Chapter 2

The persistent knocking gave way to stomping feet and then loud voices.

“Wake up. The General wants to see you in his office, ASAP!”

It was a buck sergeant making all the noise in the living room. On a military base it would not be uncommon to leave the doors unlocked and we did. He was ... loud ... with a great deal of loudness to go with his poor manners. If I had to make a judgment on this particular buck Sergeant, I would guess that he lacked quality upbringing and a decent understanding of common courtesy.

Just before I would have informed him of my thoughts on his lack of manners, Jenny did it for me. “You! Shut up, get outside and wait for us. YOU will shut up, stay outside and drive us to the see the General when we come out. Do you understand me, Sergeant?”

I understood even if he didn’t. The next few minutes were much quieter as Jenny and Claire joined me in the shower and helped clean me up, prior to helping me dress in a uniform thoughtfully delivered after we crashed the night before. Breakfast was catch-as-catch-can and over before it really got started. When we were good and ready, we allowed Sergeant noisy to chauffer us to the see the General.

He kept quiet the entire drive.

I liked him better that way.

It was a rather peaceful drive. The blisters on my hands hurt more than the night before, but the aches and pains were getting less by the minute. As we approached headquarters the activity around us reflected the tragic events of the day before. We could see planes being serviced and reloaded for their trip out to sea to continue the counter attack on the Empire. Japan may have started this war, but with the changes wrought by the universe, our military was destroying a huge portion of their Navy.

Before I could begin to feel good about the way we changed the outcome of Pearl Harbor, the driver informed us that the Empire had attacked Manilla and the bases in the Philippines as I remembered. “Yeah, Major,” the Sergeant continued. “Apparently our guys got the word out to them before those fu... , I mean sneak attacking low life, scum, could surprise everyone. The Philippines, Wake Island, Guam, Malaya, Thailand, Shanghai and Midway were all ready and met them head on with some kind of furious counter attack.

“I heard the brass saying that the Jap Navy is going home with less than a quarter of the ships and planes they came here with...” He drifted to a stop in front of Headquarters and then surprised us with a bit of gossip. “Did you folks hear about the Lieutenant who grabbed a couple of machine guns and fought off the Jap bombers from up the mountain somewhere? It’s the only thing they are talking about, today. If you hear any more details, would let me know? I lost friends yesterday and want to shake that guy’s hand and buy him a beer for having the brass and the balls to take those slant-eyed, basta... , I mean, take on those awful Japanese on that way...” he continued but we were already heading inside.

I let Clair and Jenny lead the way, as I had never been anywhere near this base, in my time, or in the nineteen-forties. They walked through the main hallway with confidence, indicating that they had. As we approached the rear offices, where the high-ranking officers had their suites, we were applauded from everyone from the secretaries, to a Captain who happened to pass us going the other way.

The ladies stopped outside an office that was obviously set aside for the commanding officer and it was there that General Wilson took up residence while dealing with the Japanese attacks. His office was guarded by two military police officers and three secretaries, all of whom were busy typing orders, requisitions and whatever else you have to type the day after America enters World War Two.

We were not delayed. A perfectly turned out female Captain opened the door to the inner sanctum and announced us. “General Wilson. The Major and both Lieutenants you requested are here.” She stepped aside and motioned us in. It hit me, right then, that in my timeline women didn’t serve in the military until sometime after Pearl harbor, but in this timeline everything appears to be different.

General Wilson never gave us a chance to ask her how she knew that Phil Rasmussen, whose body I currently inhabited, had been promoted to Major and both ladies elevated from Sergeant to Lieutenant. “I am so glad to see you up and around. You looked like Hell yesterday and I wondered if you would even wake up for another day, or so.”

He came around his desk and ushered us into chairs that looked like they were assembled just for our meeting. General Wilson looked young, but I have never heard of the War Department promoting forty year olds to General, so my instincts told me that he had to be in his fifties. He was well built, in good shape, with little evidence of age, or infirmity. His eyes told a different story. They had that well-worn expression that usually indicated hard work, long nights, years of struggle, and lots of worry.

That look was one with which I could identify.

“First: Let me give you a bit of an update.

“Your prescient warning about our other Pacific bases was spot on. Those bases were all ordered onto high alert and ships were moved out of harbors into safe water, where they could protect themselves. Our air support first covered those ships, then engaged the enemy out at sea, resulting in additional losses to Japanese bombers, fighter aircraft, and pilots, which I suspect hurts them far more than losing planes.” The General was energetic, happy and full of vitality while he briefed us. There had to be a reason for giving us all the information, but I couldn’t imagine what it might be.

Fortunately we didn’t have to wait long.

“Folks ... It looks like we are going to be spending some time together.” He waited just a second for that to sink in. “The War Department has ordered me to select the three of you to accompany me on a tour of our war readiness. Now that the Japs have declared war on America it is vital that we not only build morale and support among the troops, but that we give them good reasons to take that morale and use it to defend our bases, ships, and soldiers.”

He stopped and thought about the next words he wanted to say.

“Your ... the three of you ... your contribution to saving American lives and protecting our ability to defend our country against a Japanese attack went far beyond any words.

“You were there!

“You saw with your own eyes what the Japanese Emperor intended and your individual actions and bravery were a huge factor in their failure...” We would have objected to being cast as heroes, but he waved us into silence.

“The War Department sent me orders to take you all with me on an inspection and readiness tour of the Pacific theater and let you meet our soldiers and sailors, giving them the story about Japan’s attempt to murder thousands of American fighting men and women without provocation.”

He turned to Clair and Jenny. “What makes all this so special is that you are two women and you fought right alongside Phil, here, and helped staunch what would have been a catastrophic attack on America. When our fighting men see and hear your story, they will go crazy in admiration and hopefully it will motivate them to try and match your bravery as we enter into what will be a devastating war for one of our nations.

“Germany declared war on America sometime last night. They threw in with Japan and have offered their full cooperation, so it looks like we will be fighting a war on two fronts, in two different parts of the world.

“We NEED you three.

“We need your help, your story, and your bravery to help ramp up support and determination out in the Pacific and pretty soon, over in Europe.

“We leave in three hours for Manilla. Get packed and don’t keep me waiting.” We were dismissed, but before we got out the door, the General added, “Major Rasmussen, you have a tailor waiting at clothing issue to redress you in a more appropriate uniform for your rank and standing. Ladies, you have the same appointment to get your officer uniforms issued with appropriate tailoring, so get moving!”