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.Edgar Hoover; I doubt if theAttorney General ever heard of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade."Rutterman snorted."Have we got any, do you think?" Sessions asked."You mean us? Or the Corps generally?""In the Corps.I don't think we have any, Harry.""There was 3000, 3500 of them.I'm sure that there's some in the Corps.ButI'll bet most of them have already been tagged as Reds.What's that got to dowith us?""Nothing that I can see; it's a Counterintelligence matter.Unless you were in Spain fighting fascism and haven't told me.I think wewere just on the distribution list."Rutterman nodded."What have you got, Harry?""I think I have a Japanese linguist for Major Banning," Rutterman said,handing Sessions the sheet of teletype paper.Major Edward J.Banning, one of the most knowledgeable-about-the-Japaneseofficers in the Marine Corps, had been the S-2 of the 4th Marines in Shanghai.He had gone with the Regiment to the Philippines when it had been transferredthere just before the war had broken out.He had been blinded by concussion during a Japanese artillery barrage onLeyte, and evacuated with other blinded men by submarine from Corregidor.Hissight had returned as the submarine approached Pearl Harbor.After a month'srecuperative leave he had returned to duty, and almost immediately he'd beenPage 34ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlordered back to the Pacific as commanding officer of the purposelyobfuscatorily titled "Special Detachment 14."The mission of Special Detachment 14 was to support an organization known as"The Coastwatcher Establishment" of the Royal Australian Navy.When theJapanese had begun their march toward Australia down the islands, theAustralians had left behind on the captured islands a motley collection ofex-colonial officials, plantation managers, and the like.They had beenequipped with radios and were reporting on Japanese shipping, troop movements,and other matters of critical intelligence importance.One of Captain Fleming Pickering's first reports from Australia to Secretaryof the Navy Knox had informed him both of the existence of the CoastwatcherOrganization and of the barely concealed hostility between it and the U.S.Navy.He recommended, strongly, that Knox establish a special unit-notsubordinate to "Pearl Harbor brass hats"- to work with the Coastwatchers.Properly handled, Pickering wrote, the Coastwatcher Establishment would be ofenormous value.Knox responded by charging Marine Corps Intelligence with theresponsibility of working with the Coastwatchers.The orders to the againpurposefully obfuscatorily named Marine Office of Management Analysis had beento set up an outfit, with whatever priorities and funds were required, to dowhat Captain Fleming Pickering thought should be done.Special Detachment 14had been the result.There was a more or less standing requisition from Major Ed Banning for twokinds of specialists: radio technicians and Japanese-language linguists.WhatBanning wanted, the Marine Office of Management Analysis tried very hard tosend him."Think?" Captain Sessions asked."Does he speak Japanese or not? And assuminghe wasn't in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade?""He's an officer candidate," Rutterman said."They started sending a bunch ofthem through Boot Camp at Parris Island.""So? What's the problem?""For one thing, he's five months, maybe a little more, away from beingavailable for assignment.After he finishes Parris Island, he has to gothrough Officer Basic School at Quantico.And by that time, we'd have to fightfor him anyhow; they'd want to send him to a Division.And Banning needs himnow.""So we take him and send him to Banning now," Sessions said."As an enlistedman." He heard what he had said, and added: "That sounds a little ruthless,doesn't it? But Banning really needs linguists.'For the good of the Corps,'all right?""Those guys who enlisted as officer candidates have a deal, Captain,"Rutterman said."They either get the bar, or they get discharged.""And then what?" Sessions asked."They report him to his draft board, and he goes in the Army.""What about a direct commission?""Two weeks ago, that would have been the answer; but now the word is everysecond John goes through Basic School at Quantico.No exceptions.We'd onlyPage 35ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlpick up a couple of weeks, if we could get a slot for him at Quantico.Ofcourse, if we did that, got him a direct commission, he would belong to us,and we could probably keep him.""Damn!" Sessions said."And there are some other questions.Is he for real?Can he get a security clearance?""He's got a security clearance.Permanent SECRET.The FBI ran a completebackground investigation on him when he first applied for the officercandidate program.Before they called him for active duty.""So it would be reasonable to presume that his story that he lived in Japanfor-how many years?""Ten, in all."".checked out.And if that's the case, maybe he really does read andwrite Japanese.""Yes, Sir.""I think I better go see the Colonel," Sessions said."And you better comewith me."The Colonel was Lieutenant Colonel F.L.Rickabee, USMC, who was carried onthe Table of Organization and Equipment of Headquarters, United States MarineCorps, as a Management Analyst in the office of the Assistant Chief of Stafffor Logistics.This had absolutely nothing whatever to do with his actualduties.Colonel Rickabee, a tall, slight man who was in civilian clothing and didn't,truth to tell, look much like a Marine on a recruiting poster, heard outCaptain Sessions and Technical Sergeant Rutterman."Ed, there's a courier plane to Parris Island at ten o'clock.Get on it.Gosee this young man.First see if he really is fluent in Japanese.If he is,offer him instant sergeant's stripes and five-day delay en route home leave ifhe waives his current rights as an officer candidate.Tell him we'll arrange acommission for him later.If he gets on his high horse, Rutterman here willpersonally take him to 'Diego or 'Frisco and load him on the first plane forAustralia as a private.Questions?""Sir, where are you going to get the authority to promote him to sergeant?"Sessions asked."The same place I got the authority to put him on the next plane to MajorBanning.Banning desperately needs linguists.This linguist Rutterman foundjust may keep some Marines alive if I can get him to Banning.If I have toexplain that to General Holcomb personally, I will
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