsons?’
That lieutenant, a man in his late twenties with red hair and freckles, stiffened.
‘’Uh, no, Captain!’’
‘’Good! Now, before I give you the dismiss so that you can go rest until tomorrow morning from your days of hard work in Brisbane, I will present you the three officers in charge of support and servicing for our squadron. Captain Paul Gunn, an old hand from the Philippines, will be our maintenance officer and also the second in command of this squadron. He will be assisted by Staff Sergeants Andrew Rockford and Tony Rizzuto and by Technical Sergeant Bill Smith. Lieutenant Ernest Wakefield will be our administrative officer and will be helped in his functions by Staff Sergeant James Burton and Corporal Bill Ashton. Finally, we have our logistics officer, Lieutenant Peter Shmelling, who has Technical Sergeant Timothy Allen to help him out. Rounding up our squadron are two signals specialists, Technical Sergeant Arthur Woods and Corporal Matthew Rowlins, who brought with them from the United States two long range radios of the latest model. That is all for the moment.’
Letting her pilots disperse, Ingrid retained around her for a moment her three support officers and eight NCOs to speak to them in a relaxed tone.
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‘’Gentlemen, you were assigned to this squadron to help me run the administrative and support side of it and, frankly, I need you badly in that respect. I may be a top ace in the air but I know nothing about United States Army administrative and logistical procedures and regulations. I will thus count heavily on your expertise to run the squadron. Also, I will be most happy for you to teach me as we go about those regulations, procedures and administrative rules. So, don’t be surprised to see me hang around when you wil be doing your paperwork. Please don’t take that as a sign of personal interest in your male bodies.’
Her joke made the eleven men around her laugh for a moment. Ingrid then pointed at Paul Gunn.
‘’Paul, we already have three P-40s fully assembled and parked on the deck.
Our trip to Manila will take about twelve days. Could we assemble more planes in the meantime? Do we have the tools for that?’’
The aviator and mechanical genius thought for a moment, while also looking at the three giant crates occupying the forward deck of the transport, along with the three assembled P-40 fighters.
‘’Well, the convoy brought a full complement of tools and the deck cranes of the MEIGS will facilitate a lot our work in lifting and assembling large parts, but it will all depend on the weather during our trip. Sunny days and calm seas would certainly help, contrary to our arrival, when we will want overcast skies and rain to discourage Japanese air raids while we unload the ships of the convoy. My answer would be yes, Ingrid. Count about three days of good weather to assemble each extra plane.’’
‘’Excellent! We will thus start assembly work tomorrow morning. The men not working on plane assembly will be painting the already assembled fighters in the paint scheme I and Major Villamor had adopted. It is actually a camouflage pattern from the future.’’
She spent a moment describing that paint scheme to the men around her, attracting a slow nod from Paul Gunn.
‘’An interesting paint scheme indeed. I am curious to see the final result.’
‘’It works very well in air-to-air combat, I can tell you that, Paul. Well, since it is going to be a nice, warm sunny day, I think that I will go change into an appropriate attire to soak some sunrays. Feel free to do the same, gentlemen. Lieutenant Wakefield, would you mind if I start learning with you this afternoon about Army administrative regulations and procedures as it pertains to a squadron commander?’’
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‘’No problem, Captain. I wil have my various forms laid out for you.’
‘’Then I wil see you after lunch. You are dismissed, gentlemen.’
The convoy was nearly out of sight of the Australian coast when Ingrid and most of her men showed up on the aft deck in either bathing suits or army shorts, ready to get some suntan. Ingrid, who had climbed on deck wrapped in a bathrobe and wearing sandals, created a near riot when she took off her bathrobe, revealing a tiny (and perfectly indecent for the time period) bikini which barely hid anything of her young, slender but feminine body. She faked surprise at the shocked looks she drew.
‘’What? I had this bathing suit copied in my size from a model which belonged to Nancy Laplante, my adoptive mother from the year 2012. This isn’t even the most revealing bathing suit I have. You should see what a thong bikini looks like.’’
‘’That thong bikini, you are planning to wear it during the trip, Captain?’ asked one of her younger pilots, who was plainly showing his physical reaction to her. Ingrid gave him her most innocent smile.
‘’Of course! What is the point of owning a bikini and not wearing it? Patience, though, Lieutenant.’
She then chose a spot on the deck that was out of sight of the watchmen on the ship’s bridge and laid down a large towel before getting on her back to enjoy the Sun. Her men soon imitated her, surrounding her in strategic fashion and throwing occasional, not so discreet glances at her. She smiled at that and whispered to herself in German.
‘’Ingrid, you are indeed a bad girl…but Nancy would approve.’’
16:28 (Manila Time)
Tuesday, December 2, 1941 ‘C’
Army transport ship MEIGS, Manila harbor, Manila Bay Philippines
Ingrid felt pure triumph as the crowd of Filipino dock workers waiting on the docks of Manila harbor to unload the convoy greeted the ships with loud cheers, with the MEIGS slowly approaching one of the quays of the port. Despite a tense, risky trip marked by the destruction of a Japanese destroyer by an American submarine along their route, the convoy escorted by the heavy cruiser PENSACOLA had finally arrived in
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Manila Bay, safe and sound. Now, they just needed enough time to unload the precious cargo contained in the seven transport ships of the convoy and let the ships go out again before the next Japanese air raid. Thankfully, the weather this afternoon was heavily overcast, with dark clouds announcing rain sometimes during the night and also possibly tomorrow as well. In order not to present a concentrated target, the ships of the convoy had split into two widely dispersed groups between Manila harbor and the Cavite naval yards, with the PENSACOLA staying in the middle of Manila Bay, its boilers kept under pressure and ready to use its guns to defend against any Japanese attacks. Four of the old destroyers of the Asiatic Fleet were also cruising inside Manila Bay, ready to lay protective smokescreens if need be. Paul Gunn had accomplished miracles during the trip, with a total of seven fully assembled, painted and ready to fly P-40F fighters now sitting on the decks of the MEIGS, while nine assembled A-24 dive bombers sat on the decks of two other transport ships. From what Ingrid knew of the actual state of what was left of the American air fleet in the Philippines, just those sixteen assembled warplanes would be enough to make an immediate difference locally. While still a dangerous threat, the Japanese air forces had somewhat slackened their efforts against the Philippines in the last couple of weeks, having suffered very grievous losses themselves and being probably in bad need of reinforcements. Maybe, hoped fervently Ingrid, the Japanese would find themselves overextended with all their new conquests around the Pacific and would give up on taking the Philippines if they suffered too many casualties. She was however realistic enough not to be willing to bet on that.
The sight of long lines of trucks, including dozens of flatbed semi-trailer trucks which would be ideal to transport the giant aircraft crates of the convoy, encouraged further Ingrid. It seemed as if all the trucks in Manila had been requisitioned in advance of the convoy’s arrival, along with thousands of extra dock workers. Somebody had done his homework in the logistics section of General MacArthur’s headquarters.
Leaving her fourteen pilots with Lieutenant Ernest Wakefield, her administrative officer, Ingrid went with Paul Gunn to the boarding ramp as soon as the MEIGS was tied alongside one of the quays. The captain of the ship was already there and greeted with her an American major of the logistics branch who was the first to climb aboard. The major saluted the ship’s captain while presenting himself.
‘’Major Reading, from the USAFFE headquarters. I have been tasked to organize the prompt unloading of your ship, Captain. General MacArthur is particularly
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anxious to have the warplanes you have aboard unloaded as quickly as possible. I have flatbed trucks ready to carry your plane crates to our various airfields.’
‘’I am happy to see how wel prepared you are, Major. The first priority will be to lift off my decks the seven fighters already assembled, in order to be able to open my cargo holds. Captain Gunn and Captain Dows will help you with that task. I also have a number of pilots and aviation support personnel to transport to Batangas airfield and to Nielson Field.’’
‘’I have two buses lined up for them and their baggage, Captain. They may come down as soon as they are ready. As for the planes already assembled, they will be towed across downtown Manila, but the Filipino police has already cleared all the obstacles along the way.’
‘’Including Bonifacio and Rozas Boulevards, Major?’’ asked Ingrid, suddenly excited. The logistics major seemed confused by her question.
‘’Uh, yes! Why do you ask, Captain?’
‘’Because these boulevards, which follow each other, form a wide, long straight line nearly two miles long, Major. If no electrical or telephone wires are in the way, we could then take off with our seven P-40s already assembled directly from downtown, instead of having to tow them all the way to Batangas and Nielson Field.’’
‘’You want to take off from downtown Manila, Captain?’ exclaimed the incredulous major. Ingrid nodded in response, being most serious.
‘’Yes, Major! That would save over six hours of towing for my planes, which could suffer some damages if towed to Batangas. I only need a jeep to go inspect quickly those two boulevards in order to ensure that there are no wires or other obstacles for our planes. Paul, are you ready to pilot the second P-40 in line?’’
‘’Of course, Ingrid!’ replied without hesitation Gunn. ‘’Go do your reconnaissance while I direct the lifting of our fighters off the ship.’’
‘’Excellent! Would you have a jeep or car to spare, along with a driver, Major?’’
‘’You can borrow my own jeep for your reconnaissance, Captain. It is right there on the quay, near the bow of this ship.’
Excusing herself with the major and with the captain of the MEIGS , Ingrid ran down the gangway and along the quay to Reading’s jeep, jumping in it and explaining to the corporal driving it what she wanted to do. The driver nodded and started his engine, then maneuvered around the long lines of waiting trucks and started rolling towards the
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main boulevards cutting through downtown Manila. Ingrid was satisfied to see that Filipino policemen were already posted at each intersection along those boulevards, ready to block the traffic the moment the convoy of planes would pass. All the vehicles which were normally parked along those same boulevards had also been moved away by the police, with large panels indicating temporary parking prohibitions on each side of the boulevards. Checking the odometer of the jeep, Ingrid was pleased to find that more than a mile of absolutely straight boulevard was free of any overhanging wires or poles which could impede the taking off of her fighters. Returning to the MEIGS, Ingrid ran back on the ship to collect her luggage and rifle, putting them in the bus that was about to drive her personnel to Batangas. By then, five of the seven reassembled P-40s were already on the quay and were being hooked with A-frame towing bars to light trucks.
Selecting her five most experienced pilots on top of Paul Gunn to pilot the fighters which would take off from downtown, she then went back down on the quay and jumped in the cockpit of her P-40F, painted in her trademark gray camouflage scheme and with the words ‘LADY HAWK’ and 29 small Japanese flags painted on each side of the nose.
The huge crowds of Filipinos lining up the streets between the docks and the downtown boulevards cheered her wildly as her plane started being towed towards Bonifacio Boulevard. Feeling like a million dollars, Ingrid got up in her cockpit and returned the salutes and wishes of good luck.
Douglas MacArthur, who had just arrived in the suite of the Manila Hotel which served as his residence for him, his wife and his young son Arthur, was suddenly attracted towards his balcony by the noise of approaching aircraft engines. Taking his three-year-old son in his arms, he went out on the balcony, just in time to see a P-40
fighter accelerating along Bonifacio Boulevard and towards his hotel. The plane took off 200 meters before the hotel and started climbing, zooming past his balcony, level with MacArthur. The old general shouted out in joy on seeing the name painted in pink and black on the nose of the P-40.
‘’YES! SHE’S BACK!’
His wife Jean Marie ran out of the bathroom of the suite and onto the balcony as a second P-40 flew past with a roaring engine noise, its wing tip barely eight meters away from the balcony.
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‘’But these pilots are completely crazy, General!9 You should have them sent to a court martial.’
‘’On the contrary, my dear.’ replied MacArthur, smiling widely, just before a third P-40 swept by the balcony. ‘’These pilots deserve the Air Medal for showing initiative and allowing their planes to be at their airfields faster. This is also great for Filipino public morale. Look at the people in the street: they are wild with joy.’
Little Arthur then clapped his hands, excited, as a fourth P-40 flew by, making his father grin to his mother.
‘’You see? Arthur agrees with me.’’
9 Despite being married to Douglas MacArthur, his wife Jean Marie only cal ed him ‘General’
instead of using his first name, as their intimate relationship was not very good.
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CHAPTER 7 – PHILIPPINES BASTION
15:37 (Manila Time)
Friday, December 5, 1941 ‘C’
Batangas Airfield, Philippines
When Ingrid landed back in Batangas with five of her pilots and with Jesus Villamor and another Filipino pilot, she found Major General Lewis Brereton waiting for them near the servicing area. Her heart jumped in her chest when she saw as well a Marine Corps major whom she knew very well, waiting besides Brereton. Controlling with difficulty her excitement, she made her P-40F roll towards the cut in the jungle which served as her plane’s hiding place when on the ground, making her fighter pivot on the spot at the last moment. Once her engine was shut down and her propeller had stopped turning, a dozen Filipinos quickly pushed the P-40F inside its hideout, then draped back the camouflage net covering the front of the jungle cut. Ingrid jumped down from her plane as Brereton, two of his aides and Ken approached with Paul Gunn. As Gunn started inspecting her plane, looking for possible battle damage, Ingrid saluted Brereton, then took off her leather helmet, uncovering her reddish-brown hair mated with sweat.
‘’Good afternoon, General. What may I do for you?’’
Brereton returned her salute and smiled to her.
‘’Nothing special, Captain. I simply wanted to visit my newest fighter squadron.
How did your mission over Manila Bay go?’
‘’Very well, General. We intercepted 27 BETTY medium bombers which were escorted by fourteen Mitsubishi A5M CLAUDE fighters as they were overflying Corregidor, heading for Cavite. We started our attacks with frontal passes against the bombers, followed by high-speed strafing passes. Their escort fighters were essentially helpless, being ninety miles per hour slower than us. Their armament of two 7.7 mm machineguns is anyway totally inadequate against the P-40. I shot down four BETTY
bombers, plus one A5M CLAUDE which was threatening one of my pilots on those first passes. My pilots shot down on their part a total of seven BETTY bombers, while Major Villamor shot down two bombers and one fighter. His wingman, Lieutenant Peraltas, shot down one bomber. The pilots of the remaining thirteen bombers then lost their
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nerves and dropped their bombs in the waters of the bay before turning around. Their escort fighters tried to cover their retreat by a last frontal attack against us, but that proved to be a very costly mistake for them. Apart from losing badly the gunnery duel, they lost a further four fighters and allowed us to speed past them and catch the bombers for a last strafing pass against their unprotected bellies. We then shot down a further five bombers before running out of ammunition and having to break the engagement. My squadron will thus be claiming a total of fifteen BETTY bombers and four CLAUDE fighters, while Major Villamor and Lieutenant Peraltas will be claiming a total of four bombers and two fighters. Some of us got hit by a few 7.7 mm bullets but we all were able to fly back without problems.
Brereton’s smile turned into a grin on hearing this.
‘’Twenty-five enemy planes shot down against no losses? I love this exchange rate. I will make sure that your gun camera films are looked at favorably. So, where is your personal score at now, Captain?’
‘’With the five bombers and two fighters I shot down today, my score now stands at 39 victories, if today’s kil s are confirmed, of course, General.’
‘’Impressive indeed! And how did your pilots perform overall? Did they follow your instructions about how to engage Japanese planes?’
‘’They now do, General. One pilot ignored my orders on Wednesday and got in a turning dogfight with a ZERO fighter, but was shot down and killed for his troubles. I believe that the lesson then sank in fully with my other pilots.’
‘’I see!’ said Brereton, his grin fading away. ‘’So, how many pilots and planes do you have operational right now?’’
‘’If my planes didn’t sustain any serious damage today, then I can count on a total of fourteen pilots, including me, and eight P-40F fighters assembled and operational. Seven more P-40s are still in the process of being assembled. Major Villamor, on his side, has one wingman and two assembled P-40, plus one P-40 left to be assembled. May I ask you how our other fighter squadrons are doing, General?’’
Ingrid didn’t like the way Brereton’s enthusiasm then cooled down at once.
‘’I had to replace the commander of the 21st Pursuit Squadron yesterday, after he ignored again my directives and insisted on using our old tactics, engaging the enemy escort fighters rather than the bombers. That cost us three pilots and four planes.’’
What Brereton didn’t say to Ingrid was that, on personally investigating that fiasco, he had learned that the then squadron commander had told his pilots that he quote ‘would
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be damned if he was going to follow tactics advocated by a girl and fight like a coward’
unquote. Apart from losing his command, that had also earned that idiot a bullet in the leg and an extended stay in hospital. He then came to the main reason of his visit, not wanting to delve further on the problems of his fighter command.
‘’Well, Captain, thanks to your success today, the ships of the PENSACOLA convoy were able to finish unloading without losses and will sail out of Manila Bay tonight, under cover of darkness. General MacArthur is said to be totally ecstatic about all the equipment and supplies brought by the convoy, starting with the planes. This brings me to the subject of our new dive bombers. I would like to discuss with you and Major Villamor how to coordinate your actions and those of the 27th Bombardment Group. If operating alone, our 52 A-24 dive bombers would be cut to pieces in short order by Japanese fighters, so I intend to engage them only if escorted by fighters. This will in turn mean using different tactics than for pure interception missions.’
‘’I agree, General. Let me just check on my pilots and planes and I wil be with you shortly. May I propose that you go have a cup of coffee in our ready room in the meantime?’’
‘’A good idea, Captain. I will be waiting for you and Major Vil amor there.’
As Brereton went to see briefly Jesus Villamor before going to the ready room, Ken approached Ingrid and took her in his arms for a long, passionate kiss, making the Filipino mechanics around them smile. They finally parted with regret, looking into each other’s eyes.
‘’God, it felt like a long time without you, Ken.’
‘’And life felt quite empty without you during those long weeks, Ingrid. How are your burns now?’’
‘’They are mostly healed by now. I don’t need to wear bandages anymore and I mostly don’t feel them either. I will however have a few light scars left for life on my back and left arm.’
‘’I will consider them as marks of your valor, my beautiful wife. General Brereton told me that I will be able to bring you home after your briefing, so that we could have an evening and night together. I will in turn bring you back to Batangas in the early morning. Julia and Juanita are also dying to see you again…for different reasons than me, of course.’’
Ingrid giggled at that.
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‘’I imagine so, my dear Ken. Uh, you do have condoms left at home? Now would be a real y bad time for me to become pregnant.’
‘’Somehow, I suspect that General Brereton would skin me alive if I get you pregnant now.’
