“You know, I never believed we could actually do things that fast. You and your people have done a great job,” the President said.
“Just didn’t want to get the boot like the guy before me,” Johnson said. “But you got to give some credit to this guy,” he said pointing to Butler, “and Roger Hammond. Hammond has been working so close with my staff that we feel like we needed to give him a bed in my office.” The men chuckled.
“He has one in the basement of the White House,” said Butler. “He didn’t have any place to go and didn’t want to be far away from work, so we let him have one of the small apartments down there. The Air Force liaison is down there too. It’s not so bad.”
“Well, if he wants anything, I’d get it for him. The man is one smart officer. His ideas are right on target and his thinking outside the box is paying off big time,” said Johnson. “If you get tired of him, let me have him. And this one too,” Johnson said pointing to Butler.
“You Navy guys — always thinking about yourselves. I finally get a Chief of Staff that people aren’t afraid of and you want to drag him away,” the President said. They all laughed.
“Actually, I’m really liking this job. How often does a captain get to push around admirals?” Butler smirked.
“See if that gets you a command at sea,” the Admiral laughed.
“Well, I tell you gentlemen, after a few changes, I am really happy with the way things are going. These guys started a war and they have no idea what is about to hit them. You guys are helping make that happen,” the President said.
“That’s our job, sir. Sometimes a few of us need to get our butts kicked to remember it, but it really is our job. We’ll get it done,” Johnson said.
The men talked a few minutes more before the President met with the Secretary of Commerce on some business issues they would discuss in California. The rest of the flight was enjoyable.
“Ladies and gentlemen I cannot express the admiration and deep respect you have from all of us in Washington. As you can imagine, we are working very hard to assemble the assets, people, and materials necessary to combat the nation responsible for this outrage. Yet your city took the bull by the horns and started even before we had made our plans. This is exactly the spirit of teamwork and patriotism we need to bring about victory. Your efforts, with your ship, will be a magnificent addition to our fighting forces. I thank each of you for the hard work, sacrifices, and dedication you have made to return this great ship to her nation,” said the President in his speech. “I look forward to seeing her in our Navy again. I know she will serve as she always has served, as a vision of the strength, purpose, and will of the people of the United States. Thank you all, very much,” the President said ending his third and final speech of the day. He waved to the crowd of at least 50,000 people who came to hear him. They looked very happy, and he was sorry he had to leave them, but duty called.
The President was escorted through the handshake line and back into the shipyard offices to sit for a few minutes with Jack Latham, the shipyard superintendent and a few other dignitaries. As he came in, Latham offered him a chair and a cold can of Coke. Someone had told Latham it was the President’s favorite refreshment.
“You don’t know how bad I needed that,” the President said after a long pull. “Mister Latham, what you have done here is amazing. How much longer do you think before she’s ready?”
“We just got the search and fire control radars yesterday. My people are making sure the waveguides are set. We light off the boilers and start testing the systems tomorrow. Give me the rest of the crew and about three more weeks and she will be ready enough for loading,” Latham said proudly. He sat forward in his chair. “Mister President, this isn’t the kind of job I like to turn out. When a ship leaves my yard, I want all the welds ground and the paint even. But for this work, I told my guys make it functional. Pretty can be gotten later. So if you see some places that look a little rough, just know underneath it’s rock solid,” he said.
“Jack, you aren’t doing anything less than Tim Reardon is doing out of Newport News. But you beat him at his own game and got this ship started before the others. Mind telling me how you’ve done it?”
Latham laughed. “Hell, sir, I didn’t do it. I had about 800 old guys show up on us and just about take over. It was that damned veterans association. They came in wearing dungarees, took over all the menial labor and helped out in the places where my guys fell a little short. They knew their ship and kept us in line. This guy named Moosally showed up one day and kind of took charge. He said he was too old to serve, but not too old to lead. Man, did he know his ship. He and a buddy named Morse just kind of grabbed the reins.” He pointed out the window. “They were all out there grinning when you talked about their ship. Most of them signed up through the Reserve Center to be crewmen when she’s commissioned. About all they need is a CO. You have anyone in mind?”
The CNO tilted his head. “You got her up a little faster than we expected, but I’ll get something lined up,” he said. “I was actually thinking about someone in particular, but I can have him here before she gets under way for Seal Beach. Are the other crewmen settling in?”
“Yes, we have them in the best hotel in town. We work them hard and put them up wet. I haven’t had a one get pulled in by the police or have any complaints by the local citizens. As a matter of fact, there’s an old Chief Warrant Officer who showed up and took charge of keeping the guys in line. From what I understand his language scares the hell out of some of the younger sailors. The older ones just roll their eyes,” he said grinning. “But he made it clear that the crew would measure up to what he calls battleship standards. He even produced a booklet that I had reprinted and passed out. Even some of my guys started using parts of it,” he said. “There’s something about these men. It’s something I have never seen before — kind of like a spirit that has them really working close and keeping things tight. When they do finally get underway; watch out. They’re going places.”
Both the President and CNO could see the man was totally impressed. If this was true, it meant they really would need to get someone special as the CO. “That’s good to know,” said the President. “Now on to other things. I know you guys are going deep in the hole getting this ship operational. I know we tried to help and you guys turned us down. But you got our attention. If you can do a job this good with this ship, you can do it with others. We need to send some other ships this way. Would you like a contract to bring them back as well?”
Latham smiled. “It wouldn’t hurt. I had to call in a few favors to make this happen for the city. It would be nice to see a payoff.”
“I thought it might. So here’s the deal. I will send up two cruisers and a couple of destroyers for you to bring back. I have an admiral who loves cost-plus contracts and that should bring cash flow back to your organization. The other part of the deal is, when this ship is commissioned you will be paid the $20 million in leasing fees and another $1 million a month for the United States to lease this asset from the city. Once the costs you and the city have incurred are paid back in full plus an additional ten percent, that lease will be reduced to $500,000 a month. Once the federal government no longer needs the ship, it will be returned to the city where it will become a museum again. However it will be maintained by you in a restricted status and used as necessary by the city until such a day when she may be needed again. We will set up the contract with you to maintain her for a period of no less than ten years. Then we can look at it again. Does this sound like a reasonable plan?”