It Has to Be Fate

This is a story about a young Marine Corps pilot during the era between the Korean War and the Viet Nam War. Reading the previous parts will lead to a better understanding of the plot and the characters.

*

First Lieutenant Melissa McDermott sat at her desk reading a draft of the Annual Personnel Status Report for the Air Wing. There was a rap on her door. She looked up and was surprised to see the Commanding General. As she jumped to her feet she noticed her best friend Dawn Masters was with him. She saw the expression on Dawn's face and her heart froze. She grabbed the edge of the desk to hold herself up. "Ggood aafternoon sssir! she stammered.

The General said, "Sit down Honey, it is about Mica. He was in a crash in Rosy Roads, he is alive and in the hospital. We don't have a condition report as yet but they said it may be serious but doesn't appear to be life threatening. We are waiting for a report at any minute. Dawn was at the 'O' Club where the Officer's Wives Club officers were meeting with myself and the Base Commander when I got the message. I brought her with me."

Dawn had moved to embrace Melissa and hold her. She whispered, "Pray, girl, pray with me." Melissa closed her eyes and her lips moved silently. She looked up at the General, "Sir, thank you for coming yourself, and bringing Mrs. Marker with you."

"Sweetheart, I have known your husband since he was a little kid. He and my twin daughters played together when they were little. His dad was my first classman when I was a plebe at the Academy. My wife had Mica picked out as a husband for either of our daughters. Charlie, his dad, and I served together several times over the years and our families are very close. I had his dad notified as soon as I heard."

The phone on Melissa's desk rang and the general reached for it, "General Whaling here." He said. "Hello, Charlie. Have you heard anything yet?"

"Admiral that is good to hear, she is here with me, excuse me while I tell her." He looked at Melissa, "Mica is doing fine, he has cuts and bruises and some chipped bones on his head but he will recover just fine." He turned and listened to the phone, "Right Charlie, I'll brief her. She can represent both of us, that should give her plenty of horsepower. The board should convene day after tomorrow, we like to have them while everything is still fresh in everyone's minds. I'll cut orders for her too, Admiral. I'll call you later at home as soon as we get the official doctor's report. Would you like to talk to her?" he glanced at Melissa. "Here she is Charlie, Mica chose very well." The General handed the phone to Melissa.

She took the phone and spoke to Mica's father. Then she listened attentively, nodding her head from time to time. She pulled a pad and pen over in front of her and made some notes. Tears started down her cheeks, she said, "Yes Dad, I have been praying for him ever since he left. He is my whole life." She listened again. Then she said, "Tell her I love her too, I love both of you. I'll bring him safely home, I promise." She said goodbye and hung up.

The General took the phone and dialed a number, then turned and spoke rapidly to someone for several minutes. He turned back to Melissa, "Lieutenant, I am having orders cut sending you to Roosevelt Roads as my representative to the Accident Investigation Board, which will convene day after tomorrow. You will also be representing Admiral McDermott, COMLANT. You'll be a non-voting member of the board, you have all the rights and duties of the other members but you do not vote. You will submit your findings in a report to me with a copy to Admiral McDermott. He's sending a P2V executive transport aircraft to take you there and bring you and Mica and any other injured personnel back here. I'll send a team of officers and men on that plane too. Do you need to return home to get ready to go? You need to wear utilities down there most of the time."

"No Sir. I have everything I need in my 'Ready Gear' plus I have another Class A outfit here too. I'm good for a week without doing laundry."

"If you would like, Dawn and I'll stay here with you until we get notified of an ETA for the P2V." He looked at Melissa and grinned, "When I was at the Naval War College about ten years ago Admiral McDermott was the president there. Mica dated my girls almost every weekend. It was one or the other or both of them. They were both in love with him. He loved both of them too, but he wasn't 'IN LOVE' with them. At the Senior Prom at John Rogers High School in Newport, RI, he took both of them to the prom. We had heard that there were going to be some wild parties afterward. I made Mica promise he would look after both of them. I remember him looking me in the eye and saying, "Colonel, I always look after them, but I'll be extra vigilant tonight, I promise!" and damned if he didn't.

"A couple guys were feeding the girls spiked punch and talked them into going off with them to another party. Mica said they could not go. All four of them argued with him but he wouldn't back down. Mica told the boys the only way they could go was over him. They invited him outside. He went out and came back with a bloody nose and a black eye. The other two ended up in the emergency room.

"He brought the twins home and the girls were devastated by how beat up he was. They cried and cried over how they had treated Mica. He stayed away for about two weeks and drove them crazy. It was never the same after that.

"Every time I talk to one of them they always ask about him. They are each happily married with kids, but they still love Mica."

The general looked at Melissa and saw she was crying. She sniffed, "I feel so sorry for them, it would kill me if I lost him."

Dawn had tears in her eyes too, she said, "He is that way, if he tells you he will do something, you can count on it."

The phone rang and the general nodded for Melissa to take the call. She was told that the Navy P2V aircraft was going to be in Cherry Point in twenty minutes. The general said his driver would take her to Base Ops to catch the plane. She gathered up some things and loaded up her brief case. Melissa was waiting when the P2V taxied up and loaded the passengers.

During the flight she was asked if she wanted to visit the flight deck. She said yes and was allowed to fly the plane. She took the controls and made a few gentle turns then got back on course. The pilot smiled at her, "You look like you know what you are doing, are you a pilot?"

"Yes, I love flying. My husband and I have our own plane. You taxied right past it when we were leaving."

"You don't mean that beautiful white and blue Cessna 195 on the Base do you?"

"That's our baby."

"Boy, the Marines must pay much better than the Navy does."

She looked at him innocently, "Well, he does get flight pay."

"What is he, a General?"

"No, he is only a Captain."

"Really, you are the first Lady Marine I have met who was married to another Marine Officer, is he a pilot too?"

"Yes, he is a Naval Aviator and a Civil Pilot too. He has a land and sea, single, multi-engine, instrument, hot-air balloon, and instructor ratings. Sniff, Sob. Oh my God!"

"Hey, are you OK?"

"I guess so, I'll be alright. I was just thinking about him. He is in a hospital in 'Rosie Roads', he crashed in bad weather earlier today. I'm so damned scared he is hurt worse than they are telling me."

"Hold on girl, we'll get you there as fast as we can. We will get there about eleven o'clock so the daily storms should be about gone."

It was after midnight when Melissa stood looking at the bandaged face of her husband, he was sedated and did not react as she kissed his cheek. She sat on the side of his bed, held his hand, cried, and prayed. A nurse briefed her on his condition and said she thought he would be up and walking in the morning. She went to the quarters she had been assigned and slept fitfully until her alarm went off in the morning.

She had a quick breakfast and went to the hospital. When she got to Mica's room she was surprised to see it was crowded with men. She recognized two in bathrobes as being pilots from his squadron. They were talking and laughing. Mica's back was to her and he was sitting up on the side of the bed.

One of the men, a sailor, said, "Captain, you have to be one of the strongest people I have ever seen. Petty officer Perkins and I just couldn't stop you when you were humping through that mud in the cane field. Hell, you shook us off like we were nothing a couple of times."

She heard Mica chuckle, "My visor was covered with mud and I would get hung up on something and I was trying to get away from that burning plane. When you finally got my helmet and oxygen mask off I could see what was going on. Then I sort of blacked out, what happened then?"

"Well the chopper was hovering with its skids on the ground but couldn't land in that soft mud. We told you to get in. We forgot to disconnect the lanyard from your 'May West' lifejacket to your life raft. When you tried to climb in it jerked you back and your chin and face hit the bottom of the door. It knocked you out cold."

Mica said, "Damn, I promised my sweet wife I would take care of myself, she is going to be pissed off when she sees me."

Melissa stepped into the room and said, "No Sweetie, I'm just happy to see you are feeling better." Mica's head jerked around and he jumped up and hurried to her. They hugged and she found the left side of his mouth appeared unhurt so she kissed him there. She wiped her eyes and saw everyone grinning. Mica introduced her to everyone. The sailors were part of the rescue team that took Mica from the crash site to the hospital. The two VMF-312 pilots had crashed too but were uninjured and had only been held overnight for observation. Mica said, "Wow! How did you get here so fast?"

His wife smiled sweetly, "They asked me if I would like a tropical vacation in a Caribbean Resort in paradise and I said yes! So here I am! Are you happy to see me."

"God Yes, my love, my Princess, my wife."

"Ma'am if he ain't happy to see you I sure am." said one of the sailors.

Melissa smiled, "If you are one of the men who got my husband out of that burning wreck, I owe you a huge debt of gratitude."

"The other sailor spoke up, "Ma'am, Lieutenant, we didn't get him out, he did that himself. We just tried to get him into the rescue helicopter. Every time we would stop him he would break loose and hump off through that mud bog. He is as strong as an ox."

Melissa looked lovingly at her man, "I know that, what you don't know is that he is a world class hand to hand combat fighter. He breaks bones when he hits people. He is also the sweetest, gentlest, most loving man in the world. He is my hero, and my knight in shining armor, I love him dearly."

A nurse came in and chased everyone but Melissa out of the room. She changed Mica's dressings and pointed out the stitches and later showed her how to change the bandages. She told her that he should have the sutures removed in ten days. A doctor came in and checked everything from the condition of the cuts to Mica's reflexes. He said they would release Mica to her any time. Melissa had a car and driver waiting outside and they went to the VMF-312 Headquarters tent where they found LTCOL Marker.

Billy was glad to see Mica up and about and was amazed that Melissa was with him. He told Mica that the Accident Investigation Board would meet the next morning and that he would have to appear before them. "I don't like this, they sent some wheel of a headhunter down to sit on the board and report directly to the Wing Commander and COMLANT. I heard he is a nonvoting member but the Generals and Admirals can over-ride the board's findings. This independent outside member has me worried."

Melissa smiled, "Don't worry about the nonvoting member of the board. They were all on the plane I flew down on last night. I took a nap in the bunk in the VIP cabin. The nonvoting member took a nap at the same time."

"WHAT! The nonvoting member slept with you?"

"There was only one bunk, silly, and I can guarantee the nonvoter will give you a fair hearing."

Billy looked incredulous, "You can guarantee it?"

Mica smiled at her, "You are the nonvoting member, right?"

Melissa giggled, "I sure am. So just get your story straight

between you."

"Honey, we have been instructed not to discuss the case. We will just tell the truth as we see it."

"Sugar, I knew that. That is what I will do too."

Mica grinned at his friend and commanding officer, "Billy, I am going to go take a nap, how about we meet you at the Navy Officer's Club for 'Happy Hour' and dinner?"

"Great, they don't allow utilities at the Club, civvies or Class 'A's?"

Melissa said she had a little sundress and some flat sandals with her. Mica told Billy they would be in civvies. They snuggled together for a nice nap, they met Billy at the Club and had an early dinner. They all met again in the morning in the Headquarters tent of VMF-312, Melissa went in the meeting room with the other members of the board. The president of the board was a full Colonel, there was a Lieutenant Colonel, two Majors and two captains on the board. Melissa was introduced to everyone and her status was explained.

The Colonel looked at her, "Lieutenant McDermott, I am Colonel John Stuart, are you related to Captain McDermott, one of the principals in this case?"

"Yes Colonel, I am proud to be the wife of Captain Micaiah McDermott. However, that will not effect the way I approach the task before this board. My sole concern is that the true cause of the accident be found in order to prevent further accidents from happening. I think I need to say I am a general aviation pilot with 'private', single and multi-engine, and instrument ratings. My husband and I own our own airplane and fly it weekly, often on cross-country instrument flights. I cannot believe he made an error in judgment. He is the most careful and professional pilot with whom I have ever flown. I am also aware that the requirements of the military mission are vastly different than those of a private trip."

"Thank you Lieutenant McDermott. I think that clarifies things for us. Feel free to ask questions at any time, we all have the same goal here."

The basic facts of the accident were read by a clerk including aircraft type, bureau numbers, total aircraft time, time on engine since overhaul. The maintenance records and the 'gripe' sheets were submitted. The profile of the pilot, 1st Lt. Mike Adams was read including total flight hours, hours as aircraft commander, time in type, ratings, and so forth. Adams' record was good with no prior accidents. He was called and sworn and gave his version of the accident. He praised his flight leader, Mica, for noticing the sailboat off the end of the runway and telling them how to make the approach to the runway.

When the other members had finished questioning him Melissa asked him how much input he had had in planning for the flight. He said he had no part in planning for the flight but had carefully reviewed the plan and verified the information in the plan. Then she asked him who in his opinion was the most competent pilot in the squadron. He said it was easily Mica.

He was dismissed and they discussed the accident and arrived at the conclusion that pilot error was not a factor in view of the fact that he was led into an impossible situation. Although he was attempting a wave off when his plane ran out of fuel and crashed on the side of the runway his aircraft was repairable.

The next pilot was 2nd Lt. Fred Johnson, his accident was next. He was the least experienced of the three pilots. He too praised Mica for letting his men land before he did. His admiration for Mica was evident. His story was basically the same except that he actually saw the runway and touched down on the left side far down the runway, his left wheel went into the dirt and broke off causing the plane to spin onto the asphalt and come to a stop on the end of the runway. His aircraft was also repairable.

Last was Mica. He was far more experienced than the other two. He had over 3700 hours of military flight time. One of the majors shook his head, "Wow! That is over twice the time I have."

The number of service schools he had completed surprised Melissa. A large number of these were done on his own time while he was on leave. He completed five Escape and Evasion schools by the Navy, Air Force and the Army. He was first in his class in every one of them. He had completed a Navy School on LORAN, an electronic long range navigation device and the Air Force School on Celestial Navigation. (He had already taken the Navy school.)

The board called Mica in and asked the same questions as they had asked the other two pilots. When they were through, the president of the board asked if Melissa had any questions. She said she had a few things she wanted clarified. She asked, "Captain McDermott, did you have any input in planning the flight from Cherry Point to Rosie Roads?"

"Yes I did. It was my flight plan we used, I drew it up at the direction of the squadron commander, LTCOL Marker."

"Thank you, was there a problem with the route?"

"Yes, the mission of the flight was two fold. First we were to demonstrate the capability of Marine Aviation to rapidly deploy our aviation assets to a distant airbase using existing facilities and not entering any foreign nation's airspace. Second we were to demonstrate that on arrival we could support our ground forces by providing air cover and close air support. Given the available facilities and the limited range of the FJ-2 there was no other rout we could take. I would like to state at this time that we accomplished both objectives of the mission. Colonel Marker arrived here with a formidable force of twenty combat ready fighter aircraft."

"What do you think caused the three accidents with your flight resulting in the loss of the whole flight? Do you hold yourself responsible for those losses?"

Mica looked at her thoughtfully, "Lieutenant McDermott, I was the flight commander, I did not complete the assigned mission successfully, and therefore, ultimately, I failed to complete that mission."

Melissa said, "Captain, you did not answer my question, what caused that failure?"

"I have thought long and hard about that, I can find nothing I would have done different given the information I received about the weather conditions at Roosevelt Roads."

"Sir, are you saying that the information you received from the weather forecast briefing in Guantanamo and the existing weather report you received enroute from the tower here were incorrect?"

"Either that or I grossly misinterpreted them."

"I see, then let me ask you this, Captain, do you feel the tower here at Rosie Roads gave your flight adequate assistance after you contacted them upon your arrival here."

"Ma'am, after the initial contact I requested GCA approaches and was told the unit was not available and was for training purposes only, I was never able to contact them again. The tower was of no assistance what-so-ever."

"Captain, you sound a bit angry about that."

"Lieutenant, I am sorry, I was unprofessional in my answer, I stand corrected. However, it is my feeling, and I have not been able to verify this, that the tower operator was not qualified or a trainee without supervision. This is strictly an unverified opinion for whatever it is worth."

"Thank you Captain, Mr. President, I have no further questions for Captain McDermott, I would like to hear from the tower personnel next if possible."

"Lieutenant McDermott, we will take a fifteen minute break. The tower people will be testifying next."

Mica was excused and Melissa followed him outside the tent. She walked up to him and stood in front of him. "I love you and want to hug and kiss you but I can't do it here."