1945 (38 page)

With a jolt that nearly caused him to fall off the bike, he realized that he might have it within his power to end the whole war if he could get Hirohito out of his confinement and into the hands of other people who thought the way he did.

Ernest Bevin was Great Britain 's secretary of state for foreign affairs in the relatively new government of Prime Minister Clement Attlee. It seemed poignant and significant to President Truman that the heads of both the world's greatest democracies had fallen within a couple of months of each other. Franklin Roosevelt had died of a massive stroke, while Winston Churchill had been replaced by a Labour government that the British people felt was better qualified to lead them through the coming peace.

Of the three world leaders who'd forged the wartime alliance against the Nazis, only Joseph Stalin remained.

"Mr. President, I have come on a mission of great urgency, and it is imperative that we be able to speak frankly and candidly, even though that will require the stating of some unpleasant truths." Bevin chuckled. "Indeed. First let me say that I come as the representative of a country, Great Britain, that is your only true friend on this earth."

Byrnes responded quizzically, "I'm delighted that you reaffirm our alliance, but why do you state that you are our only true friend?"

Bevin nodded. "Because France, under the insufferable Charles de Gaulle, is going its own arrogant way, and the other European countries are too devastated to provide anything beyond lip-service support to you as allies. In Asia, Chiang's China is tottering and claims to be your ally for the sole reason that you provide Chiang with the material resources to fight the Japanese and the Communists. Russia, of course, is betraying you routinely."

There was overwhelming evidence that the Russians were fighting only the Chinese Nationalists, while permitting hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers to trek through Soviet lines to Korea, where the Japanese tried to slip them into either Honshu or Kyushu.

"I spoke with Ambassador Gromyko this morning in person," Truman said, "and with Molotov by phone. Both men flatly deny any complicity in the fact that the Japs are getting through to Korea. When I showed Gromyko proof that Russian ships were actually ferrying Japs to Korea, they professed shock and said it must be the actions of a deviant local commander."

Bevin arched an eyebrow. "Did you believe them?"

"Hell no, and I let Gromyko have it with both barrels." Truman laughed bitterly. "When I tried to scold Molotov, the son of a bitch hung up on me. Deviant local commander, my foot. Nobody in the Soviet Union even goes to the John without Stalin's specific permission."

Bevin relaxed slightly. "Do you accept that China is lost?"

"I don't see how it could be otherwise," Truman answered. "I've met with some congressmen who are supporters of Chiang Kai-shek and they've yelled at me that we have to do something, anything, to help Chiang, but nobody knows what that something or anything might be. Yes, Mr. Bevin, China is lost no matter what the so-called China Lobby in Congress says and wishes."

"Mr. President, distasteful though that may be, it helps bring me to the reason for my visit. The Russians are moving down the coast of China and taking over the land held by the Japanese, which includes all the major coastal cities."

Byrnes nodded. "But how does that affect Great Britain?"

"Hong Kong," Bevin stated simply.

"I see," said Marshall. "You want your empire back and you wish us to help you get it."

"Not totally," Bevin corrected. "England is emotionally, physically, and economically ruined by this war. What my government has to do for her people is to end the war as quickly as possible so that we can begin to recover before recovery is impossible. Our army and navy must be brought home and the enormous expenditure in war material must be pared down."

"And how does Hong Kong fit in this picture?" Truman asked.

"It is much more than a symbol of empire. I know that your nation hates the thought of colonial empires and has made it emphatic that you are not going to fight to reestablish European colonies, but Hong Kong is unique. It is a British city-state, albeit with a large Chinese population, that is both a symbol to my country and a place where a great number of British prisoners, civilian and military, are being detained."

Truman understood and conceded that point. "The safety of our prisoners in Japanese hands is a grave concern."

"Then you were as horrified as we were about the massacre in Kagoshima," Bevin said.

U.S. Marines had finally stormed Kagoshima City in bloody house-to-house fighting. After slogging through the charred ruins of the town, they'd found more than two hundred Allied prisoners of war who'd systematically been murdered by the Japanese before they themselves committed suicide. The prisoners' hands had been tied behind their backs and they had been beheaded.

"We have to get our prisoners back," Bevin said. "The Japs have seven or eight Dutch or Commonwealth prisoners for every one American in captivity. While we have liberated some helpless wretches in our drive through Burma, the vast majority remain in very brutal Jap hands. You were truly fortunate in that you rescued so many in the Philippines, but you know full well just how terribly they'd been treated."

Only now were the truths of the Bataan Death March and the atrocities at the Philippine camps such as Cabanatuan being accurately assessed. The kindest camps were those where the inmates were merely overworked, beaten, and starved. At others, these were combined with torture, hideous experiments, and ritual murder. Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma had commanded the Japs in the Philippines at the time of Bataan and was one of the leading candidates to be hanged after the war. Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, who currently led the ragged remnants of the Japanese army in the hills of Luzon, was another.

"So what do you want?" Truman asked.

"As I stated, Hong Kong. We wish your support in taking it. I'll be candid. If we do not get it, we may have to consider making a separate peace with the Japanese. It is that important to us."

"Just how do you plan to use our support to take the city?" General Marshall asked.

"At their current pace, we estimate that the Russians will be in Hong Kong in four months, six at the latest. The Soviet thrust does seem to be running out of steam, but it is still pushing southward.

"We wish to detach our task force from your Pacific fleet and use it to support a relief expedition. That Royal Navy force includes four battleships, five carriers, and a number of cruisers and destroyers. We also have three divisions training to invade Honshu as part of Operation Coronet. We need American transports to take those three divisions to Hong Kong and help land them in sufficient time to retake the city and forestall its takeover by the Communists. Let's be honest, gentlemen. America neither needs nor particularly wants Great Britain's participation in the coming invasion."

"General MacArthur may not have wanted your help," Marshall said, "but General Bradley absolutely does. And I know that your small but heavily armored carriers are almost impervious to Japanese kamikaze attacks, which makes them immensely valuable at this time."

"When?" Truman asked, cutting off Marshall .

"In sixty days. Ninety at the most. If the Reds get wind of our intentions, they will expedite their march down the coast. We must get there first and leave the Russians outside Hong Kong."

Marshall was concerned. "Mr. President, we are planning the invasion of Honshu in a little more than three months. Because of the losses we've taken from the kamikazes and weather, we have barely enough transports now to complete our plans. If we skim off enough to take three divisions and their supplies to Hong Kong, I don't think they can be back to their staging areas in time. The invasion will have to be postponed."

"Or accelerated," Truman said softly, and watched as Marshall's face registered astonishment. "Here is what we will do," Truman said, turning back to Bevin. "General Marshall and General Bradley will determine whether we can land on Honshu sooner rather than later and free up the shipping. I agree with you, the war must be ended. The United States is growing wearier of this war far more quickly than I ever dreamed."

News of the existence of a list of prisoners had caused many relatives of missing Americans to hope for the best. Some had marched in the streets in favor of an end to the war. So far, they were a vocal minority, but Truman knew that another disaster like the
Queen Elizabeth
or the massacre at Kagoshima would increase their numbers to where they would be a force to be reckoned with.

Truman leaned forward and smiled in Bevin's face. "Now let's discuss the price of our cooperation."

Bevin laughed. "What do you want?"

"Britain will immediately support the idea of a homeland for Jews in Palestine and begin to act on that support."

Bevin pretended surprise. He had expected this sort of quid pro quo. "That is contrary to our current policy and will outrage the Arabs."

Truman smiled. "I don't give a damn about the Arabs. Congressional elections are coming in less than a year and presidential elections in two years after that. I wish to be reelected and so do you. My party represents an international focus, while the Republicans still harbor a large number of isolationists. Think about it. Who is more likely to be present with you in Europe to confront the Russians: Tom Dewey or me? The Republicans are against communism and Dewey is fairly forward-thinking, but other Republicans, Vandenberg for instance, would rather fight the Reds on the coasts of New Jersey. I am certain you would rather we confront them on the Elbe in Germany.

"Mr. Bevin, there are very few Arabs in America, and those who are here aren't particularly political, but there are many, many Jews. American Jews normally vote for my party, the Democrats. Giving in to the legitimate aspirations of European Jews for a homeland and keeping your earlier promises about it being in Palestine will help me get elected in '48. It's just that simple. You want Hong Kong and I want Palestine. If you agree, we will assist you in three months, not sooner. That might just give us time to invade Honshu and swing a sufficient number of transports south with your warships. Do we have an agreement?"

Bevin calculated his losses. The hell with both the Jews and the Arabs, he thought. More than either, Britain needed Hong Kong, and three months should be more than sufficient time. Even though most Englishmen knew that the days of empire were over, they wanted England to be the country making the decisions and setting the terms that would free her colonies. Fortunately, it was a myth that Great Britain was economically dependent on places such as Hong Kong and India. She wasn't.

Bevin conceded. "All right, but there are many Jews who do not wish to go to Palestine and instead wish to come to America. These you will take. Also, the opening of Palestine to Jewish immigration must be done in such a way that the Arabs will see your country as pushing and bullying us into doing it and thereby hate the United States and not us. We are dependent on their oil and need their goodwill to make it back economically. You may never be able to get petroleum from the Arabs in the future, however."

"That's acceptable," Truman said. In the world of politics, forever never occurred. Regardless of the rhetoric and the passion, today's enemies could easily become tomorrow's allies and vice versa. "The Arabs can keep their damned oil. We have more than enough for our needs."

The commander of 528th's 1st Battalion, Maj. Jimmy Lee Redwald, was a little too flamboyant in his dress and mannerisms for Brig. Gen. John Monck's personal taste. Redwald casually ignored the unwritten prohibition on looking too much like an officer while in a combat area. His fatigues were always clean and pressed, and his boots shined. Since Redwald didn't have the rank to have anyone available as a valet, Monck presumed that the major did the laundry and spit-shining himself. Monck could think of several better ways to spend an evening.

Redwald also kept his major's insignia on the front of his helmet, although he did not use the shiny brass that would have drawn sniper fire from all across Japan. The major was infatuated with what he'd heard and read about the hard-driving George Patton in Europe. On occasion, Monck had reminded Redwald that Patton operated farther behind the front lines than a mere major did and was less likely to draw enemy fire. That little fact did not appear to impress the lanky Oklahoman.

On the positive side, Major Redwald's battalion was well run and the men seemed to respect their commander while tolerating his attempt at being colorful with quiet amusement. On balance, there were a lot worse officers and not that many better.

What the hell, Monck thought as he, Parker, Redwald, and Monck's driver drove toward Redwald's command post with their guard vehicles ahead and behind them. If being a show-off works for Redwald, who cares. "Jimmy Lee, who's this boy you're putting up for the Medal?"

"Didn't you get my report, General?"

"Of course I did and it reads quite well. But they all do, don't they? I know what it says, but what does it mean? Did he really dive on that grenade to save others, or was it some kind of fluke? As much as I'd like to have a Medal of Honor awarded to one of my men, the Medal's a precious thing and I want to know what's right before I endorse the report and send it on to division."

Monck's endorsement was but one of many steps before a Medal of Honor could be awarded to the dead medic, while a lack of an approval would kill it.

"I've been wondering that same thing since Ruger forwarded Lieutenant Morrell's report to me with his endorsement," Redwald said. "All I can say is no one really knows what went on in that poor boy's mind when he saw that grenade lying in front of him. Was he really trying to save his men or did he think he could smother it and save himself? Maybe he just plain stumbled while trying to get out of the way and fell on it despite himself. I really don't know and no one else does either. The only thing I do know is that the Wills boy is dead and two wounded men aren't, and all as a result of his actions. Ask the two wounded boys and they'll say Wills was Jesus Christ himself."