“So I guess you’re not finding it too worrisome anymore that we’re supposedly outnumbered four-to-one in this sector?”
“Worrisome for who, sir? Them or us?”
Jock expected to see that brief, tight-lipped hint of a smile that meant his old friend was joking. But there wasn’t any smile, just the enduring scowl of a man who’d suffered the fantasies of one high command or another for a long, long time.
“No, I’m serious, Top. What’s your assessment of our situation?”
“I think you and me have been in worse scraps, sir. And I ain’t so much worried about the gooks as I am about ol’ MacArthur thinking up new and exciting ways to get us all killed.” He paused, scanning the river valley once more. Then he said, “I reckon this Pusan Perimeter is a little too big for the headcount we got at the moment, sir. But I like seeing all that heavy artillery of ours that’s showing up and them airplanes that kick ass when the sun shines. Once Bubba Moon gets back with some real tanks, well…things just might start to get a whole lot different around here.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that, Top. I’m thinking the same way.”
Patchett wasn’t finished, though. “Of course, the replacements we get are gonna be even more useless than the dumbasses we already got.”
“Wait a minute, Top. I think we’ve turned a lot of these men into decent soldiers in the last few weeks. Last night was a good example.”
“Maybe so, sir. But something’s different about these boys than the ones we had in the last war. They think if they don’t feel like being a part of this, they don’t have to be… and the stupid bastards don’t feel no shame in that. It’s like nobody ever told ’em, Cowards die many times before their death. The valiant never taste of death but once.”
“Well, I’ll be a son of a bitch, Top. I didn’t know you read Shakespeare.”
“I ain’t never read any of that shit, sir. But Shakespeare? He said that?”
“Yeah. Where did you think it came from?”
“From some captain back in the first war who was trying to light a fire under a bunch of us scared-shitless doughboys.”
“Did it work?”
“Not at the time, sir. That man couldn’t knock a hole in the wind with a sackful of hammers.” But then that hint of a smile finally crossed Patchett’s lips as he added, “But I reckon with a little more head-banging, we can convince the greenhorns to see the light.”
“We’d better, Top, because there’s something else Shakespeare said: Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”
* * * * *
Don’t Miss Book #2 in the
Jock Miles-Moon Brothers
Korean War Story
Available Summer 2019
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More Novels by William Peter Grasso
This Fog of Peace
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The Moon brothers know all about the fog of war—they’ve lived in its obscurity as the Allies fought their way across Europe. Now that Germany has been defeated, a new obscurity envelops them—a fog of peace—as the Western Allies clash with the Soviets in a series of provocations, blunders, bluffs, and deadly confrontations. To these battle-hardened veterans, the “peacetime” occupation of postwar Europe in 1945 feels little different than being at war.
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Allies can be your worst enemies.
1945. The war may be going badly for the Third Reich, but they continue to develop “super weapons” to throw against the Allies. As the Moon brothers—fighter pilot Tommy and tanker Sean—struggle with the myths and realities of defeating the new technologies, a new threat appears: their Soviet allies are intent on dominating Europe. But a game-changer still looms: in the mountains of Bavaria, the Germans are preparing a super weapon against which there is no defense.
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France, October 1944: Fort Driant may be a 19th century anachronism, but it proves itself an impregnable obstacle to Patton's forces as they fight to seize the city of Metz, a gateway to Germany. Another fortress—a Flying Fortress—may be the key to the fall of Fort Driant. The Moon brothers are in the thick of the battle as Tommy volunteers for Operation Aphrodite, a gambit that turns unmanned heavy bombers into radio-controlled flying bombs of enormous power. But as zero hour for Aphrodite approaches, his brother Sean is trapped in the tunnels of Fort Driant, with the Germans just inches away behind armored doors. It's a race against time for the GIs to take Driant—or escape before the Flying Fortress falls.
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France, August 1944. In this alternate history WW2 adventure, American and British forces struggle to trap and destroy the still-potent German armies defending Normandy. But the Allies face another formidable obstacle of their own making: a seething rivalry between generals leads to a high-level disregard for orders that puts the entire campaign in the Falaise Pocket at risk of devastating failure—or spectacular success. That campaign unfolds through the eyes of two American brothers—one an idealistic pilot, the other a fatalistic tanker—as they plunge headlong into the confusion and indiscriminant slaughter of war.
Operation Fishwrapper
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June 1944: A recon flight is shot down over the Japanese-held island of Biak, soon to be the next jump in MacArthur’s leapfrogging across New Guinea. Major Jock Miles, US Army—the crashed plane’s intelligence officer—must lead the handful of survivors to safety. It’s a tall order for a man barely recovered from a near-crippling leg wound. Gaining the grudging help of a Dutch planter who has evaded the Japanese since the war began, Jock discovers just how little MacArthur’s staff knows about the terrain and defenses of the island they’re about to invade.
The American invasion of Biak promptly bogs down, and the GIs rename the debacle Operation Fishwrapper, a joking reference to their worthless maps. The infantry battalion Jock once led quickly suffers the back-to-back deaths of two commanders, so he steps into the job once again, ignoring the growing difficulties with his leg. When his Aussie wife Jillian tracks down the refugee mapmaker who can refine those fishwrappers into something of military value, the tide of battle finally turns in favor of the Americans. But for Jock, the victory imparts a life-changing blow.
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After surviving a deadly plane crash, Jock Miles is handed a new mission: neutralize a mountaintop observation post on Japanese-held Manus Island so MacArthur’s invasion fleet en route to Hollandia, New Guinea, can arrive undetected. Jock’s team seizes and holds the observation post with the help of a clever deception. But when they learn of a POW camp deep in the island’s treacherous jungle, it opens old wounds for Jock and his men: the disappearance—and presumed death—of Jillian Forbes at Buna a year before. There’s only one risky way to find out if she’s a prisoner there…and doing so puts their entire mission in serious jeopardy.
Operation Easy Street
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Alternative history takes center stage as Operation Long Jump, the second book in the Jock Miles World War 2 adventure series, plunges us into the horrors of combat in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea. As a prelude to the Allied invasion, Jock Miles and his men seize the Japanese observation post on the mountain overlooking Port Moresby. The main invasion that follows quickly degenerates to a bloody stalemate, as the inexperienced, demoralized, and poorly led GIs struggle against the stubborn enemy.
Seeking a way to crack the impenetrable Japanese defenses, infantry officer Jock finds himself in a new role—aerial observer. He’s teamed with rookie pilot John Worth, in a prequel to his role as hero of Grasso’s East Wind Returns. Together, they struggle to expose the Japanese defenses—while highly exposed themselves—in their slow and vulnerable spotter plane.
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Unpunished
Congressman. Presidential candidate. Murderer.
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East Wind Returns
A young but veteran photo recon pilot in WWII finds the fate of the greatest invasion in history--and the life of the nurse he loves--resting perilously on his shoulders.
“East Wind Returns” is a story of World War II set in July-November 1945 which explores a very different road to that conflict's historic conclusion. The American war leaders grapple with a crippling setback: Their secret atomic bomb does not work. The invasion of Japan seems the only option to bring the war to a close. When those leaders suppress intelligence of a Japanese atomic weapon poised against the invasion forces, it falls to photo reconnaissance pilot John Worth to find the Japanese device. Political intrigue is mixed with passionate romance and exciting aerial action--the terror of enemy fighters, anti-aircraft fire, mechanical malfunctions, deadly weather, and the Kamikaze. When shot down by friendly fire over southern Japan during the American invasion, Worth leads the desperate mission that seeks to deactivate the device.
About The Author
William Peter Grasso’s novels explore the concept change one thing…and watch what happens. Focusing on the WW2 era and beyond, they weave actual people and historical events into a seamless and entertaining narrative with the imagined. His books have spent several years in the Amazon Top 100 for Alternative History and War.
A lifelong student of history, Grasso served in the US Army and is retired from the aircraft maintenance industry. These days, he confines his aviation activities to building and flying radio-controlled aircraft.
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