TFB-l—Grumman “Avenger” Torpedo Bomber
SBD—Douglas “Dauntless” Scout Dive Bomber
LSO—Landing Signal Officer, responsible for flagging in all landing aircraft
TF-l6—Task Force 16, comprising fleet carrier Enterprise, battleship South Dakota, cruisers Portland and San Juan, and eight destroyers
TF—17—Task Force 17, comprising fleet carrier Hornet, cruisers Northampton, Pensacola, San Diego, and Juneau, and six destroyers
Imperial Japanese Third Fleet—fleet carriers Shokalu, and Zuikaku, light carrier Zuiho, battleship Kirishima, four heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and twelve destroyers.
Imperial Japanese Second Fleet—fleet carrier Junyo, battleships Kongo and Haruma, six heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and twelve destroyers.
U.S.S. Enterprise, Carrier Vessel 6
Captain Osborne B. Hardison commanding.
Rear Admiral Kinkaid, OTC, combined Task Force 61
World of Strangers
“If you get back to the ship and into the groove, we’ll get you aboard!”
Cdr. “Uncle” John Crommelin
Flight Deck Crew Commander
October 26, 1942. Combat conditions, general quarters.
0949 hours “Message from Admiral Kinkaid to ComSoPac, Sir.”
“What’s he say?”
“‘Hornet hurt.’”
“She sure is. Look at her … pitiful column of bluish-black smoke twelve miles away. Made me sick to watch those strikes light up the morning. If her AA guns were as good as ours, she might’ve fared better.”
“Now we’re heading the other direction. All the men are pretty depressed at leaving Hornet behind.”
“We’ve got to protect the Enterprise now. She’s the only flattop left in the South Pacific. We’d better clear that flight deck if we’re going to land Hornet’s aircraft as well as our own. Have Lieutenant Commander Thomas take a strike force of ten VB-10 crews to locate and strike the Japanese vanguard, then make for Henderson Field. That’ll get planes off and do some good at the same time. Get them off quick, around ten-hundred, if possible.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Then suggest Admiral Kinkaid turn Task Force 16 right two hundred degrees, heading southwest so we don’t open the range too far for our returning fighters. Have Lindsey and Daniels shut down long enough to respot the flight and hangar decks, or we’ll have Avengers sitting on top of Dauntlesses with Wildcats in their cockpits like some kind of dumped-over pushcart.”
“Ah … aye, aye, Sir.”
“Hold on, hold on, Mr. Whaley.”
“Yes, Sir?”
“Thomas with ten VB-10’s, ten hundred. TF-16 right to two hundred degrees. Respot.”
“Thank you, Sir—thanks.”
“That’s okay, Ensign, we’re all shook up. Carry on. And have somebody find Lieutenant Kines for me.”
“Right away, Sir.”
1046 hours “Captain, here’s Mr. Kines, Sir.”
“Captain Hardison, I didn’t mean to abandon you. There was a problem on the waterline.”
“Hopefully I won’t need a lieutenant to baby-sit me much longer, Roy.”
“Understandable, Sir. Most captains have a day or two to get used to all the names and faces before they have to drive around in heavy combat, never mind up against four enemy carriers.”
“If things keep on like the past five days, I’ll never get to step off the nav bridge. I’ll have to start peeing in a coffee can instead of the h—”
“Sir, torpedo tracks! Three kanyos coming from starboard!”
“Point at them.”
“There, Sir, white wakes!”
“Right full rudder. Swing inside them. Comb the wakes over.”
“Bridge, emergency right full!”
1048 “Bow’s swinging, Sir … torpedoes are pressing off to port … we missed them.”
“Reverse rudder to swing hard to port. Destroyer Smith’s coming up on our port quarter. She’s got damage. Let’s not hit her.”
1049 “Sir, lookout’s got another fish, eight hundred yards dead ahead!
“Hard right rudder!”
“Goddamn … sorry, Sir…”
1115 “What’s the condition on the flight and hangar decks?”
“Sir, Crommelin’s flight deck team’s striking some SBDs below to make room on the flattop, but we can’t unjam number one elevator. It’s stuck in the up position. Number two was jammed down, but they’ve got it working again, so Lindsey’s cleared the flight deck for business.”
“He’s ready to start boarding those Hornet planes? They’ve got to be almost out of fuel.”
“Yes, Sir, Jim Daniels is about to start waving them in. He wants the ship to stay into the wind. Those boys in the air are pretty shaken.”
“Hell, yes, their home base is sinking. Do whatever Daniels wants. He’s in charge now. He and Robin Lindsey are the best LSOs, I think, on the whole planet. If they can’t pack a deck, nobody can.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“This isn’t good at all … with the Hornet gone, if we fail to hold Guadalcanal, the Japanese grip on the Pacific will prevail, and we’ll have a twenty-year nightmare ahead of us.”
“Captain, excuse me. Mr. Griffin says radar is registering a large group of planes twenty miles off.”
“Hornet’s flyboys?”
“They may not be friendly, Sir.”
1119 “What was that problem on the waterline that distracted you, Roy?”
“Boat coming up to us, Sir, from the Hughes.”
“A boat? While we’re at twenty—eight knots?”
“They didn’t want to use the radio. We boarded a petty officer with a Marine guard and a Japanese prisoner. I’ve got them on the fantail, but I wanted to check before I brought them to you.”
“Roy, I’ve never heard anything like this before. What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know how to say this, Sir, but the Jap is demanding to speak to you.”
“You know better than that.”
“Yes, sir. Except that he … Sir, he asked for you by your first and last names. Captain, how could a Japanese gunner possibly know you’d taken command here? He has a message for you—would you like to hear it?”
“Yes, I sure would!”
“He says, ‘Tell Captain Ozzie B. that Snow Boy wants to talk to him.’ Does that make any sense at all?”
“Oh, my…”
“Everything all tight, Sir?”
“Uh, hmm … why don’t you … come ahead and bring that man up here. I’ll speak to him.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be right back. Oh, and, you won’t need a translator, Sir. The Jap speaks perfect American.”
1120 “That’s because he’s an American….”
1201:30 Enterprise Radar Officer Jack Griffin:
“Bandits above the clouds! All planes in air stand by no repel attack approaching from north. Above the clouds … above the clouds…”
1121 “Dive bombers!”
1139 “Those were some terrific evasive maneuvers, Captain. I have to be honest, Sir, I didn’t think an aircraft carrier could twist like a snake!”
“Tell me what’s happening on the flight deck, Mr. Whaley.”
“Crommelin’s packed fifteen to twenty F4Fs and SBDs on the forward deck, as you can see. With number one elevator frozen, he doesn’t dare take the time to strike them below, now that the landings are commencing again. LSOs got their hands full.”
“Too bad those SBDs don’t have folding wings. Keep the ship firmly southwest, right into the wind. Clear the LSOs to start bringing aircraft on board. Those boys in the air have got to be watching their gauges sputter.”
“Unless you counter this, LSOs going to give priority to the planes with injuries aboard.”
“Suggest that he land ours and Hornet’s CAP fighters first. They’ve got to be running on reserve fuel by now. Gonna have a lot of waveoffs, trying to clear the arresting gear that fast
.”
“Yes, Sir, we probably will.”
“Any sign of Mr. Kines with our guest?”
“I’ll go look, Sir.”
1140 “By damn, that Daniels is a daredevil! He’s landing planes while the number two elevator’s lowering! That’s one congested flight deck. The SBDs are right abreast of the island. Half a carrier left to land on…”
“Yes, Sir, Daniels has landed over sixty planes, some bad shot up. I think Lindsey’s taking over now.”
1200 “Almost no arresting wires left now. Look at that deck. Looks like a parking lot at a Crosby concert.”
“Sir? Mr. Kines is back … with…”
“Thanks. Go ahead and keep an eye out down there for me, Whaley. Okay, Roy, what’ve you got here?”
“Captain, this is a Japanese gunner picked up by the Hughes last night. His name is Yukio Suzuki, age thirty-two. He’s got a broken arm and a bad bruise on his head. Apparently had to ditch.”
“Sit him on the deck over there. He’ll have to wait. The TBFs are running out of time.”
1235 “Give me the numbers, Whaley.”
“Sir, we’ve accomplished the near-impossible. We’ve landed forty-seven planes in forty-three minutes, under fire, with only five F4Fs ditched and no SBDs. Lindsay looked like he was directing an orchestra, bringing ’em in one by one, slow and safe. Even after you told him to knock it off, he kept bringing them in. Daniels bet him a dime for every plane he could bring in on the number one wire.”
“How much did Lindsey make?”
“Made a buck.”
“I’ll double it.”
“Swede Vejtasa was the last one to come aboard. They had to chock his tires right at the wire. No room left at all.”
“I’ll have to congratulate Lindsey and Daniels and Crommelin tonight for a hell of a job. Remind me, Roy.”
“Will do, Sir.”
“Ensign Whaley, inform Admiral Kinkaid of the ship’s status and suggest TF-16 change course to 123 degrees … resume our retreat. Roy, what’s the story on the lower decks?”
“Oh … Sir, mighty horrible. We’ve got dead and dying all over the hangar deck. One man with no legs and one arm left dragged himself over the side. We just let him alone and he went over on his own. We’ve had two hundred forty killed in Task Force 61 ships. Planes on board number eight-four, counting inoperables and spares. Pilots are, well, tired and disheartened, Sir.”
1540 “Captain, Admiral Kinkaid advises we’re now sailing beyond the range of Japanese strikes and we’re protected by a dozen fighters.”
“What about TF-17?”
“Unfortunately, Sir, seems—seems nobody’s guarding them. Hornet’s dead in the water. Admiral Kinkaid’s informing Admiral Halsey that Enterprise is pretty severely damaged, as well as the other ships in the task force. If you have any amendments, I suggest you make them now, Captain.”
“We’ll take care of ourselves. Pray for the Hornet. Let’s hope the Japs let her escape.”
“We’re all praying, Sir.”
“Okay … well, Mr. Yukio Suzuki … that’s right, stand up. I’m ready to talk to you now. Mr. Kines, get that man on his two feet. Plant him right here, please. Dismiss everybody off the nav wing but you and the Marine, Roy.”
1542 “You look up at me right now. Start talking.”
1542:10
1542:30 “Okay, if you won’t talk, then I’ll start. When your messages stopped coming, the War Department came and asked me what I thought happened to you. I told them you must be dead. I figured that was the only thing that could make you go silent. The Japs killed you because they found out. What are you doing in the Philippines?”
“Fighting for my people.”
“Which people?”
“The Japanese people.”
“Uh-huh. You tell me what you’re doing here.”
“I won’t speak in front of them.”
“…Roy, you and the guard are dismissed to the bridge for a couple of minutes.”
“Captain, I can’t let you do that.”
“It’s a direct order.”
“I don’t care if it’s the Eleventh Commandment.”
“Mr. Suzuki here’s an old friend of mine. Nothing’s going to happen, understand?”
“No, Sir, I don’t.”
“Mmm … How about if you take the guard’s sidearm and you stay and he steps onto the bridge?”
“Crocker, hand me your sidearm. Dismissed. Go into the nav bridge. Close the door. Go ahead, Sir.”
“Thanks, Ray. Okay, Luke. Will you talk now? In front of me and Lieutenant Kines?”
“In front of you and him only … yes. I will talk.”
“Captain, you know this man?”
“Sure do. This fella is Luke Suzuki, a kid from my neighborhood back home. I did some work for his parents, and I used to watch this sorry excuse when the parents weren’t home. About—what is it, two years ago?—I talked him into working as a translator for the Japanese, undercover for Naval Intelligence. Four months ago, suddenly, the messages stopped. Y’know, Luke, I thought you died. I thought I got my favorite rug rat killed by talking him into being an agent for our side. You know what that did to me? Now I find you out here like this. You know what my stomach’s doing right now?”
“I don’t care anymore about you. I discovered where I belong. I serve the empire that bore me.”
“Manure. You’re as American as I am. You’re a Presbyterian kid from Iroquois Street, you do a mean Jack Benny, and you danced to ‘In the Mood’ at your wedding. Don’t give me any propaganda, Frankensteinito, I used to wipe your little square butt. I’ve had a hard couple of days here. You tell me tight now what’s making you tick, or I’m calling that Marine and he’s going to pitch you overboard. And if you think I’m kidding, remember that I already thought you were dead once. Twice wouldn’t hurt that much.”
1542 “I’m not American anymore. What difference does it make who you fight for? Both sides are the same.”
1551 “If we’re dislodged from Guadalcanal, the Japanese will have an airstrip with which they can keep a grip on the whole South Pacific. Doesn’t that do anything to you, Luke? What about your parents? What about Kuniko and Ricky? You want your wife and son living under Hirohito’s rule?”
“What difference? They’re living under the same thing now.”
“Luke, I’m very busy…”
1552 “I listened to you. You talked me into working undercover. You talked about important things, how a world of America and the west was better than a world of Hirohitos and Hitlers and Mussolinis. I listened and I went. But you were just following orders. There isn’t any difference. One tyranny is the same as another. I might as well be part of the tyranny that looks like me.”
1552:30 “Because of you, I worked seventeen months for the Japanese, translating messages and news reports from the west, all the time funneling information back to the U.S. War Department. All the time hearing your words in my head. I intercepted and relayed critical information. I stopped other information. Twisted facts. Anything I thought would help. Ricky learned to walk when I wasn’t there, because I was spying for America. For him. You said it was for him.”
“That’s your excuse for treason? Every man in the South Pacific is away from his family. Including me!”
“No! I was proud to go!”
“Make sense, then!”
“You know how America paid me back?”
“Watch it! Back off!”
“Roy!”
“Just watch it when you get close to our captain, pal!”
“It’s all right, Roy, he won’t hurt me. Stand down.”
“I’m not going to let him threaten you, Sir.”
“That’s not what’s going on here. Stand back. Go ahead, Luke, keep talking.”
“Move him away from me.”
“Back off, Roy. All right, talk. Hurry it up.”
“One day I was … I translated a news report out of San Diego. The U.S. gover
nment is rounding up Japanese Americans and herding them into camps in Arizona. I checked it out. My parents, my uncles, and my wife and Ricky were thrown in there! My mother was born in Seattle, for Christ’s sake! Because of you, I was sitting in Tokyo, working for Naval Intelligence, instead of with my family. They’re prisoners. Like dirty dogs or something. I thought America was the place where that couldn’t happen. You wanted to know, Oz? Now you heard it, same as I did crackling over my set. On that day, I became Japanese.”
1553 “They’re just afraid, Luke. It’s war. People are scared. Their sons and husbands and daddies are out here dying. Back home, they feel helpless. They don’t know what to do, so they’re doing crazy things. Giving in to their fears.”
“I understand fear. But you’re lying to me again.”
“What do you mean, I’m lying?”
“If it was just fear, they’d be rounding up people of German descent on the east coast. Wouldn’t they? But they’re not doing that, are they? Because Germans look like you.”
1553:20 “It’s true, I talked you into going. I believed every word I said. You had the look, you had the language, and it was the right thing to do. Freedom needed defending. It still does.”
“Freedom without dignity is nothing. Freedom in shame? What good is it? America showed me how to act. I might as well side with my group.”
“Sure. Why not?”
“Aren’t you going to argue with me? No big words?”
“Why should I? It’s natural. I don’t like you, and you don’t like me, and we don’t like that Jew, and he doesn’t like that Negro. It’s wired into us. We’re more comfortable around people who look like us. It’s something God gave us so we could survive. Whales go with whales, dogs and cats don’t like each other, birds flock, fish school, seals raft, deer herd. It’s survival. Humans are the only ones who try to fight it. It takes practice, though. We do okay for a while, then we get a Hitler or a Hirohito who wants to set us back. I’m fighting against getting set back.”
“Why should you?”
“Why should I fight?”
“Yes. Why bother?”
“Because I took a shine to a little Japanese kid on my street who thought the morning sun rose in me. It made me feel like a million bucks to have that little face grinning up and worshipping me. Okay? Simple answer? If I didn’t know you, all I’d see out there is a yellow horde.”
Star Trek: Enterprise Logs Page 5
