Edge of Valor Read online

  Edge of Valor is the fifth thriller by John J. Gobbell featuring the World War II exploits of Cdr. Todd Ingram, commanding officer of the destroyer USS Maxwell (DD 525) who saves his ship when it is hit by a kamikaze off Okinawa. For repairs, the ship pulls into Kerama Rhetto, Okinawa, where the men receive news of the war’s end. Ingram expects to be shipped home like the rest of his crew but instead receives orders to fly to Manila, where he is met by Brig. Gen. Otis Dewitt, an Army buddy from his days on Corregidor who is now an intelligence aide to Gen. Richard K. Sutherland, chief of staff to General MacArthur. On Ingram’s C-54 are sixteen Japanese senior military and civilian diplomats who meet with Sutherland to discuss formal surrender arrangements. Two days later the terms are settled and Ingram is working with one of the Japanese delegates to ensure that mines laid in Tokyo Bay are neutralized, allowing for safe passage of more than two hundred Allied ships. While Ingram is promised that he can attend the surrender ceremony on board the USS Missouri (BB 63), DeWitt, in concert with the State Department, has an ulterior motive and sends Ingram to Karafuto (Sakhalin Island, according to Soviet maps) to defuse a Soviet attack on Hokkaido, the northernmost home island of Japan. Ingram’s old adversary, Edward Dezhnev, is the brigade commander responsible for laying siege to a Japanese holdout garrison in Toro, a natural jumping-off place for an attack on Hokkaido..

  Also in Toro, DeWitt explains, is Walter Boring, a Red Cross representative holding two crates of overwhelming photographic evidence of Japan’s experiments on live human beings in China. Ingram is expected to return with those crates, but how can he when Boring is being protected by the Japanese garrison in Toro, where Dezhnev and his troops stand ready to overpower them at any moment?

  As his shipmates prepare to return to their loved ones, Ingram’s war continues. Three weeks earlier he had been fighting the Japanese, and the Russians were supposed to be friends. Now he doesn’t know who to trust.

  Novels by John J. Gobbell

  A Call to Colors

  (Todd Ingram series)

  Edge of Valor

  The Neptune Strategy

  When Duty Whispers Low

  A Code for Tomorrow

  The Last Lieutenant

  The Brutus Lie

  This book has been brought to publication with the generous assistance of Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest.

  Naval Institute Press

  291 Wood Road

  Annapolis, MD 21402

  © 2014 by John J. Gobbell

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Gobbell, John J.

  Edge of valor : a Todd Ingram novel / John J. Gobbell.

  1 online resource.

  Summary: “Edge of Valor is the fifth thriller by John J. Gobbell featuring the World War II exploits of Cdr. Todd Ingram. As commanding officer of the destroyer USS Maxwell, Ingram must save his ship when it is hit by a kamikaze on the last day of the war. After the war’s end, Brig. Gen. Otis Dewitt, an Army buddy from Corregidor and now an intelligence aide on MacArthur’s staff, takes Ingram to Manila on the same aircraft as sixteen Japanese diplomats. MacArthur’s staff and the Japanese envoys negotiate the terms for Japan’s surrender. DeWitt and the State Department then send Ingram to Sakhalin Island to defuse a Soviet attack on Hokkaido, where Ingram’s old adversary, Edward Dezhnev, is the commander laying siege to a Japanese command in Toro. Also on Toro is Walter Boring, a Red Cross representative with two crates of overwhelming photographic evidence of Japan’s experiments on humans in China. Ingram must return with those crates, but Boring is guarded by the Japanese garrison in Toro and is under attack by Dezhnev. Three weeks earlier Ingram had been fighting the Japanese, and the Russians were supposedly his friends. Now, he doesn’t know who to trust”— Provided by publisher.

  Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

  ISBN 978-1-61251-520-5 (epub)1. Ingram, Todd (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. World War, 1939–1945—Naval operations, American—Fiction. 3. United States. Navy—Officers—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3557.O16

  813’.54—dc23

  2014013570

  Print editions meet the requirements of ANSI/NISO z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).

  222120191817161514987654321

  First printing

  Book design: David Alcorn, Alcorn Publication Design

  Maps created by Philip Schwartzberg, Meridian Mapping, Minneapolis.

  Dedicated to the men and women who served in the American and Allied forces during the long, and sometimes bloody, Cold War. Your contribution may have not been immediately apparent, but you did indeed prevail. Because of you, the world is a much better place. Well done.

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Cast of Characters

  Part One

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Part Two

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Part Three

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  There’s no doubt that people are the essence of it all: our friends, our relatives, our spouses and children, our bosses, teachers, coworkers, healthcare providers, casual acquaintances, even those we don’t count among our friends. They drive the engine that allows us to exercise our talents and, eventually, accomplish a goal or two—maybe even more if the good Lord is with us. I am no exception. I constantly turn to these people whether or not I’m in trouble. Their comfort and talents sustain me. Over the years they have contributed to my works in more ways than they will ever know. Among them, in no significant order are the following.

  The flying scenes were greatly enhanced by Capt. Daniel Truax, USN (Ret.), and my old friend and corsair jockey Dick Bertea, formerly a pilot for the U.S. Marine Corps. Commentary about U.S. Navy organization, tactics, and equipment came from “tin can sailor” Rear Adm. David Ramsey, USN (Ret.). An
other old friend, submariner, and fellow author, Cdr. George A. Wallace, USN (Ret.), provided kind advice as well. Yet another friend and contributor is fellow tin can sailor Terry Miller, executive director and editor of the National Association of Destroyer Veterans. A wonderful friend, yachtsman, naval aviator, and patriot, Capt. Randall J. Lynch, commanding officer of the NROTC unit at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, helped with naval customs and usage.

  When medical problems were involved, I once more turned to Dr. Russell Striff and Fred Meister, PhD. Elsewhere I received fine counsel from Bob Bailey, Robert G. Mahan, and Beverly Hills Police Chief David L. Snowden. My hat is off once again to Susan Kechekian of USC’s Department of Slavic Studies for her invaluable help with Russian translations not only here but also in the second novel of the Todd Ingram series, A Code for Tomorrow.

  Most of all, thanks to Rick Russell, director of the Naval Institute Press, whose kind commentary, suggestions, and editing provided the true engine for this work.

  As always, my wife, Janine, is not only a great editor (something I relearn every time I go through this) but also a marvelous and loving partner. None of this—and all of the wonderful events in my life—would have occurred without her.

  Also, to you, my readers thank you, and thank you, and thank you for your support, encouragement, critique, and e-mails over the years. Truly, it is you who keep me going. Please visit my website, www.JohnJGobbell.com, for commentary on my novels including photos of the actual people, places, and military equipment portrayed herein. Many of the characters in this novel appear in the previous four Todd Ingram novels. As always, mistakes herein are mine alone, many times called to my attention by your kind e-mails. Please keep it up.

  JJG

  February 2014

  Newport Beach, California

  Cast of Characters

  Note: Karafuto Island and Toro Airfield became Sakhalin Oblast and Shakhtyorsk Airfield, respectively, after the Soviets captured them in August–September 1945.

  U.S. Navy

  USS Maxwell (DD 525) (Crackerjack), attached to DESRON 77

  Cdr. Alton C. (Todd) Ingram, commanding officer

  Lt. Cdr. Eldon P. (Tubby) White, executive officer

  Lt. Thomas F. (Woody) Woodruff, operations officer

  Lt. Julian Falco, gunnery officer, main battery director

  DESRON 77

  Maxwell (flag); DesDiv 77.1, Maxwell (flag), Shaler, Bertea, and Geiler; DesDiv 77.2, Wallace (flag), Cheffer, Beaulieu, and Truax

  Capt. Jeremiah T. (Boom Boom) Landa, commodore, Destroyer Squadron 77

  Eleventh Naval District, Long Beach, California

  Cdr. Oliver P. (Ollie) Toliver III, case officer, Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI)

  Cdr. Walter (Walt) Hodges, supply officer, Long Beach Naval Station

  Other U.S. Navy Personnel

  Adm. William F. Halsey Jr., commander, Third Fleet

  Vice Adm. John S. McCain Sr., commander, Task Force 38 under Admiral Halsey

  Lt. Larry M. O’Toole, attached as Japanese-language interpreter to Manila peace talks and first Karafuto expedition

  U.S. Army

  SCAP Staff, Manila and Tokyo

  Gen. Douglas A. MacArthur, supreme commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP)

  Gen. Richard K. Sutherland, General MacArthur’s chief of staff

  Brig. Gen. Otis (n) DeWitt, aide to General Sutherland

  Col. Sydney Mashbir, Japanese-language expert and chief negotiator, Manila

  Maj. Clive W. Neidemeier, State Department liaison, Ie Shima Air Base/Atsugi Air Base

  Karafuto (Sakhalin) Expeditions

  First expedition: USAAF C-54, tail number 626384 (Hot Rod 384)

  Second expedition: USAAF C-54 744326 (Apprentice 26)

  Maj. Marvin F. (Bucky) Radcliff, pilot and aircraft commander, first expedition

  1st Lt. Leroy Telford K. Peoples, copilot, first expedition; pilot and aircraft commander, second expedition

  Capt. Jonathan L. (Jon) Berne, navigator, first and second expeditions

  2nd Lt. Richard W. Lassiter, copilot, second expedition

  Sgt. Leonard (n) Hammer, flight sergeant, engineer, first and second expeditions

  GySgt. Ulysses Gaylord (Ugly) Harper, USMC, squad leader of thirteen Marines, first expedition

  GySgt. Horace T. Boland, USMC, squad leader of thirteen Marines, second expedition

  Colin Blinde, agent, Office of Strategic Services (OSS)

  San Pedro, California

  Maj. Helen Durand Ingram, U.S. Army, Todd Ingram’s wife; floor nurse, Ward 6, Fort MacArthur Infirmary

  Emma Peabody, Todd and Helen Ingram’s next-door neighbor on South Alma Street

  Maj. Julian T. Raduga, MD, U.S. Army, psychiatrist, Fort MacArthur Infirmary

  Cpl. Eddie Bergen, patient, Ward 6, Fort MacArthur Infirmary; previously U.S. Army M-4 tanker on Okinawa

  Hollywood, California

  Laura West, pianist, NBC Symphony Orchestra, West Coast Division

  Maestro Arturo Toscanini, conductor, NBC Symphony Orchestra, West Coast Division

  Roberta Thatcher, business manager, NBC Symphony Orchestra

  Anoushka Dezhnev, Russian film star; mother of Eduard Dezhnev

  Soviets

  USSR Navy

  Captain Third Rank Eduard Ianovich Dezhnev, garrison commander, 21st Naval Regiment, Shakhtyorsk Airfield, Sakhalin Island

  Captain First Rank Gennady Kulibin, Dezhnev’s immediate superior at Shakhtyorsk Airfield, Sakhalin; later, commanding officer of the cruiser Admiral Volshkov

  NKVD (Narodnyi Kommissariat Vnutrennikh del), Soviet Secret Service, predecessor of the MGB and KGB

  Karol Dudek, Polish assassin

  Oleg Lepechn, agent, Shakhtyorsk Airfield, Sakhalin

  Matvie Borzakov, agent, Shakhtyorsk Airfield, Sakhalin

  Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN)

  Captain Shiroku Fujimoto, commander minefields of Tokyo Bay and environs

  Major Kotoku Fujimoto, commander Toro Airfield, Karafuto (Sakhalin), Imperial Japanese Marines

  International Red Cross

  Walter Frederick Boring, Geneva, Switzerland; representative assigned to the northeast Asia sector

  Greater East Asia, 1945

  Okinawa Prefecture, Ryukyu Islands, Japan, 1945

  Tokyo and Environs, 1945

  PART ONE

  At the height of a kamikaze raid off Okinawa in April 1945, Rear Adm. Arleigh Burke of the U.S. Fifth Fleet heard a voice transmission from an unidentified destroyer that had just been hit, killing all of her senior officers:

  “‘I am an ensign,’ the voice said. ‘I have been on this ship for a little while. I have been in the Navy for only a little while. I will fight this ship to the best of my ability and forgive me for the mistakes I am about to make.’”

  —E. B. Potter, Admiral Arleigh Burke

  We do not intend that the Japanese shall be enslaved as a race or destroyed as a nation; the Japanese Government shall remove all obstacles to the revival and strengthening of democratic tendencies among the Japanese people. But stern justice shall be meted out to all war criminals. . . . Freedom of speech, of religion, and of thought, as well as respect for the fundamental human rights, shall be established.

  —Potsdam Declaration, Article 5, Conference of the Allied Powers, Potsdam, Germany, July 26, 1945

  Chapter One

  9 August 1945

  USS Maxwell (DD 525), Task Force 38, North Pacific Ocean, twenty-three miles east of Hitachi, Japan

  A lonely sun hung above the Japanese coastline as if governed by its own whim—it alone would decide when to set, and to hell with nautical predictions fabricated by mere mortals. The orange-red ball cast a miasma of reds and pinks around a circular formation retiring to the east, the day’s deadly task now done. The group consisted of four cruisers and eight destroyers protecting the battleship Iowa in the center. Four F6F Hellcats, their combat air patrol, buzzed lazily overhead, watching, w
aiting.

  The setting sun made everybody nervous. Bad things happened at sunset and sunrise. The desperate Japanese were hurling kamikazes after the Third Fleet. The damage had been great; ship after ship had been taken off the line for repairs; many had been sunk. Destroyers and carriers had borne the brunt. In many cases the destroyers, the “little boys,” had been crumpled into junk as if smashed by a giant fist.

  The Maxwell was again at general quarters after a long day’s work. The crew had stood at their battle stations during sunrise. Then, during the day, Task Force 38 had moved close to the Japanese mainland and the Iowa had hurled her 16-inch, 2,000-pound projectiles eight miles inland. Her target: the industrial section of Ibaraki Prefecture, where Hitachi Industries’ electronics works were concentrated.

  The Maxwell and the rest of the task force had been close enough to pump out a few rounds as well. But as they retired for the evening the destroyers readied their 5-inch guns for the kamikazes’ deadly retribution. Gun crews struck the “common” ammunition with base-detonating fuses below into the magazines and pulled up antiaircraft projectiles with proximity fuses, stocking them in the upper handling rooms for immediate use. Now they were once again at general quarters to defend against the raid that was certain to come.

  Cdr. Todd Ingram paced his bridge, tugging at the straps on his life vest. The Maxwell had made it through so far. Whether by luck or Divine intervention or skillful fighting and maneuvering, Ingram couldn’t say. After the protracted Okinawa campaign coupled with Admiral Halsey’s triumphant bombardment of the coast of Japan, he was too tired to think about it. For the past four months he’d averaged five hours of sleep a day. Along with the rest of the crew he’d lived from meal to meal and watch to watch, becoming a near automaton.

  But over the past three days a different feeling had crept over Ingram—and, perhaps by osmosis, over the crew as well. Something awesome and horrific had happened at Hiroshima. Rumors flew around the fleet. The war could be over. Expectations of surrender grew into dreams—a good night’s sleep, a week’s worth of good night’s sleep; a thick, juicy steak; plenty of beer; and course zero-nine-zero: home. But the good news didn’t come; the pressure was still on. No sleep, no beer, no steak, no homeward trek; just more kamikazes and the incessant cracking of guns and the smell of cordite and the odor of death.