Survive as a World War II Soldier - Chapter 79



Only Noblemtl

#079

Instructors from the Philippine Aviation Schools established in Manila and China were regularly dispatched to the U.S. Army Air Corps.

The purpose was to promote aviation technology exchanges between the Philippines and the United States, but in reality, it was to learn the know-how of Korean pilots who had actual combat experience with the Japanese military.

However, if only Koreans came and went, it would be too obvious, so naturally, Filipinos, Chinese, and even Army Air Corps personnel in the Philippines would come together.

“I was more talented than I thought.”

“okay?”

At my expression of disbelief, Elliot proudly recounted his accomplishments.

“I made those seals’ noses really flat last winter.”

Elliot thumped his chest, saying he was one of the pilots who had done something crazy like jumping on a water bomb in front of those seals.

“really?”

“Do I look like an idiot who would tell a lie that would be exposed in an instant?”

I asked the question, barely suppressing the words that it wasn’t normal, although not to that extent.

“Who came with you?”

“They are all the best.”

Arnold met my eyes at Elliot’s words.

What we lacked most was none other than skilled pilots.

“Do you have any experience flying under instrument?”

“Of course. If you want to fly at night, you have to fly using instrument. And on the sea, even during the day, you can easily mistake the sky for the sea, so you are trained to use gyros and fly using instrument.”

“Hmm. Then Elliot.”

“yes.”

“Help me out.”

“Yes? Me?”

“okay.”

It was impossible to enlist Elliott and others in the Army Air Corps, but it was not difficult to get them into the Philippine Air Force.

And the Philippines is an ally that has an agreement with us…

No, actually, in the current situation, such trivial paperwork wasn’t important.

Marshall or Ridgeway will take care of that.

“You want me to deliver the mail?”

“Oh. And while you’re at it, teach those idiots how to fly instruments.”

“Okay, I understand.”

First, we deployed people from the Philippines to a place that was considered to be a difficult place.

and,

“I can’t.”

“What?”

“Look at the weather. Flying a plane in this weather is like asking for death.”

“What are you talking about like that? And in the past, civilian airlines were flying well…. They say it’s the Army Air Corps, but isn’t it much lower in level than civilian airlines?”

When postal workers come out to force the air force to fly in bad weather.

“Okay, I understand. Hey.”

The air force officer, breathing heavily at the post office clerk’s words, called out to a passing soldier.

“Tell Captain Roosevelt to get ready. He’ll be flying tonight.”

“Wait, wait a minute. Captain Roosevelt?”

“Oh, this time, our team has a guy from the Philippines named Elliot Roosevelt. He’s the best among all the guys here, so he should do it.”

“Maybe, maybe···.”

“Yes. His father was Franklin Roosevelt and his sister was Anna MacArthur.”

“!”

The post office worker looked visibly flustered at the prospect of ordering the president’s son to risk his life on a bad weather flight.

at last,

“Well, I thought about it and it definitely seems like the weather today is dangerous.”

“Is that so?”

“If that’s your judgment, then we have to follow it.”

On the way back to the hangar.

“But, Captain.”

“why?”

“We don’t have Captain Roosevelt on our team.”

“It’s okay. These are the president’s instructions.”

“yes?”

“If you are ever forced to take a potentially dangerous flight, you are told to sell out Elliott Roosevelt’s name.”

“ah.”

With Arnold’s return and the introduction of experienced players from the Philippines, including Elliott, the number of accidents decreased dramatically.

Instead, complaints erupted that the Army Air Corps’ capabilities were less than expected.

“It seems like it would be a stretch for the Army Air Corps to cover mail delivery.”

“Yes, I think it would be problematic to drag this situation out for a long time.”

Particularly vocal were the Postmaster General, Parley, and the Secretary of War, Donne.

“It is disappointing that this is the level of the Army Air Corps.”

“This is why···.”

But I didn’t even flinch.

“On-time delivery is important, but more important is the safety of our pilots.”

“Sir, but because of that, the post office will have to pay a penalty…”

“Are you saying that money is more important than life right now?”

“No, that’s···.”

“Isn’t the Army Air Corps’ support of airmail service just a stopgap measure anyway?”

Ultimately, Postmaster General Farley had to expedite plans to return airmail service to commercial airlines.

Competitive bidding was reintroduced, and elaborate plans were put in place to prevent the various tricks discovered in previous investigations from being used.

And while Farley was making those plans, the Army Air Corps supported airmail delivery service for 78 days.

There have been four additional accidents since the three that occurred before I intervened in late February, but fortunately none resulted in death.

##

“Air safety?”

“Yes. This time, the Army Air Corps supported the postal service and confirmed that national oversight of aviation safety was very poor.”

The postmaster, Palli, objected to my words with a grumpy face.

“Well, isn’t it because the Army Air Corps’ skills and aircraft are of low quality?”

If you were trying to provoke me, then thank you.

“Director Pali is right.”

“yes?”

“As you know, the Army’s financial problems are serious. Training is necessary to improve skills, but as you know, it costs a lot of money to launch a single plane.”

The reason our children lack ability is because you don’t give them money to develop that ability.

“Aircraft? It’s not that we don’t want to introduce new aircraft. Who would want to use old ones?”

My indifferent response quickly caused Pal to lose his fighting spirit.

“Given the economic situation, let’s discuss the budget issue later.”

I nodded in agreement at the mediation of Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau.

“Yes, I understand. But please remember what I said earlier and don’t forget.”

The topic of discussion again turned to aviation safety.

“The Army Air Corps and the Navy Air Corps will use this incident as an opportunity to establish their own safety measures. But what about civil aviation?”

Of course, private airlines also paid attention to safety.

Respect for life is important, but how much damage will there be if one plane crashes?

“As you all know, it is dangerous to leave safety issues to the private sector.”

Someone immediately responded to what I said.

“The aviation division under the Department of Commerce is already handling the work on that.”

“Is that really enough?”

At my words, Secretary of Commerce Daniel C. Roper shook his head without a moment’s hesitation.

“General MacArthur’s point is correct. The aviation industry is currently developing explosively. As a result, aviation accidents are also on the rise.”

Roosevelt immediately agreed to the Secretary of Commerce’s statement that the Department of Commerce was already considering upgrading the aviation division to an aviation bureau and establishing measures to address safety issues.

“Let’s do that. By the way, General MacArthur. Since you brought this up, I think you have your own plan. What is it?”

Although I know very little about aviation, there was one thing I knew for sure.

The fact is that there are many people other than the pilots who help with the operation of an aircraft.

Although I don’t know the exact name or the specific details of the job, I knew the general details.

Nowadays, everything from servicing the aircraft, refueling it, and taking off until landing is mostly the pilot’s responsibility.

“Shouldn’t we be able to track which route each aircraft is flying, where it is at the current time, etc?”

“Hmm.”

“If we knew the approximate location of the aircraft, a nearby control tower could communicate with the aircraft in an emergency.”

Although ultra-long-range wireless communication was impossible, wireless communication technology did exist.

If that doesn’t work, wouldn’t it be possible to launch another nearby plane and bring it within a distance where communication is possible?

“Then, let’s establish a control center for each airline···.”

As a country that practices laissez-faire, there was talk of having airlines establish control centers rather than at the national level.

“I think that safety issues should be under strong government supervision rather than being left to the discretion of individuals. As you know, the goal of companies is not safety, but profit.”

The Secretary of Commerce also agreed with my strong argument.

“I also agree with General MacArthur. If we are going to establish a center, the state should be able to manage and supervise it.”

“The problem is, there’s no money for that…”

“Isn’t people more important than money?”

It was my remarks that brought an end to the debate that had been going on for a long time.

“International flights will be commercialized soon.”

“Is this an international flight?”

“Yes. In the case of Europe, international flights are already actively operating.”

The United States is so large that domestic flights boast flight distances that are no less than international flights, and international flights have not yet been established due to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

“It’s an international flight···.”

“Don’t we also need international standards for aviation safety?”

“!”

Even if it does not necessarily become a standard, simply requiring that airlines flying to our country meet our safety standards would be a sufficient means of protecting the domestic aviation industry.

“It’s not something else, but it’s a safety issue, so it would be difficult to trip up and fall in a foreign country.”

“Yes. If the aviation industry develops like it is now, wouldn’t it become a huge source of income in the future?”

The story of investing for the future was more persuasive than anything else.

As a result, it was decided to establish a national air traffic control (ATC) center along with the aviation authority.

It was a decision that was later evaluated as laying the foundation for aviation safety and the American aviation industry.

##

“Why are you doing that without sleeping?”

“Oh, Anna. Where are you….”

“There’s nothing wrong with it. I just woke up and the seat next to me felt empty, so I came here.”

Anna came closer, sat on my lap, and hugged me. I felt the tension naturally melt away in the warmth.

“What on earth is going on?”

“I think I’ll have to be discharged from the military.”

“Are you discharged?”

Anna’s eyes widened at my words. She knew how much pride I had in my military career.

“The last time Dad brought up the Secretary of State thing, you said you didn’t like it. Have you changed your mind?”

“Minister… I don’t know. I don’t know if I can do it well, or if I want to do it. But….”

As I thought about this airmail incident, I realized that my continued presence as Army Chief of Staff was not necessarily helpful to the Army.

It is true that when airmail was first introduced, the Army Air Corps was responsible for the job.

However, airmail has grown rapidly since then, and the current airmail service is no longer suitable for the Army Air Corps.

But why did Secretary of War Dunn say that the Army Air Corps could do it, and why did Pulua brag so confidently?

At first, I thought it was because Pulua was stupid, contrary to what I thought.

But over time, I learned that that wasn’t all.

“Do you know that the brighter the light, the darker the shadow?”

“Really? I never thought about it.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Anna tilting her head.

Knowing the future, I did my best for the advancement of the Army and for a better future.

As a result, how many things have changed for the better than the history I know?

But did my actions really make everything better?

Even if you look at Japan right now, it was like that.

Didn’t they cause the Manchurian Incident earlier than originally planned, and instead of having friendly feelings toward the United States, they have anti-American sentiments?

This time it was the same.

The reason Secretary of War Dunn got involved in this was because I had so much influence.

At the time of the metric system controversy, there was considerable public concern that I might step down from my position as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In a world where even the president’s term of office is four years, I have already been serving as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for five years.

“But how much work have you done?”

“So I think that’s not the problem.”

Suddenly, it occurred to me that if I had not been the Army Chief of Staff, would General Dunn have brought in the Army Aviation Corps to show off his presence while I was away?

There,

“I sometimes wonder if it’s because of me that my subordinates’ abilities are not developing further.”

Don’t they say that a place makes a man?

Mitchell, who was so mischievous when he was in the Air Force Academy, became much more docile when he went to the Philippines.

And after becoming the commander of the Philippine garrison, he said he was doing his work as if he were a different person.

I began to wonder if my actions, which I had taken to lead the Army in a better direction, might have actually robbed the Army of its own opportunities to develop itself.

“Then what are you going to do after you’re discharged from the military?”

“What should I do? Will my wife hate it if I become unemployed?”

“Well, I’ll get a pension and I’ve saved up a lot of money, so it’s okay.”

“okay?”

Now that I think about it, I remember that I came back from my first family trip after getting married without even finishing it properly.

“Shall we go on a trip together?”

This time, it’s not a vacation, it’s quitting completely, so you’ll have plenty of time.

Come to think of it, if war breaks out again, Europe will be in shambles.

I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a look before that happens.

“Europe is nice. Mary would like it too.”

“I hope it’s okay.”

As I brought it up, I began to worry whether Mary, now three years old, would be able to take on a long-distance trip.

“You’re three years old now.”

“still···.”

“I heard from other people that he is as big and strong as any other 5-year-old.”

“okay?”

But the worries I had before the long trip turned out to be for nothing.

Unexpected difficulties