Chapter 3

Johnston Island, our first stop, was a naval station by the time Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. It is part of a larger group of small islands that make up the Johnston Atoll. In my timeline it was long abandoned after being used to launch the first spy satellites and later, as a nuclear test facility. In December of nineteen-forty one it was a big runway with a handful of buildings that served the needs of the US Navy about seven-hundred and fifty miles beyond Pearl Harbor.

All one could see, looking out the windows of the Air Corps Ferrying Command aircraft, was the Pacific Ocean. Johnston Island was so small that you couldn’t see it except for straight on. The pilots had a clear view of our destination, but the rest of us had to go on faith. As the war progressed, these smaller airfields would play important roles in the war against Japan, but in December of Forty-One, there was no there there, when you got there.

Clair held on to my arm while we descended, flared, and landed. My hands still hurt too much for squeezing, but my arms were fine. Jenny huddled next to me, closed her eyes, and rode out the landing in silence. I’m not certain the General even noticed, so intense was his concentration.

Once safely on the ground, the General was properly received and escorted through the meager facilities. There were six fighter planes and a couple of old bombers in sight, but everything seemed to teem with activity. That became clear when the Captain in charge explained that, earlier in the day, his men had engaged several Japanese bombers, protected by a flight of Zeroes. They shot down all seven fighters and splashed at least three bombers before the Japs pulled off and escaped to the southwest.

“Good. Are you equipped to defend yourselves until we catch up to you, Captain?” The General had a point and wanted an honest reply.

“General. We are supplied for at least a handful of sorties against the Japs. They don’t seem to have their hearts in taking us on. Something tells me that they expected us to roll over, instead of aggressively taking the fight to them...”

He would have continued, but the General interrupted. “Captain ... explain yourself, what did you mean when you said that the Japanese didn’t appear to want to fight?” The Captain was neither young, nor old. He was about thirty-five and in exceptional physical shape. This was a warrior, not an administrator. The General picked up on that and wanted to know more from a soldier’s perspective.

“General, Sir. When the Japs appeared we already had planes up, armed, and weapons loose. Our orders were to take the fight to them, and I was rotating our aircraft to keep a third of our planes up and protecting our island at all times. The Japs didn’t seem to think we would bring the fight to them. When we did, they hesitated before they engaged with us.

“By then I had sent another third of our aircraft up with fresh pilots and loaded guns. It was kind of like when we trained for dogfights. They made very little effort to evade, and when they tried to shoot, they were often already out of position.

“Sir, we splashed their bombers before they got anywhere near the island. Their fighters weren’t very competent, and I had our fighters take them out in a one-two pinch and punch. You will see the wreckage when you climb out. It will be out your port windows.”

“Did you pick up any survivors?”

“Sir, the four survivors are in our little stockade. Would you like to speak with them? None of us speak Japanese and none of them speak English, so we gave them food and water and left them locked up until the Commander at Pearl decides what to do with them.”

There was nothing to be gained for the General to take time looking at people who couldn’t speak our language. The intelligence folks would no-doubt have someone to handle interrogation and I knew that that problem would take care of itself. When I said as much, carefully, the General nodded and went on to other things.

After the General interviewed the Captain until he was satisfied that he knew everything he needed to know about things on Johnston Island, he used the base radio system to get his orders out to other islands. While he tended to General business, Clair, Jenny, and I circulated among the seamen, sharing bits and pieces of the attack on Pearl, but refraining from talking about our roles in the defense of our country. By the time we had chatted up everybody available to talk with us, the General was ready to load up and go.

Our next stops were Midway and Eastern Island, which were back to the north and west. The base at Easter had two detached bungalows ready for our use. General Wilson used one and insisted that Clair and Jenny share the other with me. The rest of the crew were boarded in barracks, and we didn’t see them until the next afternoon.

Midway was another target of the Japanese sneak attack, only the American Navy snuck up on the incoming Japanese assault force and sank their carrier and destroyer class ships while their bombers and fighters were busy being pounded by our ground units.

When we landed it was obvious that the runway had to be swiftly patched due to enemy bombing, but we safely arrived and the General rushed off to get a face-to-face briefing with their Commander. At that point, there were very few women to be seen on the islands our soldiers manned. As a result, Clair and Jenny were a huge hit with the troops.

We woolgathered information about the quality and competence of the invading force from soldiers all too happy to spend a few minutes in the presence of two beautiful ladies, who seemed amazed at the attention. The soldiers we spoke with seemed genuinely pleased to meet us, hear about Pearl from someone who was present, and get to be in the presence of pretty girls at the same time. If that was the agenda General Wilson set out to achieve, I think we got it right on the first try.

When we were able to slip away from our official duties, we headed to our overnight bungalow. It was a two bedroomed affair and Jenny claimed the one near the back, which had two single beds made up and ready for occupancy. That left the master bedroom for Clair and me.

How perfect.

Clair looked directly into my eyes once we were behind the closed door and announced, “We are not making love until after we both shower.”

Having set the ground rules, Clair efficiently stripped to her beautiful skin, leaving me literally panting, as well as dressed. When she was perfectly naked, Clair gave me ‘the look.’ Without a moments’ hesitation I undressed and took her hand, leading us into the efficiently built and rather undersized master bathroom, where I kissed her non-stop while the water warmed enough for us to step under the shower.