1945

"What is it, sir?" Jardine asked. What the hell was so important about a ring? He looked at it more closely, shocked to recognize a West Point ring, class of 1903.

CHAPTER 42

President Harry Truman's demeanor reflected the shock and sadness of the entire nation. For all his faults, MacArthur had somehow been considered immortal, and his death had been a severe blow to the nation's collective spirit.

"I want a full military funeral for the man, and that includes his body lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda. If his widow will permit it, General MacArthur will be buried in Arlington with absolutely the fullest military honors possible. Like him or not, the man was a legend who died for his nation, and we will not permit his memory to be forgotten."

Marshall and Leahy nodded. For a nation that was still grieving the loss of FDR, the announcement of the death of Gen. Douglas MacArthur in a kamikaze attack on the cruiser Augusta was too much to bear.

"For reasons I will never comprehend, I don't believe he ever liked me," Truman continued, "but I can't hold that against him. Hell, if every man who disliked me stood in a line, that line would likely circle the earth at least a couple of times. What is important is that he is the highest-ranking American killed in this or any other war, and he will be given what he deserves, a military funeral that includes a parade to Arlington."

Marshall nodded. Deaths of ranking officers in combat were rare in modern warfare. Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose, commander of the 3rd Armored Division, had been killed in Europe, and Lt. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner, the commander of the Tenth Army on Okinawa, had been killed by Japanese artillery on the last day of the fighting on that island. Other generals, such as Wainwright and Sharp, had been captured in the Philippines, but no one even approaching MacArthur's five-star rank had even been scratched.

As they discussed an outline for the funeral, Truman realized that the death of MacArthur removed a strong Republican candidate for the presidency in '48. Realistically, that only left New York's Tom Dewey as a threat to his election as president in his own right.

Truman hated himself for thinking of partisan politics at a time like this, but he'd been at it for so long it was impossible not to. At least MacArthur's tragic end had deflected questions regarding Japan's so-called list of prisoners they'd received from a Swedish emissary. He'd promised a response to it as soon as the people at the Pentagon had finished examining it, and a lot of parents and wives were getting angry and frustrated at the length of time it was taking.

Truman shook his head. It was all so futile. "What were the total casualties on the Augusta?”

Leahy responded, "Besides MacArthur, ten killed and seventy-two wounded. All of the dead and most of the seriously wounded were in the forward turret which was directly hit by the plane. The men in that turret were burned by the gasoline from the plane. Fortunately, the ammunition in the Augusta's turret did not explode, so she'll be back on station fairly shortly. The majority of the other wounded are light to moderately so and will return to duty within a couple of weeks."

"All right," Truman sighed, "just bring MacArthur's body home as soon as possible."

As a result of the explosion and fire, little had been found of Douglas MacArthur's mortal remains. The largest portion identifiable as his was his right arm, and that only because the hand wore his West Point ring. Other body parts had been found but were too badly damaged to determine whether they were his or somebody else's. Ironically, more of the Jap pilot's body had been found strapped in the cockpit of the wreckage of his plane than had been found of MacArthur's. The navy had even identified the Jap before burying him at sea. Sometime in the future, some scholar or military historian might want to find out more about the otherwise insignificant man who had struck down General of the Army Douglas MacArthur.

"General MacArthur was a most difficult man," Truman added. "He was pompous, obstinate, arrogant, and a genius. But most of all, he was ours. Like I said, he gets a funeral almost befitting a head of state."

"Sir," Marshall said, "this may be distasteful, but, whether we wish to or not, we must quickly appoint a successor to MacArthur."

"Anybody in mind?" Truman had no doubts that Marshall already had an heir designated for MacArthur's position. Marshall was always a number of steps ahead of everyone else when it came to planning, which made him without peer in his position.

"Mr. President, I wish to appoint General Omar Bradley to succeed General Douglas MacArthur."

"A good choice, General Marshall, but why him in particular?"