Wings of Vengeance

WINGS OF VENGEANCE FIGHTIN’EST SHIP IN WWII SERIES BOOK TWO SCOTT W. COOK Wings of Vengeance - Book 2 Copyright © 2023 by Scott W. Cook All rights reserved. Book cover and formatting provided by Trisha Fuentes No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. CONTENTS My free gift to you… Preface * One * * Two * January 24, 1942 – 0400 ship’s time * Three * * Four * * Five * * Six * * Seven * * Eight * * Nine * * Ten * * Eleven * * Twelve * 0500 – March 4, 1942 Afterword Other Books by this Author… MY FREE GIFT TO YOU… I’m always pleased to entertain new readers as well as my loyal veterans. As a thank you and a way to introduce you to other works, I’d like to invite you to visit my website and grab a free eBook as a special thank you gift from me to you. Simply join my free, no spam email list and you’ll not only get inside info on new books and deals, but a complete collection of short stories including an exciting crime novella. www.scottwcook.com PREFACE America and the United States Navy struggle to recover from the horror and shock of the attack on Pearl Harbor. For their part, the men of Enterprise are chomping at the bit to get to sea and pay Tojo back for what he’s done. While the Big-E scored the first kill of the war when Dicky Dickenson sunk that Japanese submarine, that’s only the deposit of a very hefty bill… a bill that Bill Halsey and the men of the Grey Ghost are eager to collect. Now it’s time to steam out of port and into the deadly waters of the Pacific. With fire in their eyes and bloodlust in their hearts, the crew, pilots, and officers of Enterprise are racing to the Marshall Islands, Wake Island, and Marcus Island to hit the Japanese Navy and to send a clear and unmistakable message to Hirohito… and they may even have a bigger surprise in store as well. The message is plain: We’re coming for you and nothing will stop us! On and below the waves and from the sky… we will rain death upon Japan until you beg for mercy! * ONE * A ROUGH START – JANUARY, 1942 “Bill, George, come on in,” boomed Admiral Chester W. Nimitz when the yeoman showed the two officers in. “Grab a seat. Coffee?” Vice Admiral William Halsey and Captain George Murray shook Nimitz’s hand and took seats before his big oak desk. After being served by the yeoman, who promptly went out, everyone settled in. Nimitz opened a cigarette case on his desk and the three men lit up. “All right, now that we’re all comfy,” CincPac began. “I want to begin by telling you that I’ve been in meetings and on the phone pretty much since the attack. And it all comes down to this… where do we strike first?” “I’ve got a thought on that, sir,” said Halsey. Nimitz grinned and met Murray’s eyes. Enterprise’s captain returned the smile knowingly. “I’ll bet you do, Bill,” said Nimitz. “But before we get into that, there’s something I want to say… I know that you fellas and your air department have been getting a lot of flack from that Pompano incident.” Murray looked pained and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. For his part, Halsey just frowned and harrumphed but offered no comment. Several weeks earlier, just ten days after Dick Dickenson bombed and sank the I-70, another scouting mission spotted a submarine prowling around the waters near Oahu. This time, it’d been Charles “Chuck Wagon” Wagner who’d gone in, diving on the boat and dropping his bomb. Unfortunately, the submarine hadn’t been a Japanese vessel but an American boat, the USS Pompano. Fortunately, Wagner’s bomb had missed the mark and Pompano was able to escape without damage. The incident had clearly demonstrated both how difficult submarine ident was as well as the danger to the submariner from friendly fire. “Now don’t fret, gentlemen,” Nimitz said, holding up a hand. “Nobody is blaming anyone. Not even Lou Parks or Slade Cutter, the skipper and XO of Pompano. They’re already in the Marshalls scouting the Nips… which is why I’ve asked you two here.” “You want us to go out there and smash the Jap’s nose for him?” Halsey asked hopefully. Nimitz nodded and smiled thinly, “Eventually, yes… but not right away, Bill. My first thought was to send our carriers out there and kick Tojo up the ass too. However, Will Pye rightly pointed out that they’re probably expecting that. Not only that, but that the Japs are expecting Samoa to be reinforced… which it will be. We’re sending a thousand Marines out there to be escorted by Yorktown. Pye believes, and I agree, that a second carrier group should go with Yorktown. We keep Saratoga here to guard Pearl and I’ll send Lexington out to pound Wake. Problem is, I’m gettin’ a lot of flack from the staff. Everybody’s real sensitive about losing the carriers after we lost our battle wagons.” “Understandable,” Murray admitted with a frown. Halsey scoffed, “Yeah, maybe… but frankly… I’m shocked by that attitude! Hell… I’m outraged by it, sir! This isn’t the time to sit around and wring our goddamned hands, for Christ’s sake! It’s time to respond! To hit Tojo hard and show the Japs we’re not to be fucked with! Sir… I’ll lead the raid on the Marshalls and Gilberts myself! Happy too and right now! Right fucking now… sir. Enterprise can be ready in two days. Right, George?” Murray shifted a little uncomfortably. This would hardly be the first balls to the wall replenishment, but he