Leigh Ann looked perplexed. "What do you mean by that?"
As they reached the sidewalk, Brad stepped around her to be next to the curb. "I think," Brad said, saluting a navy lieutenant commander, "that Senator Kerwin is one of a number of influential people who are concerned about the prosecution of this war. How it's being managed or, more to the point, mismanaged." Brad glanced at Leigh Ann. "They're trying to sort out the lies that cover the duplicity that conceals the falsehoods."
Hugging his arm, Leigh Ann looked up. "Are you free to go — to leave town?"
"Absolutely. I was simply cannon fodder."
"You are not cannon fodder," she admonished, placing her arm around his waist. "Where shall we go?"
"Well," Brad chuckled, "technically, I should return to San Diego, but what the hell. My career is down the tube, and I'm probably a terminal captain."
She smiled coyly. "What are you suggesting, Captain Terminal?"
"How about if we stop at Lake Tahoe, en route to San Diego?" "I'd love to," she laughed mischievously. "We could stop in Las Vegas, and get married."
Wide-eyed, Brad came to a halt and looked at Leigh Ann. She burst out laughing. "I'm kidding. Just a little humor, flyboy."
Then they were both surprised to hear a voice behind them. "Captain Austin, is that you?"
They turned around to see the lieutenant commander they had just passed. He was walking toward them.
Brad came to attention, saluted again, and said, "Yes, sir." A questioning look crossed Brad's face.
"You don't know me, but I'm Lou Metcalf of the Navy's Congressional Liaison staff. I was hoping to catch you before you left the hearing. I've been asked to tell you that the CNO, acting on Senator Kerwin's request, has directed the Marine Commandant to write you up for a Silver Star for your gallantry in combat. It will be presented to you in San Diego when you arrive there."
"Pardon me, Commander," Brad stammered, "but I'm confused. I wouldn't think that the Navy would want me around after this debacle and the testimony I just gave."
"Not at all," Metcalf replied. "You are exactly the kind of aggressive aviator that the CNO and Commandant really want. You'll be reassigned to the Marines in Da Nang to complete your tour. After that, who knows?" Metcalf smiled. "But, I'll bet you can write your next orders after this tour in Vietnam. Just try not to get killed or captured."
Leigh Ann was listening intently. She looked straight at Metcalf. "What's the Silver Star?"
"Your guy just earned the nation's third-highest award for valor."
Brad shook Metcalf's hand, almost pulling his arm from its socket, then he engulfed Leigh Ann in an immense bear hug. "Leigh Ann, under the circumstances, we had better bypass Tahoe and go straight to San Diego."
Filled with pride and relief, Leigh Ann nodded yes. "Things," Brad smiled, "have a different tint all of a sudden." Metcalf grinned and shook his head as he watched the happy young couple rush hand in hand to the taxi stand.
EPILOGUE:
Following extensive hearings during August 1967, the Senate Armed Services Committee came to the conclusion that the Vietnam air war had not achieved its objectives. The finding did not attribute the lack of success to the inability or impotence of air power.
The committee discovered that the fragmentation of our air might was caused by overly restrictive controls, limitations, and the doctrine of gradualism forced on our combined aviation resources.
The restrictions prevented the flight crews from waging the air campaign in the manner, and according to the timetable, which would have achieved the maximum results.
Shortly after the Senate Armed Services Committee arrived at its conclusion, Secretary of Defense Robert Strange McNamara left the Pentagon. President Lyndon Baines Johnson, on March 31, 1968, announced that he would neither seek nor accept renomination.
GLOSSARY
AAA — Antiaircraft artillery, also known as triple-A. Rapid-firing cannons or machine guns, often aimed by radar and computers.
ACM — Air combat maneuvering. Two or more fighter pilots engaged in aerial combat.
Afterburner — Also known as burner. Jet-thrust augmentation by injecting raw fuel into the engine.
Air Boss — Air officer responsible for all hangar and flight-deck operations.
Alert Five — Fighter aircraft armed, fueled, and manned. Ready to launch in five minutes.
Alpha Strike — All-out carrier air-wing attack.
Annunciator Panel — Display lights that warn a pilot about aircraft cautionary or emergency situations.
Atoll — NATO code name for Soviet-manufactured heat-seeking air-to-air missile.
Ball — The optical landing device on an aircraft carrier. Also referred to as "meatball."
Bandits — Enemy aircraft.
BARCAP — Barrier combat air patrol. Used to protect vessels at sea.
Barrel Roll — Air combat maneuver for achieving an advantage over an adversary.
Barricade — Safety net of nylon webbing used to stop aircraft unable to make a carrier-arrested landing.
Bingo — The amount of fuel needed to divert to a shore base.
Blue Water Operations — Carrier flight operations beyond the range of land bases.
Bogie — Unidentified or enemy aircraft.
Bolter — Carrier landing attempt in which the tail hook misses the arresting wire, necessitating a go-around.
Bow — Front of the ship.
Break — A hard turn to avoid a missile. Also known as pitchout-break over an airfield or carrier (ninety-degree knife-edge turn to position the aircraft for landing).
Bridge — Command post in the superstructure of a ship. Bulkhead Naval terminology for a wall.
CAG — Commander of the air group; oversees all aircraft squadrons embarked on a carrier.
CAP — Combat air patrol.
CATCC — Carrier Air Traffic Control Center (Cat-see).
Check Six — Refers to visual observation behind an aircraft. Fighter pilots must check behind them constantly to ensure that enemy aircraft are not in an attack position.
CIC — Combat Information Center. Central battle-management post in naval surface ships.
CINCPAC — Commander in chief of Pacific Fleet.
COD — Carrier on-board delivery aircraft. Used to transfer cargo and personnel to and from shore installations and the carrier.
Combat Spread — Tactical fighter formation, providing mutual support for the flight leader and the wingman.
Dash Two — Second plane in a two-aircraft section; the wingman. Departure Refers to an aircraft departing from controlled flight.
Dixie Station — Position in the Gulf of Tonkin, off South Vietnam, used for carrier air strikes into North Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
EOD — Explosive ordnance detachment.
Feet Dry/Wet — Pilot radio call indicating a position over land/ water.
FOD — Foreign-object damage to a jet engine.
Fox One/Two/Three — Pilot radio calls indicating the firing of a Sparrow (One), Sidewinder (Two), or Phoenix (Three) missile.
Furball — Multiaircraft fighter engagement.