Death and Honor Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  I

  [ONE] - Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo Near Pila Buenos Aires Province, ...

  [TWO]

  II

  [ONE] - The Reich Chancellery Berlin, Germany 1230 23 June 1943

  [TWO] - Office of the Director Office of Strategic Services National Institutes ...

  [THREE]

  [FOUR] - El Palomar Air Field Campo de Mayo Military Base Buenos Aires ...

  [FIVE] - Suite 407 Alvear Palace Hotel Avenida Alvear 1891 Buenos Aires, ...

  III

  [ONE] - Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo Near Pila, Buenos Aires Province ...

  [TWO]

  [THREE] - Casa Núrmero Veintidós Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo Near Pila, ...

  IV

  [ONE] - Aboard the Motor Vessel Ciudad de Cádiz 48 Degrees 85 Minutes South ...

  [TWO] - Aboard U-boat 405 48 Degrees 85 Minutes South Latitude 59 Degrees 45 ...

  [THREE] - Third Floor Lounge Hipódromo de San Isidro Buenos Aires Province, ...

  [FOUR] - The Office of the Reichsführer-SS Berlin, Germany 2255 7 July 1943

  V

  [ONE] - Tempelhof Airfield Berlin, Germany 0725 8 July 1943

  [TWO] - Office of the Managing Director Banco de Inglaterra y Argentina ...

  [THREE] - El Palomar Airfield Buenos Aires, Argentina 1605 12 July 1943

  [FOUR] - The Embassy of the German Reich Avenue Córdoba Buenos Aires, Argentina ...

  [FIVE] - Estancia Santa Catalina Near Pila, Buenos Aires Province 2215 12 July 1943

  [SIX]

  VI

  [ONE] - Office of the Director Office of Strategic Services National Institutes ...

  [TWO] - Embassy of the German Reich Avenida Córdoba Buenos Aires, Argentina ...

  [THREE] - Office of the Commercial Attaché Embassy of the German Reich Avenida ...

  [FOUR] - Office of Ethical Standards, Bureau of Internal Security Ministry of ...

  [FIVE] - Office of the Military Attaché Embassy of the German Reich Avenida ...

  [SIX] - Army Security Agency Facility Vint Hill Farms Station Near Warrenton, ...

  VII

  [ONE] - Office of the Commercial Attaché Embassy of the German Reich Avenida ...

  [TWO] - Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo Near Pila Buenos Aires Province, ...

  [THREE] - Office of the Ambassador Embassy of the German Reich Avenida Córdoba ...

  [FOUR] - Diplomatic Liaison Section Foreign Ministry of the Republic of ...

  [FIVE] - El Palomar Airfield Campo de Mayo Military Base Buenos Aires Province, ...

  [SIX] - Near Olavarría Buenos Aires Province, Argentina 1540 14 July 1943

  [SEVEN] - Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo Near Pila Buenos Aires Province, ...

  VIII

  [ONE] - Aboard Varig Flight 525 Above Durazno, Uruguay 1505 17 July 1943

  [TWO] - Canoas Air Base Pôrto Alegre, Brazil 1935 17 July 1943

  [THREE] - Plaza Pôrto Alegre Hotel Pôrto Alegre, Brazil 0830 18 July 1943

  [FOUR] - El Palomar Airfield Campo de Mayo Military Base Buenos Aires Province, ...

  IX

  [ONE] - Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo Near Pila Buenos Aires Province, ...

  [TWO] - Estancia Casa Chica Near Tandil Buenos Aires Province, Argentina 2015 ...

  [THREE] - Estancia Casa Chica Near Tandil Buenos Aires Province, Argentina 0650 ...

  [FOUR] - Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo Near Pila Buenos Aires Province, ...

  [FIVE] - Estancia Santa Catalina Near Pila Buenos Aires Province, Argentina ...

  X

  [ONE] - Aeropuerto Coronel Jorge G. Frade Morón, Buenos Aires Province, ...

  [TWO] - Aeropuerto de El Palomar Buenos Aires Province, Argentina 1030 22 July 1943

  [THREE] - Canoas Air Base Pôrto Alegre, Brazil 1305 22 July 1943

  [FOUR] - Office of the Commanding General U.S. Army Air Forces Establishment ...

  [FIVE] - Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo Near Pila Buenos Aires Province, ...

  [SIX] - Office of the Director Office of Strategic Services National Institutes ...

  XI

  [ONE] - Office of the Commercial Attaché Embassy of the German Reich Avenida ...

  [TWO] - El Palomar Airfield Campo de Mayo Military Base Buenos Aires Province, ...

  [THREE] - Near Necochea Buenos Aires Province, Argentina 1415 23 July 1943

  [FOUR] - 38 Degrees 26 Minutes South Latitude 58 Degrees 59 Minutes West ...

  [FIVE] - Near Necochea Buenos Aires Province, Argentina 1705 23 July 1943

  [SIX]

  [SEVEN] - Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo Near Pila Buenos Aires Province, ...

  XII

  [ONE] - Office of the Director Office of Strategic Services National Institutes ...

  [TWO] - Office of the Managing Director Banco de Inglaterra y Argentina ...

  [THREE] - Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo Near Pila Buenos Aires Province, ...

  [FOUR] - 4730 Avenida del Libertador Buenos Aires, Argentina 2030 31 July 1943

  XIII

  [ONE] - Office of the Director Office of Strategic Services National Institutes ...

  [TWO] - Lockheed Air Terminal Burbank, California 1805 4 August 1943

  [THREE] - The Chateau Marmont 8221 Sunset Boulevard Hollywood, California 1950 ...

  [FOUR]

  XIV

  [ONE] - Grand Reception Room Embassy of France Cerrito 1399, Buenos Aires, ...

  [TWO] - The Chateau Marmont 8221 Sunset Boulevard Hollywood, California 0905 5 ...

  [THREE] - Lockheed Air Terminal Burbank, California 0935 5 August 1943

  [FOUR] - Jackson Army Air Base Jackson, Mississippi 1745 5 August 1943

  [FIVE] - Officers’ Club Jackson Army Air Base Jackson, Mississippi 1745 5 ...

  XV

  [ONE] - Senior German Officer Prisoner of War Detention Facility Camp Clinton, ...

  [TWO]

  [THREE]

  [FOUR] - Bolling Air Force Base Washington, D.C. 1730 6 August 1943

  [FIVE] - Bolling Air Force Base Washington, D.C. 2205 6 August 1943

  XVI

  [ONE] - Aeropuerto El Alto La Paz, Bolivia 1230 11 August 1943

  [TWO] - Canoas Air Base Pôrto Alegre, Brazil 2135 11 August 1943

  [THREE] - Estancia San Pedro y San Pablo Near Pila Buenos Aires Province, ...

  [FOUR] - Aeropuerto Coronel Jorge G. Frade Morón, Buenos Aires Province, ...

  [FIVE] - 4730 Avenida Libertador Buenos Aires, Argentina 1515 12 August 1943

  AUTHOR NOTE

  ALSO BY W. E. B. GRIFFIN

  HONOR BOUND

  HONOR BOUND

  BLOOD AND HONOR

  SECRET HONOR

  BROTHERHOOD OF WAR

  BOOK I: THE LIEUTENANTS

  BOOK II: THE CAPTAINS

  BOOK III: THE MAJORS

  BOOK IV: THE COLONELS

  BOOK V: THE BERETS

  BOOK VI: THE GENERALS

  BOOK VII: THE NEW BREED

  BOOK VIII: THE AVIATORS

  BOOK IX: SPECIAL OPS

  THE CORPS

  BOOK I: SEMPER FI

  BOOK II: CALL TO ARMS

  BOOK III: COUNTERATTACK

  BOOK IV: BATTLEGROUND

  BOOK V: LINE OF FIRE

  BOOK VI: CLOSE COMBAT

  BOOK VII: BEHIND THE LINES

  BOOK VIII: IN DANGER’S PATH

  BOOK IX: UNDER FIRE

  BOOK X: RETREAT, HELL!

  PRESIDENTIAL AGENT

  BOOK I: BY ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT

  BOOK II: THE HOSTAGE

  BOOK III : THE HUNTERS

  BOOK IV: THE SHOOTERS
<
br />   BADGE OF HONOR

  BOOK I: MEN IN BLUE

  BOOK II: SPECIAL OPERATIONS

  BOOK III: THE VICTIM

  BOOK IV: THE WITNESS

  BOOK V: THE ASSASSIN

  BOOK VI: THE MURDERERS

  BOOK VII: THE INVESTIGATORS

  BOOK VIII: FINAL JUSTICE

  MEN AT WAR

  BOOK I : THE LAST HEROES

  BOOK II: THE SECRET WARRIORS

  BOOK III: THE SOLDIER SPIES

  BOOK IV: THE FIGHTING AGENTS

  BOOK V: THE SABOTEURS

  (with William E. Butterworth IV)

  BOOK VI: THE DOUBLE AGENTS

  (with William E. Butterworth IV)

  G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

  Publishers Since 1838

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA • Penguin

  Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division

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  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Copyright © 2008 by W.E.B. Griffin

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  Published simultaneously in Canada

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Griffin, W.E.B.

  Death and honor / W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV.

  p. cm.

  eISBN : 978-0-399-15498-0

  1. United States. Marine Corps—Fiction. 2. World War, 1939-1945—Fiction.

  I. Butterworth, William E. (William Edmund). II. Title.

  PS3557.R489137D

  813’.54—dc22

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  While the authors have made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the authors assume any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  IN LOVING MEMORY OF

  Colonel José Manuel Menéndez,

  Cavalry, Argentine Army, Retired

  He spent his life fighting Communism and Juan Domingo Perón.

  PROLOGUE

  Historians now generally agree that the tides of war had begun to turn against the German-Japanese-Italian alliance, “The Axis,” in the spring and summer of 1943.

  From the American perspective, the war had begun with a series of humiliating defeats. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 saw most of the battleships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet either lying on the bottom or so seriously damaged as to be out of action for the foreseeable future. The next day, the Japanese attack on the Philippine Islands destroyed half of General Douglas MacArthur’s air force.

  Before the month was out, MacArthur was forced to declare Manila an open city and retreat to the Bataan Peninsula and the island fortress of Corregidor. On 23 December, Wake Island fell to the Japanese. Two days later, the British forces in Hong Kong surrendered.

  President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to Australia. MacArthur arrived 20 March 1942, delivered his famous “I Shall Return” speech, then learned there were only thirty-four thousand soldiers in Australia and very little supplies.

  On 18 April 1942, Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle led a small flight of B-25 “Mitchell” medium bombers in a raid on Tokyo. They took off from an aircraft carrier on what most of them considered a suicide mission, knowing the actual damage they could do was minimal, but that some victory—almost any victory—against the Japanese was necessary to prevent despair among the American people.

  The exultation of the American people when they learned of the raid was short-lived. Just over two weeks later, on 6 May 1942, Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright was forced to surrender all U.S. forces in the Philippines. It was the largest surrender in American history.

  In early July, MacArthur learned that the Japanese were about to build an air base on Guadalcanal, in the Solomon Islands. If the base was built, the Japanese could both attack Australia and interdict supply of Australia by sea.

  Less than a month later, on 7 August 1942, the just-formed, ill-prepared First Marine Division, which had not planned to go into combat for another year, landed on Guadalcanal. The desperate action almost failed. On 9 August, after losing the cruisers USS Vincennes and USS Quincy and the Australian cruiser HMAS Canberra at the Battle of Savo Island, the invasion fleet was withdrawn. It took with it the Marines’ heavy artillery, most of the supplies it had planned to put ashore, and even a large number of Marines.

  The Marines who remained ashore were on their own. Firing ammunition made for World War I and living off of captured Japanese rations, they not only held on but began to clear the island of Japanese. The airfield the Japanese had been building was captured, finished, and named Henderson Field to honor a heroic Marine pilot. Australia was now safe.

  On 17 August, a small group of Marines—one of whom was a son of President Roosevelt—of the Marine Second Raider Battalion staged an attack on Makin Island. The short-lived raid was a success not so much for what it accomplished in destroying Japanese supplies, but because it meant the Japanese, fearful of other submarine-launched Marine raids, would have to divert large numbers of troops to protect the islands they had captured.

  America, having licked its wounds, was now slowly starting to fight successfully, even in the Japanese-occupied Philippines: On 1 October 1942, a reserve lieutenant colonel named Wendell W. Fertig, who could not bring himself to obey Wainwright’s order to surrender, pinned homemade stars to his collar points and nailed a proclamation to a tree announcing that Brigadier General Fertig was assuming command of U.S. forces in the Philippines. Large numbers of similarly minded Americans and Filipinos quickly joined him.

  On the other side of the world, in the early fall of 1942, the German army was locked in an enormous battle with the Soviet Union at Stalingrad, and the English were fighting the Afrikakorps under General Erwin Rommel, who threatened to overrun Egypt and with it the critically needed Suez Canal.

  The American contribution to that part of the war initially was trying to supply its allies, especially the Soviet Union, which could not win at Stalingrad without a massive infusion of American supplies—everything from aircraft, tanks, and ammunition to food.

  The German navy fought this effort by intercepting the supply convoys with hunter packs of submarines. They operated in the North Atlantic near Europe, in the North Atlantic off the coast of the United States, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the South Atlantic near Argentina and Brazil.

  New York and other cities on our eastern seaboard were blacked out primarily so that cargo sh
ips would not be silhouetted against bright lights, making them easier targets for the submarines. This had a further, unexpected result. The citizens of these blacked-out cities could see red glows on the horizon as American cargo ships bound for Europe were either torpedoed or shelled, set afire, and sent to the bottom.

  The Americans got into combat in North Africa in November 1942. The original action—heavy combat—was not, however, against the Germans. It was against the French.

  Although many Americans believed—and the Office of War Information tried to convince them—that the U.S. Army would be welcomed in French North Africa, others were far from sure about that.

  They remembered that in 1940 many French had cried “Better Hitler Than Blum,” making reference to a French socialist politician. They knew there were large numbers of French who believed Germany was probably going to win the war, and that the Germans were having little trouble in finding Frenchmen to volunteer for the Charlemagne Legion of the SS.

  The Germans had permitted most of the French fleet—a potentially formidable force—to sail to the then-French protectorate of Casablanca, Morocco, where it and French army and air forces in North Africa remained armed and under French command, subject only to the supervision of a small number of Germans in the Armistice Commission. The French fleet, if so inclined, or pressured by the Germans, could hamper—or even deny—British and American passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean.

  Agents of the United States Office of Strategic Services (OSS) sent to North Africa undercover as consular officers reported that while they had had some success in establishing contact with French officers and convincing many of them that France and the United States had a common interest in defeating Nazi Germany, they had by no means convinced all of them.

  The Americans, under the command of Major General George S. Patton, hoped of course to put the troops of Operation Torch ashore in Morocco without having to fight to do so. The plan called for a force of nine thousand men to land north of Port Lyautry, north of Casablanca, to take the airport. Simultaneously, an eighteen-thousand-man force with eighty tanks would land at Fedela, and a third force of six thousand men and one hundred tanks would land at Safi and march on Casablanca from the south.