that the guy getting out of the helicopter—a Marine officer—seemed to be in some discomfort. A few even wondered why, but their primary interest was in the helicopter itself.
How come the goddamn jarheads have a big machine like that, and The General himself has only a couple of lousy H-13s?
There were two MPs, armed with Thompson submachine guns, guarding access to the general’s van, and McCoy had to wait until they verified his story that he was Major McCoy, and General Almond expected him. But finally he was passed, and walked to the van, stood on the lower step of the folding steps to the van, and rapped on the door with his knuckles.
After a moment, Captain Al Haig pushed the door outward, saw McCoy, and waved him inside. McCoy carefully hoisted himself into the van.
It was simply furnished. There were three identical desks. A master sergeant sat at one of the desks along the wall, using a typewriter. An identical desk sitting next to the master sergeant’s desk—it had four field telephones on it—was obviously Captain Haig’s. Major General Edward M. Almond sat at the third desk, all the way inside the van and facing the door. It held two field telephones and the leather map case Almond always carried with him.
“Major McCoy, sir,” Haig said.
McCoy saluted.
“You wanted to see me, sir?” he asked.
“What happened to your pajamas?” Almond asked.
“I’ve been interrogating prisoners, sir,” McCoy said. “They seem to be more impressed with a Marine than by someone in pajamas.”
Almond chuckled, and shook his head as he opened the long flap of his leather map case, came out with a sheet of paper, and handed it wordlessly to McCoy.
TOP SECRET
URGENT
SUPREME HEADQUARTERS UNITED NATIONS
COMMAND TOKYO
0730 31 OCTOBER 1950
EYES ONLY COMMANDING GENERAL X CORPS
PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM GENARMY MACARTHUR TO MAJGEN ALMOND BEGINS
MY DEAR NED,
I HAVE CAREFULLY CONSIDERED YOUR
URGENT OF 1015 30 OCTOBER.
GENERAL WILLOUGHBY, WHO HAS ABSOLUTELY NO INTELLIGENCE DATA WHICH EVEN SUGGESTS THERE ARE CHINESE COMMUNIST FORCES OF ANY SIGNIFICANCE IN NORTH KOREA, THEREFORE BELIEVES THE SIZE OF THE CHINESE FORCE, IF INDEED IT WAS A CHINESE FORCE, WHICH ATTACKED THE INFANTRY REGIMENT OF THE 3RD ROK DIVISION 29 OCTOBER, WAS NOT AS LARGE AS REPORTED TO YOU.
HE POINTS OUT THAT MAJGEN LEE DO WAS SHORT MONTHS AGO A LIEUTENANT COLONEL, MAY NOT HAVE PROVEN CAPABLE OF COMMANDING A DIVISION-SIZE FORCE, AND WHEN HIS DIVISION FAILED TO REPEL WHAT WILLOUGHBY FEELS WAS PROBABLY A REGIMENTAL-SIZE ATTACK, AT MOST, EXAGGERATED THE ATTACKING STRENGTH TO JUSTIFY HIS LOSS OF THE BATTLE.
HOWEVER, SINCE YOU OBVIOUSLY FEEL SO STRONGLY ABOUT THIS, AND BECAUSE OF MY OWN PROFOUND FAITH IN YOUR JUDGMENT AND BATTLEFIELD SKILL, I HAVE DIRECTED WILLOUGHBY TO PROCEED TO YOUR HEADQUARTERS TO CONFER WITH YOU AND SEE FOR HIMSELF.
THE BATAAN IS BEING PREPARED FOR THE FLIGHT AS THIS IS WRITTEN.
VICTORY IS WITHIN OUR GRASP, MY DEAR NED.
WITH PERSONAL REGARDS,
MACARTHUR
GENERAL OF THE ARMY
SUPREME COMMANDER
END PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM GENARMY MACARTHUR TO MAJGEN ALMOND
TOP SECRET
McCoy muttered “Jesus Christ!” and raised his eyes to General Almond.
Almond put up his hand to silence him.
“Jerry,” he called. “Do not list Major McCoy’s visit in the diary, and go deaf. You understand?”
“Can’t hear you, sir,” the master sergeant said.
“He’s sending Willoughby here?” McCoy asked.
“General Willoughby visited Wonsan yesterday,” Almond said. “And stayed there long enough—probably forty-five minutes—to see and hear enough so that he could get on the Bataan and return to Tokyo to assure General MacArthur that he has nothing to worry about; there are no ChiCom forces in North Korea to speak of.”
“What do we have to do to convince that sonofabitch?” McCoy exploded.
“It’s a good thing Sergeant Youngman is deaf,” Almond said. “Otherwise he would be shocked at such vulgar and disrespectful language coming from a Marine officer.”
“Sorry, sir.”
“However much justified,” Almond said. “McCoy, did you . . . uh . . . send the intelligence I had the feeling you were going to send?”
“Yes, sir. And I said when I had further confirmation from my stay-behinds, I would send it, and I sent that confirmation. This time it was a lieutenant colonel with the same message.”
“I thought you probably had,” Almond said.
“Sonofabitch!” McCoy said, and put his hand to his forehead and wiped it.
“You just staggered, McCoy,” Almond said. “Are you all right? Jerry, get Major McCoy a chair.”
Master Sergeant Youngman jumped to carry his chair to McCoy.
McCoy eased himself into it.
“Thank you, Sergeant,” he said.
“Can I get you anything, McCoy?” Captain Haig asked.