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Death and Honor

The map bore a label stating that it had come from the Map and Topographic Office of the Supreme Command of the Wehrmacht in Berlin. It was labeled VERY SECRET and carried the title Sud-Amerika Nach der Anschluss.

“Oh, shit!”

That translates as “South America, After the Annexation”!

He scanned the map and noticed that Uruguay and Paraguay no longer existed as sovereign countries; they now were part of Argentina, much as Austria had become part of Germany Nach der Anschluss. The map also showed Peru and Bolivia divided more or less equally between Argentina and Brazil.

“What is it?” Dorotea said.

“It’s why Tío Juan hopes the Germans will win the war. Put a fresh roll of film in the camera, honey. I want to take pictures of this to Washington, too.”

XIII

[ONE]

Office of the Director Office of Strategic Services National Institutes of Health Building Washington, D.C. 1425 1 August 1943

“Waiting to see me, Alex?” the director of the Office of Strategic Services inquired of the OSS deputy director for Western Hemisphere operations, who was sitting in an upholstered chair in Donovan’s outer office, holding a copy of The Saturday Evening Post.

“Oh, you are a clever fellow, aren’t you? You take one look at someone and you can tell just what they’re up to.”

“I asked him if he wanted to go in, General Donovan,” Donovan’s secretary said, just a touch self-righteously.

Donovan signaled for Graham to go into his office, then turned to his secretary. “Bring me and the Latin Bob Hope here some coffee, will you, please, Margaret?”

“I’ve never been called that before,” Graham said.

“And I’m sorry I did,” Donovan said. “I hope Hope doesn’t hear about it. I really like him.”

Graham waited until Donovan took his seat behind his desk, then handed him a manila folder stamped TOP SECRET in red.

“I hope this is good news,” Donovan said.

“As far as I’m concerned, it is,” Graham said, and sat in one of the two leather armchairs facing Donovan’s desk.

Donovan opened the folder and read the message.

URGENT

TOP SECRET LINDBERGH

DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN

2100 LOCAL 30 JULY 1943

FROM TEX

TO AGGIE

SEGURO COMERCIAL IS ABOUT TO INFORM SOUTH AMERICAN AIRWAYS THAT SINCE LLOYD’S OF LONDON HAS REFUSED TO REINSURE SAA THEY ARE FORCED TO CANCEL OUR INSURANCE.

LLOYD’S REASON FOR REFUSING TO REINSURE IS THAT OUR PILOTS DO NOT HOLD US AIR TRANSPORT RATINGS. STRONGLY SUSPECT THAT LLOYD’S GOT THEIR INFORMATION ABOUT OUR PILOTS FROM CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AT VARIG WHO THINK THAT SAA’S LODESTARS SHOULD HAVE GONE TO THEM, AND WHO NOW ARE TRYING TO CUT OFF COMPETITION. IT IS EQUALLY PROBABLE THAT PAN AMERICAN, EITHER INDEPENDENTLY OR WORKING WITH THOSE AT VARIG, HAS ALSO MENTIONED OUR NON-ATR-RATED PILOTS TO LLOYD’S BECAUSE THEY DON’T WANT ANY COMPETITION EITHER.

TIO JUAN THINKS THAT THE BRITISH ARE INVOLVED IN THE CANCELLATION, EITHER ALONE OR IN CONJUCTION WITH VARIG AND/OR TRIPPE, BECAUSE THEY PLAN TO RUN ARGENTINA’S AVIATION AFTER THE WAR THE WAY THEY RUN THE ARGENTINE RAILROADS AND WANT TO NIP COMPETITION IN THE BUD.

WHILE IT SEEMS PRETTY CLEAR TO ME THAT OUR FRIEND IN SWITZERLAND PROBABLY COULD FIX THINGS WITH LLOYD’S, AND THE MAN WHOSE AIRLINE IDEA THIS WAS CERTAINLY COULD DO SO, HAVE THEM BUTT OUT REPEAT HAVE THEM BUTT OUT UNTIL I HAVE A CHANCE TO TRY TO FIX THIS MYSELF.

FORCING LLOYD’S TO REVERSE ITSELF WOULD NOT ONLY ANNOY THEM, WORD ALSO WOULD GET OUT ABOUT IT AND THEN QUESTIONS ASKED ABOUT WHO IT IS THAT’S LEANING ON THEM. NO DOUBT VARIG AND PAN AMERICAN WOULD BE ANNOYED AND PROBABLY WOULD START ASKING THE SAME QUESTION. THAT WOULD CERTAINLY SCREW UP THINGS FOR ME AND SAA BOTH IMMEDIATELY AND IN THE FUTURE.

UNLESS I AM GIVEN SOME GOOD REASON NOT TO DO SO, I INTEND TO FLY FOURTEEN (14) SAA PILOTS TO BURBANK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, PROBABLY WITHIN THIRTY-SIX (36) HOURS, AND GET THE PILOTS THEIR ATRS. AS I DOUBT THIS WILL SATISFY LLOYD’S OR SEGURO COMERCIAL FOR REASONS STATED ABOVE, I WILL HAVE TO GET SOME U.S. INSURANCE COMPANY TO INSURE SAA. ANY IDEAS?

TEX

“Two questions,” Donovan said when he had finished reading. “Why do you think this is good news? FDR will have a fit when he hears about it.”

“You said two questions?”

“This is dated two days ago. You just got it?”

“I got it two days ago. I was waiting for the second message I just gave you”—he gestured toward the manila folder—“the one you chose to ignore.”

“I didn’t see the second message,” Donovan said as he went back into the manila folder, found the message, took it out, and began to read it:

URGENT

TOP SECRET LINDBERGH

DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN

1000 LOCAL 1 AUGUST 1943

FROM COWGIRL

TO AGGIE