U-Boat Scourge

by J Eugene Porter

  Jameson responded, “No sir. We will meet with Admiral Willson to arrange meetings stateside and prepare to move the team to England.”

  “Very good, Captain. Willson, take them out of here so I can continue my discussion with the field marshal and Admiral Little. Turner, you stay here.”

  Willson stood and came to attention as did Jameson and Brand. Outside Willson smiled and commented, “Well, your work is getting you in deeper and deeper. I hope you see daylight before the war ends otherwise you will look like some mole in a garden and now it will be an English garden.”

  He led them to his office and told his chief of staff to set up meetings with Admiral Turner as soon as his schedule would allow and to do likewise with Major General Eisenhower. Willson told his capable assistant that General Marshall had informed Eisenhower to expect the meeting and to brief the two navy officers. Both Jameson and Brand were somewhat dumbstruck by the turn of events. It was the furthest thing on their minds to assume they would go off to England for clandestine meetings with their British counterparts.

  Willson told them travel to Britain would be via the ocean on a warship or on a plane being ferried over to Britain. He was unsure which one but would let them know shortly. In either eventuality, the trip would happen in a few days. They were expected to spend a few weeks in the UK and return home. Things were brewing in the war effort, and King wanted his science team available for his own use and not that of the Royal Navy. He also informed them that they would meet the two American officers leading the American effort in England. The army commander was Maj. Gen. James E. Chaney, who held the title Commanding General, U.S. Forces in the British Islands and Vice Adm. Robert L. Ghormley, who had been sent to England in 1940 as special observer for President Roosevelt and now headed up the naval build up in support of the British.

  Willson told them the entire trip was top secret and only the senior American and British officers had knowledge of their mission. The goal was to develop a better understanding of the current capabilities of the Royal Navy and Coastal Command. They were also to examine the ability of the British to expand their operational capabilities in support of the surge of American men and material. Willson also said King wanted a candid assessment of the American personnel currently in Britain, which they took to mean, were these people up to the job and could they handle the strain. Jameson was concerned about this last piece of business, because as a navy captain, he was in no way capable of determining if current personnel were fit to handle tasks which were changing daily. This became more concerning when they met with General Eisenhower the next day.

  The team spent much of the remainder of the day at Old Navy receiving additional reports from members of Admiral Willson’s staff. It was nearly 1900 hours before they reached the Bethesda home of Captain Jameson. Flannigan had already informed the gunny about troop movement which would occur in a few days’ time. The security team was checking out their gear, which they now knew would include winter weather uniforms, but they were not sure where they would be heading. As the gunny explained earlier in the day, “If the captain wants us to know where we are going, he will tell us when he is damn well ready. Questions?” There were none.

  Brand was having a conversation with Dr. Feldman, who was upset about not being asked to go wherever the team was heading, but he held his concerns for now. The two men were discussing their last chess game, which had lasted six moves, making the doc a happy man.

  He had lost the match, of course, but not in the usual five moves. As the two were discussing improvements in the doctor’s strategy, Captain Jameson walked in.

  “James, I hate to interrupt your conversation with the doctor, but I need to have a quick word with you.”

  Feldman quickly stood up saying, “James, I will get back to you later tonight or tomorrow.”

  Jameson stopped him, saying, “Doc, maybe it would be best if you stayed. It might be good for you to help James process some information.”

  “Sure, Captain, I’d be happy to listen and help.”

  The doctor sat down and Jameson sat next to James. He pulled out some papers from a file he was holding. The file was marked SECRET and had the insignia of the Naval Intelligence Service on it as well.

  “James, I wanted to tell you about what I have found out about your friend Iggy.”

  Feldman had been told a little about the illusive Japanese professor who had been a force in helping James establish his academic career. The Doc had not heard anything about him since James had told him about his mentor during his hospital stay in San Diego. He knew the man was a Japanese American but that was all he knew.

  Jameson pulled out the first piece of paper and handed it to James. “Your friend Professor Isuro Tomaguchi has been on the FBI watch list since early in 1940.”

  The list was established in late 1939 to investigate certain leaders in the Japanese-American community. Key religious leaders, political figures and educators were placed on the list and in the case of war, they were to be detained. The official name for this was the Custodial Detention List. Nisei Japanese, those born in the United States, and all foreign-born Japanese were considered suspect. Those who had higher visibility in the community were placed on the list. Within a few days of December 7, 1941, several thousand individuals were “detained” until they could be deemed either patriotic or a security risk.

  James read the paper and looked at the captain. “Sir, Iggy is a loyal American and he really dislikes the Japanese. He is from Okinawa, which was annexed by Japan in 1879. They have their own language and culture. It’s more Chinese than Japanese.”

  “James, I didn’t know about how Okinawa is different until I talked to some of the people in Naval Intelligence. But it does not matter. Iggy’s father came to Hawaii as a laborer on a Japanese work permit and even though Iggy was born here, there is a lot of bad feelings about anything Japanese.” He pulled out another piece of paper and gave it to James.

  James began reading, looking up several times at the captain. His face was full of concern for his friend but finally he showed a smile. Before he could talk, Jameson spoke.

  “Seems the FBI sent him to Angel Island where many of the other Japanese were being housed. Some were foreign nationals living in California while others were from Hawaii and for some reason, they were sent there as well. He was interviewed by a team of agents after they had received numerous calls from professors and leading educators across the country.” He pointed to some of the names on a separate sheet and James could quickly see the names of Enrico Fermi and James Conant as well as most of the faculty at Cal Tech.

  Jameson handed another piece of paper to James to examine and continued his speech. He was doing this more for the doctor than for James, who could speed read anything faster than a normal human could speak.

  “Your good friend Iggy, was asked to join a special unit of Military Intelligence in Monterrey, California. He is now teaching Japanese at the Military Intelligence Language School and is officially a sergeant in the army. It appears there are fewer than one hundred officers in the entire American military who can speak Japanese. We will need hundreds more each year and your friend Iggy is one of the first Nisei doing this.”

  James looked at the papers and then he turned to the captain handing them back to him for return to Naval Intelligence. “Sir, thanks for finding him. It angers me to think someone would treat Iggy as an enemy of this country. If it was not for him, I would not have survived my years at Cal Tech.”

  He looked at the doctor who was analyzing the conversation in a way only a Jewish doctor would understand. He thought to himself about a young man encountering racial prejudice for the first time and how his scientific mind could not comprehend the stupidity of it. This would be a good first lesson on how the world really works.

  “James, I have an address for the professor if you would like to write him.” He handed him a note card with the information and then quickly admonished the young genius. “Do not inform h
im of your status, your duties or where you are located. Keep it general and as time goes by, perhaps you can tell him more. And, James, this is an order. Do not deviate from these guidelines. Understand?”

  James looked at the paper with the contact details and he understood the message the captain was giving him. He quickly replied, “Yes sir. I understand what is at stake so I will keep any correspondence very general. Do you want to review anything I write?”

  Dr. Feldman jumped in to defuse the situation. “James, why don’t you give me any letters you are going to send out and I will act as the censor. As a physician and a gentleman, I am sure I can fulfill this duty. Is that all right with you, Captain?”

  Jameson saw what the doctor was trying to accomplish and quickly agreed. He then picked up the file and said good night to both the doctor and the genius. He hoped he was not opening a can of worms by passing on the whereabouts of Professor Tomaguchi. With a thousand other details needing his attention before the meeting with General Eisenhower, he let this one slide for now, but he regretted not requesting to take the good doctor along on this trip. Perhaps the next time, he would ask the admiral for permission for Dr. Feldman to accompany the team.

  30

  10 March 1942

  Office of Maj. Gen.

  Dwight Eisenhower

  Washington, D.C.

  • Aircraft from carriers Lexington and Yorktown bomb Japanese shipping at Salamaua and Lae, New Guinea.

  • Japanese invade Finschhafen, New Guinea.

  Brand remembered the smiling bald general officer he had met a few weeks earlier in the office of Admiral Willson. He also recalled Willson telling him that General Marshall had great faith in Eisenhower and he thought the Chief of Staff had even greater plans in store for him soon. But for right now, Marshall needed a strong man who could concentrate on the things that would win the war, without getting sidetracked by requests from all over the command structure, including Marshall. This ability to determine a sound, long-term plan consistent with present and foreseen capabilities made this newly minted major general essential to Marshall. King also saw in him a leader who could get things done and not get overly caught up in emotion or political maneuvering. This was a rare gift in Washington and would help cement Eisenhower’s place in history.

  The smiling major general was waiting for Jameson and Brand but did not anticipate the appearance of Captain Flannigan. These kinds of additions were common to Ike, as he told his friends and senior leaders to call him, so it did not bother him to have the tall marine added to the meeting.

  Eisenhower escorted them to a nearby conference room where Brig. Gen. Walter Bedell Smith was introduced to the team. Smith was serving as secretary to the Combined Chiefs of Staff (Britain and the U.S.) and had intimate knowledge of not only the war plans being developed by Eisenhower but had broad knowledge of what the British military planners were thinking and doing.

  Jameson, Brand, and Flannigan were very impressed by their hosts and their knowledge without letting the newcomers feel left out of the loop. Eisenhower, especially, was quite good at making everyone feel at ease. His smile encouraged the team to be as straight forward as possible. Brand listened to the orientation of current war thinking from the army point of view plus his interpretation of what the Air Corps was doing. Moving hundreds of thousands of men, thousands of planes and tens of thousands of vehicles of all types was a daunting task.

  Eisenhower explained this movement to the British Isles as Operation Bolero, which was to become one of the largest undertakings ever tried by modern man. Brand thought about this from the standpoint of the number of munitions, materials, and rations it takes to support one combat person per day in the field and his head began to hurt as he extrapolated this to over a million men. The oil required alone was a staggering number and pointed to the need to make the convoy system work with minimal losses to the U-boats.

  Smith added to the team’s understanding of the losses sustained by Britain since the beginning of the war which totaled over a thousand ships. At this rate, Britain would not have a merchant navy nor would she have any crews to man any new ships the Americans could build. He put it rather emphatically, “If we cannot stop the U-boat, there will be no invasion of France and no victory.” Britain was making headway he informed them, but they were having manpower issues, hardware issues, and intelligence gaps. The Germans were ramping up production of their submarines and the hardened sub bases in France and Norway meant their boats could stay in the sea lanes longer and kill more ships. The Allied air forces were working on ways to attack these “sub pens” with more sustained attacks and bigger bombs, but that would take time.

  Brand waited for Eisenhower to finish his briefing. When Ike asked if there were any questions, all eyes turned to Brand, whose reputation was familiar to these men. “General Eisenhower, you stated the Allies need to concentrate exclusively on operations necessary to defeat the enemy. You also called for disciplined strategies that focus on what is practical and does not divide our forces into smaller components. Sir, how does all this fit with the war in the Pacific and what are the priorities?”

  Smith observed Eisenhower who smiled and said, “Lieutenant Brand, your reputation of getting to the point is well proven, and that question is at the crux of our strategy. The Allies have determined that Germany is the biggest risk and must be defeated first. We can hold our lines and make progress in the Pacific, but if Germany knocks out Russia or takes England, then all bets are off. The Germans have the industrial capabilities, not Japan. They have a huge internal base to move troops and supplies around totally within areas they control. The Japanese control a lot of territory but most of it is water. Their plan to control a ring of islands around their home islands is fraught with danger for them and presents major opportunities for us. We can attack Japan at will, and they must defend every place, every time. The Germans, on the other hand, can rapidly move men and machines from one side of Europe to the other with their typical Germanic efficiency. Until we can degrade their transportation and communications system from the air, we are going to have a tough time dealing with the Germans.”

  Ike looked over at Flannigan, recalling the marine had escaped from the Philippines and these comments in this meeting were not being made public. Roosevelt had promised all sorts of aid to MacArthur, but it would not happen. The capabilities to relieve the garrison on Bataan simply did not exist. Eisenhower had reported as much to Marshall in January saying the Philippines could not be saved but their heroic stand would help in the long term. “Captain Flannigan, I realize you were in the Philippines, were wounded there, and sent out by Admiral Hart. I also know that you are a realist and know what I am saying is true but unwelcome. I wish we could do more to help your comrades, but there is no way we can find the forces, the ships, or the planes to make a difference. You saw what happened with our piecemeal efforts with the ABDA command and the failure of shipping troops and planes to Java. Neither the men nor the machines were ready to deal with the Japanese. They have had years of bitter war experience, and we have none. Defeating the Japanese will take time, and I assure you, we will get our revenge.”

  Flannigan looked at Eisenhower and without emotion replied, “Thank you, General. I know you have strong feelings for the Philippines from your days serving with General MacArthur. I realize we were not prepared for the attacks, nor were we mentally prepared for the Japanese. We all thought, even those of us who saw them operate in China, that we could easily defeat them, but our vision was obscured by our lack of knowledge of the enemy. Thank you, sir, for what you tried to do and for your leadership.”

  Eisenhower had to look at his friend Smith to avoid showing any emotion in the face of comments coming from a man who had been there and had been wounded. This man had seen combat, but for all of Eisenhower’s years in uniform, he had never heard a gun fired in anger.

  “Captain, thank you for your kindness. I promise your comrades will be avenged in time. But fir
st, we must come to grips with war on a scale never seen before in the history of the world. Distance will be a deciding factor in winning or losing this war. The logistics alone dwarf anything ever attempted. Mr. Brand, I understand from Admiral Turner you had some ideas on shipping materials to the war front which he is turning into operational plans.”

  Brand nodded his head in agreement to what Eisenhower stated and wondered what else Admiral Turner had revealed to the smiling general.

  “What I want you and the rest of your team to investigate is when we get men, tanks, planes and the whole host of supplies to England or wherever we must fight, that we can be assured of matching these items to the job at hand. If we ship a combat division to England, are the British able to handle them? Where do they stay, train, eat, unload, play? God only knows how long some of these men will be in place before we are able to launch an attack somewhere in Europe.”

  Eisenhower picked up his Camel cigarette and took a long draw. Then as if the general had seen a vision, he continued, “Think about this; if we are to attack someplace in France to help the Russians and we must do it even though we are not ready, what do we have to do first, second, third, etc. What is our plan and even more important, what are the contingencies?”

  Brand peered at the now serious general and decided to speak his mind on a subject for which he had no military education or experience. But he did have the raw brain power to visualize the size and scope of the situation. “Sir, it would appear if we had to attack by the end of this year, it would be a short hit and run to draw the Germans away from the Russians. We would have to have an incursion that would pull at least one hundred thousand troops from the Eastern Front. It would have to be aimed at capturing a port for supply and one that could be reinforced as a strongpoint which the Germans would have to attack like at the Battle of Verdun.”