Sandwich Islands
1945. The blue South Pacific skies over the Sandwich Islands were filled with dark puff balls of anti aircraft flak as Japanese kamikaze planes attempted to crash into the destroyers and the U.S.S. Forrestal aircraft carrier in Admiral Halsey’s advancing Pacific fleet. On shore were a company of American commandos. Tappy and his commanding officer were digging themselves out of being covered in dirt from exploding Japanese and American artillery shells. American Naval bombardment walked down the beach in pounding footsteps toward the Japanese bunkers. “I have to urinate, Tappy.” Lt. helm said. His sense of humor could be droll. “You’ll have to wait til the barrage is over, sir.” They didn’t laugh. The thunder of Japanese artillery and the off shore pounding from American battle ships made further conversation difficult. Tappy caught his CO’s gaze focused up into the sky above the dogfights between the American Tom Cats and the Jap Zeros. The Lieutenant was studying a formation of white silver disks, high above the air battle; five strange shapes moving from the south toward the Northeast at a slow methodical pace above the battle. “What the heck are those?” Tappy yelled uneasily. “I don’t know. I saw them over Nordhausen in Germany, when I brought out the V2 rockets.” He didn’t like unanswered questions. “Are they the German secret weapons?” Tappy yelled as more rubble rained down on them. “I don’t think so.” Lt. Helm said to him in a tone that cut through the din. “Our bomber pilots called them…. Foo Fighters…. I think they are off world.” Tappy ignored what he had just heard and looked around at the deserted island. “Are we close enough to Tokyo, yet…Sir?” The Lt. shook his head. “No. The V2 range is only two hundred miles. If we want to hit Japan mainland with our atom bomb tipped V2, we’ll have to get closer.” Tappy grimaced through the oily fog of burnt cordite. “You think it’ll work? Sir?” Lt. Helm nodded his head under his helmet. “Yes. I saw the results of the first atom bomb test. It will end the war…..But you can’t do that to Mother Nature and get away with it.”
excerpt: “History of the Groove, book four” Russell Buddy Helm ©2014 all rights reserved