STRIKE: A Novel of the Battle of Midway by Craig DiLouie

Author:Craig DiLouie [DiLouie, Craig]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-03-10T16:00:00+00:00

30

HOMECOMING

Enterprise arrived to stadium roar.

The great aircraft carrier steamed into Pearl Harbor, where the Navy still labored to rebuild and recover its lost battleships. Nearby ships blew their whistles. The sailors crowding Ford Island’s edge took off their hats and yelled, “HIP, HIP, HOORAY.” For Harry, who stood with them to watch Mother return to port, the Big E’s legend started here, after the great Marshalls victory.

He'd flown ahead with the Bombing Six to land at Ford Island before Enterprise arrived. As usual, Curley rode in the backseat, freshly promoted—by Halsey himself for singlehandedly saving the Boat—and even more insufferable for it. The gunner was looking forward to the free drinks he’d been promised by his shipmates. A bonafide hero, he planned to trade on it as long as he could.

They’d made the hop in a spare plane, another of the new SBD-3s kept on the hangar deck. Banshee with her beautiful face and lethal scream eternally rested in her enemy’s embrace at the bottom of the Pacific.

Soon, Harry would christen his new plane and return to duty for whatever operation the Navy cooked up next for Mother.

First, he’d enjoy his liberty and some time with Gladys.

“We paid them back good,” Harry said to Frank on the wharf as Enterprise maneuvered to dock.

All told, the strikes had destroyed fifteen Japanese planes and sunk three ships and damaged several others, including the light cruiser Katori, which Harry had hit at Kwajalein. In exchange, Enterprise had lost five dive bombers and one Wildcat that had crashed right after takeoff. Three times that many planes received damage from enemy fire. When the word got around that Enterprise had lost good men, the celebrating grew far more subdued across the Boat.

A valuable lesson: Every victory carried a cost. Every win meant saying goodbye.

That’s why Harry stuck around after landing at Ford. He wanted to see the victory through the eyes of the sailors who’d lost the most.

These men had needed this win.

Frank appeared pensive. “Do you still think we’re saving lives, Harry?”

“I do.” He didn’t have to think about it.

“It’s harder to pull the trigger than I thought.”

Almost everybody in the squadron could justify killing but needed convincing their cause was worth dying over some island far from home. Frank had a harder time convincing himself of the killing.

Enterprise loomed overhead, blowing her whistle as she eased into her berth.

“I imagine it’ll get easier,” Harry said.

“That’s not a comfort. I’ll pull the trigger. I’ll do my duty. I’ll kill.” Frank grimaced. “But the day I stop being unhappy about it is the day I stop being me.”

“Every dead enemy we kill takes us closer to home. Closer to peace.”

A glum nod. “I know the math.”

Harry socked his shoulder Gladys-style. “Lighten up a little. We’re alive. That’s what’s important. If you’re unhappy, it means you aren’t dead.”

His friend chuckled. “Fair point.”

Harry regarded him and thought, And you’d better not die on me. He’d only known his squadron mates for two months, but combat and training had fused them into a tribe he’d grown to love.

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