Part 34 (2/2)
”There is about to be something in it,” McCoy said. ”About an hour ago, we got a message from Taejon saying that two airplanes will arrive here right about now. A Beaver and an L-19. When they get close to the hangar, I want the doors opened, quickly, and as quickly closed once we get the airplanes inside.”
”Aye, aye, sir. Is that what they call those helos, 'Beavers'?”
”No. A Beaver is a regular airplane,” McCoy said.
”Sir, can I ask what's going on? What are we going to do with these airplanes?”
”We 'borrowed' them from the Army,” McCoy said. ”We're going to use them to look for a Marine aviator who's down somewhere between Suwon and the east coast.”
”You 'borrowed' them from the Army?”
”You could put it that way, Sergeant, yes,” McCoy said.
Staff Sergeant Klegger smiled approvingly.
Dunston touched McCoy's arm, and, when he had his attention, pointed skyward.
A Beaver was making its final approach.
”Right on time,” McCoy said.
”If that's ours,” Dunston said.
”Odds are it is,” McCoy said. ”There aren't that many of them.”
They lost sight of the Beaver as it landed, but it quickly appeared on a taxi-way headed for them.
”Open the doors, Sergeant,” McCoy ordered.
Five Marines grunted as they slid open the hangar doors.
The Beaver stopped before the open doors and shut down the engine. Lieutenant Colonel D. J. Vandenburg and Major Alex Donald climbed down from the c.o.c.kpit. The Marines and all the officers pushed it into the hangar. Before they were finished, an L-19 taxied up, shut down its engine, and was pushed into the hangar by the two officers in it. The doors were closed with a loud screeching noise.
”The good news,” Lieutenant Colonel Vandenburg said to Majors McCoy and Dunston, ”is that-obviously-I was able to make good on my promise to try to get us a Beaver and an L-19. The bad news is that that particular Beaver was supposed to go to the Eighth Army commander, and I think we have to count on General Walker making a serious-one might even say furious-effort to get it back.”
”Ouch,” McCoy said.
”If we can keep General Walker, or his people, from getting their hands on it-or us-for three, four days, a week, I think they'll probably be able to get him another one, and the furor will die down. But until then . . .”
”You have any ideas how we can do that?” McCoy asked.
”As a matter of fact, Major Donald and I did discuss the problem on the way up here,” Vandenburg said, smiling.
”All suggestions gratefully received, Colonel,” Dunston said, smiling.
”Since we can't hide the Beaver, I suggest we camouflage it,” Vandenburg said, a little smugly.
”I don't follow you, sir.”
”We change the tail number,” Vandenburg said. ”They will be looking for . . .” He looked up at the Beaver. ”. . . 507179. We change that to, say, 507167. General Walker's Beaver is now invisible.”
”Very clever,” McCoy said.
”We landed here as Army five zero mumble mumble mumble,” Donald said. ”When they asked me to 'say again,' I blew into the microphone. I figured that might buy us a little time.”
”Only a little,” Vandenburg said. ”I think General Walker's pilot was on the horn to him before we took off from Pusan. It won't take them long to figure out we're the airplane Walker is looking for.”
”And there are problems with painting new tail numbers,” Donald said. ”It can't be done in fifteen minutes, even if we had somebody to do it, and the paint to do it with. There's paint in the mechanics' tool kits, but they're at Socho-Ri.”
”Then we'll have to change them at Socho-Ri,” McCoy said. ”Why can't we just take off now and tell the tower we're headed for the Race Track?”
”And never land there, you mean?” Donald asked.
McCoy nodded.
”If the Race Track tower asks questions, I'll think of something to mumble,” Donald said. ”But we don't have enough fuel to make it to Socho-Ri. We're going to have to refuel the airplanes.”
”Sergeant,” McCoy said to Staff Sergeant Klegger, ”isn't there a trailer of AvGas here?”
”Yes, sir. Two, each with five hundred gallons.”
”Drag one of them in here, and get started refueling these airplanes,” McCoy ordered.
”Aye, aye, sir.”
”And then get ready to move out,” McCoy went on. ”Mr. Zimmerman left you maps so that you can drive to Socho-Ri, right?”
”Yes, sir.”
”As soon after the airplanes take off as you can, you get going.”
”Aye, aye, sir.”
”Bill, can you stay with them until they're out of Seoul?” McCoy asked Dunston. ”Get them through roadblocks?”
”Sure. You're going with them?”
”Yeah. I want to show Colonel Vandenburg what we have at Socho-Ri, and the sooner we can put the L-19 to work conducting our own search for Pickering, the better. ”
The hangar door screeched open wide enough to admit a tanker trailer.
[SIX].
8023D TRANSPORTATION COMPANY (DEPOT, FORWARD) INCHON, SOUTH KOREA 1425 8 OCTOBER 1950.
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