"Me personally, or the squadron?"
"You personally, first, and then the squadron."
"Except for wishing Charley Galloway was here and not off Christ only knows where, playing whatever game he's playing, I'm all right."
"I'm sure it's not a game," Dawkins said, a hint of reproof in his voice. "That mission came right from Washington."
Dunn didn't reply.
"You're doing a fine job as squadron commander," Dawkins said.
"Squadron commanders write the next of kin," Dunn said. "I'm getting goddamned sick of that."
"I'll write Knowles's family. What is it, wife or parents?"
"He got married at P'Cola the day he graduated," Dunn said. "And heard last week that she's knocked up." He pressed his lips together, bitterly. "Sorry. That she's in the family way."
"I'll write her, Bill."
"No. I killed him. I'll write her."
"Damn it! You didn't kill him. He knew what the fuel gauge is for."
"And I should have known that he wouldn't turn back until he was ordered to turn back," Dunn said. "Which I would have done had I done my job and checked on his fuel."
"I'm not going to debate with you, Mr. Dunn," Dawkins said coldly, breaking the vow he made on the way from the hospital to VMF-229 to overlook Bill Dunn's habit of saying exactly what was on his mind, without regard to the niceties of military protocol.
"I will write Mrs. Knowles," Dunn said. "And since I am a coward, I will tell her that the father of her unborn child died doing his duty."
"You never know when to shut up, do you?" Dawkins flared. But he was immediately sorry for it.
Dunn met his eyes again, yet didn't reply.
"Nothing happened this morning?" Dawkins went on quickly. "You saw nothing up there?"
Dunn shook his head "no." "Dawn Patrol was a failure," he went on. "The Blue Baron declined the opportunity for a chivalrous duel in the sky."
Dawkins chuckled.
"I used to read Flying Aces too, when I was a kid," he said. "Who are you? Lieutenant Jack Carter?"
"Captain Bruce Strongheart," Dunn said with a smile. "Right now I'm getting dressed to have a champagne lunch with Nurse Nightingale."
"That wasn't her name," Dawkins said. "It was... Knight. Helen Knight."
"You did read Flying Aces, didn't you?" Dunn said, smiling.
"Yeah," Dawkins said. "I always wondered if Jack Carter ever got in her pants."
"I always thought she had the hots for Captain Strongheart. Beautiful women seldom screw the nice guy."
"Is that the voice of experience talking?"
"Unfortunately," Dunn said.
"They'll be back," Dawkins said, suddenly getting back to the here and now. "I wouldn't be surprised if in force. How's your squadron?"
"After Knowles, I'm down to five operational aircraft. By now, they should be refueled and rearmed. Tail number 107 is down with a bad engine. I don't think it will be ready anytime soon; maybe, just maybe, by tomorrow. Oblensky is switching engines. There are two in the bone-yard he thinks he may be able to use."
"What happened to the engine?"
"Well, not only was it way overtime, but it really started to blow oil. I listened to it. I don't think it would make it off the runway. I redlined it for engine replacement."
"They keep promising us airplanes."
"They promised me I would travel to exotic places and implied I would get laid a lot," Dunn said. "I don't trust them anymore."
"I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt," Dawkins answered. "I believe they're trying." His mouth curled into a small smile. "You don't think Guadalcanal is 'exotic'?"
"I was young then, Skipper. I didn't know the difference between 'exotic' and 'erotic' "
Dawkins touched his arm. "You better get something to eat."
"The minute I start to eat, the goddamned radar will go off."
"Probably," Dawkins said.
This, Dawkins thought, is where I'm supposed to say something reassuring. Or better, inspiring. Hell of a note that a MAG commander can't think of a goddamn thing reassuring or inspiring to say to one of his squadron commanders.
He thought of something:
"When Galloway comes back, I'll lay three to one he comes with stuff to drink."
"If he comes back," Dunn said. "What odds are you offering about that?"
"He'll be back, Bill," Dawkins said, hoping his voice carried more conviction than he felt.
[THREE]
=TOP SECRET=
FROM: MAG-21 1750 11OCT42
SUBJECT: AFTER-ACTION REPORT
TO: COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, PACIFIC, PEARL HARBOR INFO: SUPREME COMMANDER SWPOA, BRISBANE COMMANDANT, USMC, WASH, DC
1. UPON RADAR DETECTION AT 1220 11OCT42 OF TWO FLIGHTS OF UNIDENTIFIED AIRCRAFT APPROX
140 NAUTICAL MILES MAG-21 LAUNCHED;
A. EIGHT (8) F4F4 VF-5
B. FIFTEEN (15) F4F4 VMF-121
C. SIX (6) F4F4 VMF-223
D. FIVE(5)F4F4VMF-224
E. FIVE (5) F4F4 VMF-229
F. THREE (3) P40 67TH FIGHTER SQUADRON USAAC
G. NINE (9) P39 67TH FIGHTER SQUADRON USAAC.
2. VF-5 AND VMF-121 NO CONTACT.
3. DUE TO INABILITY EXCEED 19,000 FEET WITH AVAILABLE OXYGEN EQUIPMENT USAAC AIRCRAFT
MADE NO INITIAL CONTACT.
4. AT 1255 11OCT42 REMAINING FORCE MADE CONTACT AT 25,000 FEET WITH 34 KATE REPEAT 34
KATE BOMBERS ESCORTED BY 29 ZERO REPEAT 29 ZERO FIGHTERS APPROXIMATE 20 NAUTICAL MILES
FROM HENDERSON FIELD.
5. ENEMY LOSSES:
A. NINE (9) KATE
KUNTZ, CHARLES M 1/LT USMC TWO (2)
MANN, THOMAS H JR 1/LT USMCR TWO (2)
DUNN, WILLIAM C 1/LT USMCR ONE (1)
HALLOWELL, GEORGE L 1/LT USMCR TWO (2)
KENNEDY, MATTHEW H 1/LT USMCR (2)
B. FOUR (4) ZERO
DUNN, WILLIAM C 1/LT USMCR ONE (1)
MCNAB, HOWARD T/SGT USMC (2)