Chapter 28 Chapter Twenty Eight

The Deputy Chief of Naval Air Operations was drinking coffee with a blond man in a blue RAF uniform.He was Lord Burner-Walker, who nodded and smiled at Victor Henry.They had dined together with the Tudsburys, and it had been a long and jolly one, but Burna-Walker had not said a word about the meeting to Pug. "Good morning, Henry. I know you know this air commodore." The admiral frowned at Pug. "Yes, sir." "That's good. Have a cup of coffee." The sturdy old man stood up quickly, left his desk, and walked to a map of the United States hanging on the wall. "Let's take a look. Here, here, and here—" His bony fingers jumped from Pensacola to St. Louis to Chicago—"we have fifty-two old scout bombers, That is the sbu-1 and sbu-2, these have been declared as surplus, we want to return these aircraft to the original manufacturer Chance Volt in Stratford, Connecticut, remove the US Navy markings, remove the special equipment, Then our British friends took over and flew them to a ship in Khalifa

This is generally the case on the aircraft carrier waiting in the port of Cox.This—” the Admiral frowned gravely at Pug—“involves the Act of Neutrality, and it's a delicate business.So when you plan to proceed, you must leave no traces.You're allocated a flight to do errands, and you start today. " "Yes, yes, sir." "We have sixty pilots ready to go," said Lord Burner-Walker. "How many days do you think it will take to have these planes ready, Colonel Henry?" Victor Henry studied the map carefully, then turned to the Englishman and said, "How about the day after tomorrow, sir, in the late afternoon? Is this a good time? It will take some time to remove those markings."

The Englishman stared at him for a moment, then smiled at the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations.The admiral made no comment. "The day after tomorrow?" said Lord Burner-Walker. "Yes, sir, if there are individual planes that cannot catch up, they can be transported on the deck of the next cargo ship." "Actually we were thinking that within a week from now," said Lord Burner-Walker, "we've put some pilots on leave and it will take a while to get them back. How about Wednesday morning? That way we both You'll have four days to get things done."

"Very well, sir," said Burner-Walker to the Admiral, "do you think it can be done?" "He's said he can do it." "Okay then. I'll do it right away." After the door closed, the admiral looked at Victor Henry with a hint of humor. "You said the day after tomorrow?" "General, I don't believe these pilots are really ready and on call." The two outsiders glanced at each other and smiled knowingly.The foreigner demanded swift action, and the U.S. Navy offered an even swifter date than he had requested; "Wednesday's tight enough, actually. Shall we have some more coffee? Let me tell you, the whole thing is a game of art." The rear admiral pressed the bell. "I think you understand that. The chief does what he does, and therefore he has to do it. There are, however, other circumstances you'd better understand."

The admiral expressed a new and unnatural friendliness to Victor Henry.He explained that the president had gone to great lengths—probably twisting the Attorney General's arm hard enough—to force the Attorney General to make a tactic and rule that the planes be sold to Britain in defiance of the Neutrality Act.In the first step, the Navy declared these aircraft as surplus supplies.In the second step, Chance Volt received them at a fairly high price as part of the national offset payment for the newly produced F-4-U aircraft.Chance Volt made good money by doing this because it would get a profit when it resold the old planes to the UK.The point is that delivery of the F-4-U is far in the future.There can be no doubt that President Roosevelt was circumventing the spirit of the Neutrality Act and the wishes of Congress by now allowing these planes to be sold abroad.The Army, in particular, will be uproarious.Since they are so short of aircraft, the Navy has been asked to provide them with surplus aircraft, of any type, at any time.

"You know, Henry, we're not going to, and it's not possible, to keep this thing under wraps for long. But if it were announced, there would be an uproar in the front-page news. It might not happen, and that's very Oops. Because every german plane the british shoot down with these old sbu's is equated to minus one for the other side we fight in the future. We are not going to stay out of this feud. Boss The meaning is to finish this matter first. Judging from the news of the war that has been revealed, the situation is such that this matter may not cause any repercussions, but I hope so. However—” The Admiral of the Navy paused, squinting at Victor Henry over the rim of his coffee mug—"This could lead to a congressional investigation. Someone like you could end up being a scapegoat. The President thinks you can do it, and so do I." Agree, but it is a voluntary matter, purely voluntary."

"Yes, yes, sir," said Pug. "I'd better get to work right away." Blaney, my dear— Be strong.I should have been in Lisbon when you received this letter from me.I'm about to fly to Italy to pick up Uncle Ellen.With any luck I'll be back in two months or less.It depends on the earliest day the boat tickets can be bought, except for the two of them, as well as his annoying collection of books and all those research materials, which have to be brought back with others. Honey, don't be angry.We both had a bit of a respite, which was a good thing.That submarine school of yours, and even this trouble with Uncle Ellen, was God's work.Your father's trip to Miami was a wake-up call, and it was timely.

I must admit that my mind has changed since I formed the Student Anti-War Committee at Radcliffe College!I never knew there were people like you and Warren and your father.I believe the typical soldier is a drunken, narrow-minded, stubborn idiot, and I've met some of that type.But the people in Henry’s family are different.You're not particularly domineering like the average American soldier, I don't know why, but thank God, there are people like you! Darling - didn't you calmly reconsider me at Warren's wedding?To be honest, I understand what your mother is thinking, and I sympathize with her.There are plenty of girls on the Rhine like Janice Lacouture in America, why does her good boy Blaney marry such a dark and old Jewish girl?

But, please notice, I don't have the slightest feeling of inferiority.I value my intelligence, and I know I can always be an attractive "black girl."Being Jewish was an accident for me.It has left no imprint on my thoughts and actions.I think it's minimal, if any.We live in a secular age, and I am a product of this age.Still, the question remains: Do you and I have to bridge the vast differences in our backgrounds and interests just because of our chance encounters and crazy mutual attachments? I have not regretted it.Byron.I love you.But having a month or two to think about it is not a chore, it's a godsend.

Now let me tell you quickly what happened.I enclose the letter from Ellen that you do not wish to read.You can ignore the stupid things he said about us.The full circumstances of his problem were clearly stated in the letter. Leslie Slote is really good.Don't you be jealous of him, Blaney.I was very disturbed by your attitude when I left Pensacola.This man proposed to me many times, almost begging on his knees, but I refused.I told him: I love you and have promised to marry you, so there is no hope for him.He already knew, and yet he left all his other work to help with Ellen's hapless nuisance.Never forget this.The Secretary of State's office has already greeted the Roman side, asking them to expedite the processing of Ellen's return to the country.

I am writing this letter to you in a hurry at the airport with less than two hours left before the plane takes off.I didn't go home.Stop in New York for one day to buy everything necessary for this trip.I carry very little, just a suitcase!The submarine school will take you, I'm sure of that.I know your father wants you to go in very badly, and I know your heart wants to go in, too.You should go in now.When I come back, if you still want me, I'm yours, is that clear enough?Take courage and wish me luck.That's all for now. love you Natalie Three days before the submarine school started, Byron was sitting in a dingy, furnished room above a Chinese-owned laundry in New London, reviewing his horribly long list of books.Just then the postman rang the bell.Natalie's hastily scrawled "Registered" on the thick envelope seemed to herald bad news.Byron lolled in a battered armchair, reading her shocking letter over and over again, as the room smelled of soap and hot paste from below.He was scrambling through Ellen's illegible letter on the typewriter when the phone rang. "Is that Lieutenant Henry? This is Chief Schmidt from the commander's office, your Father is here.He and Colonel Tully went to the Electric Boat to inspect the Redstone Fish.The commander said that if you want to find them, you can go to Pier Six. " "thank you." Byron was very annoyed at the thought of his father even coming here to find him.Eager to vent his anger and disappointment, he changed his clothes and went out in just ten minutes. Victor Henry was patrolling the new submarine with his schoolmates, his eyes red from lack of sleep, but he was in high spirits.The scout bomber business was done.It took a lot of effort and ran a lot.Twelve planes had been sent to the factory for repairs, and the pilots were scattered across the country, everywhere taking their time and taking their time.Fixing a faulty plane overnight, dragging a pilot out of their wives' arms, or getting them back from a fishing trip is a struggle.Some commanders asked very unkind questions.Giggs Pike of the Great Lakes Air Station was also Pug's classmate, and he refused to say anything, insisting that he issue a written certificate of handing over the plane.In the end Pug had no choice but to tell a lie, saying that these planes were to be used to test a top-secret new equipment, and these planes might be scrapped during the test.Giggs looked at him silently for a long time before giving up the request for a written certificate.Victor • Henry thought to himself, telling a harmless lie is also for the security of the country, and Giggs also understands this. Byron caught up with his father and the commanding officer in the torpedo room on the forward deck of the Redstone Fish, where they were inspecting new launch gear. "Hello, Dad. How did you get here?" Byron's gruff voice and the look on his face made Pug realize that something serious must have happened. "I happened to be on errand not far from here, so I stopped by to see. Rhett, have you seen Byron?" "Not yet. I know he passed the physical examination and has been enrolled in the newly opened training class." Colonel Tully extended his hand to shake him. "Welcome to the boat, Byron, for two months of severe trial." "I will try to survive, Mr. Colonel." Rhett Tully turned his eyes to his father disapprovingly at his almost contemptuous reply.Byron followed them round without saying a word, pale and angry. "I said, what's the matter with you?" Victor Henry asked sharply.He and his son had just come out of the conning tower, standing on the smooth, breezy deck, while Colonel Tully was still talking to the captain below. "Watch your tone when you speak to your superiors. You're in the Navy now." "I know I'm in the Navy. You read this letter." Pug saw Natalie's name on the envelope that Byron had poked him. "Isn't this for you personally?" Byron still let him watch.Victor Henry held the letter paper rattled by the wind in both hands, and looked on the deck of the submarine.When he returned the letter to his son, he blushed a little. "This girl is wonderful, I've said so before." "If anything happens to her over there, you'll be responsible, Dad. I'll never forget." Pug frowned at his son and said, "That doesn't make sense. She went to Italy for her uncle's business." "No, you scared her away. You said if I got married, I might not get in here. That's not the case. A lot of the students were married. If you didn't come to Miami, I might be one of them now one of." "Well, I'm sorry if I caused her to judge wrongly. I don't know the admission criteria. I want to do this kind of dangerous work, and they always prefer unmarried people. As far as I know You know, that's true of them, it's just that you can't find so many unmarried ones. Anyway, you should do what she said now, and she is very right. She can realize it, I I think it's good. Maybe I shouldn't bother with it, but the decision you're about to make now will affect the future of your life, and I want to help you." For Victor Henry, this was a long speech.And he spoke without his usual firmness, and his son's stubborn hostility made him uneasy.He felt guilty, a feeling he was not familiar with: guilt for interfering in his son's life problems, and probably for driving the girl away.Even if Natalie wasn't right for Byron, her sudden departure was a shock to him, and he felt almost as much as his son in that regard.Perhaps she was the most suitable girl in the world for this wandering young man?Even though you have the best of fatherly intentions, maybe the fact that she's Jewish does matter. In contrast to his father's apologetic tone and long speech, Byron's answers were sharp and short. "Yes, you helped. She's gone. I'll never forget that, Papa." Rhett Tully came out of the conning tower, looked around, waved his hand and said, "Hey, Pug, are you ready to go ashore?" Victor Henry hurriedly said to his son: "Now you have come in, Blaney, this is the most difficult school in the Navy, the past is over." Byron said: "We don't have to talk about it anymore Lah," he said, walking towards the pontoon bridge. On a beautiful and hot evening in early June, newspapers carried news of the British evacuation from Dunkirk as headlines; Churchill said on the radio that we must fight to the end on the beach, in the streets, and in the mountains.Victor Henry set off for Europe that night.Due to the deteriorating situation of the war, Rhoda stayed in the country and planned to make a home for Madeleine in New York.This was Pug's suggestion, and Rhoda readily agreed.Madeleine, the busy, cheerful young lady, had no objection either. Pug found it surprisingly easy to buy a plane ticket to war-torn Europe at the time, as Natalie had done.The hard part is getting out from there.