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From aloft Brubaker followed this incredible mission and experienced a
resolute desire to be there with his commander, but the instant this thought
came to mind it was dispelled by the vision he had seen at Yokosuka: four
bridges reaching out into space far above the heads of his wife and daughters,
and he grew afraid; for he knew that tomorrow as the sun came up he would be
pushing his own overloaded Banshee down, down upon the real bridges. It was
then that the great fear came upon him, the one he would not be able to
dispel.
Then he heard Cag cry,  Well, home we go.
Ecstatically the two jets zoomed to 26,000. Far below them the savage,
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cheated mountains of Korea began to assume a beautiful countenance. Gone were
the tortured profiles and the senseless confusion, for with the bridges of
Toko-ri behind him, Brubaker saw Korea with a kindlier eye. To the north
sprawling reservoirs glistened like great brooches, holding the hills
together. To the south snow hung upon the ridge lines and made the valleys
shimmering wonderlands of beauty, while beyond the upcoming range of mountains
lay the vast blue sea, bearing somewhere upon its bosom the task force, that
fair circle of home, with Beer Barrel waiting on the after deck.
Even Cag was impressed and called,  Real estate sure looks better on the way
home.
But when they reached home there was dismal news.  You heard the hot scoop?
Harry s plane captain asked as soon as Brubaker was out of the cockpit.
 We ordered home?
 Forney and Gamidge are being sent to the barge.
 The barge? This was a scow stationed near the Korean coast, and helicopter
men with that duty lived miserably and engaged in one dangerous land mission
after another.
A destroyer moved in and the last theSavo saw of Mike Forney was when he
climbed into the bo sun s chair, green top hat, green scarf and Irishman s
pipe.  I ll send you the eighty bucks, sir, he yelled, giving the wordsir its
old infuriating touch.
Brubaker didn t care if the captain was watching. He grabbed the disgraced
man s hand and said,  Take care ofyourself , Mike. Pilots need you.
 I go for rough duty, Mike yelled, clutching his hat as the lines started to
draw him over to the destroyer. Because I really hate communists.
The chair dipped perilously toward the sea but Mike kept his legs clear.
Instinctively the pilots cheered but the Irishman yelled derisively,  You apes
go into the drink, not me!
The new helicopter pilot was an officer, a college kid and no doubt
competent, but the jet men and propeller crews knew that flying off theSavo
would be a little tougher now.
The fear that was reborn when Brubaker watched Cag dive into the valley at
Toko-ri grew all that day, augmented by the gloom of Mike Forney s dismissal
and the briefing.After dinner, in the crowded ready room, the intelligence
officer had passed around marked copies of the photographs made that morning
and said,  Take-off at 0900. By then the sun will have driven ground fog out
of the valley. Keep well south of the guns at Majon-ni. Cag, you tell them
about the approach.
Cag, cigar in mouth, said briefly,  On paper it looks like a lot of flak
concentrated here. He jabbed at the map with his right forefinger.  But it s
not accurate. We ll go in low. We ll go in three times. And we ll go in from
the east each time. When we re through, there won t be any more bridges.
There were some questions and then Cag handed them the cold dope. He held his
cigar in his left hand and said,  Marty, you take your four men in at 1000
feet to suppress flak. I ll follow with my four at 1200. Brubaker, you mop up.
Tightly Brubaker gripped the arms of his chair and fought back his fear. He
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couldn t fly this mission. He couldn t take his jet inside that blazing rim of
hills. His old bitterness at having been called back into service sneaked up
into his throat and corroded his courage. Frantically, as if afraid he might
break down before his peers, he rose and hurried out.
Stumbling down the narrow passageways of the carrier, he banged against
stanchions and bruised his shin upon the damnable hatches. Seeking out his own
room he slammed the door shut and climbed up into his bed under the steam
pipes. In uncontrolled panic, there in the dark room, he cast about for some
way to avoid the strike against the bridges.
 I ll go see the doc. I ll just walk in and announce,  I ve lost my nerve.  [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]