Thunder rolled as rain poured over their tents. Maj. Greg "Pappy" Boyington napped while hearing the dripping sounds of rain falling through his tent and into the pans he had placed all around.
"Sometimes having a day off is pretty good, but not like this; it rained for three days straight and all the men were getting edgy. Everything was a mess, but what was more messed up was moral, we couldn't go anywhere because of mudslides and trees falling over as a result of poor roots. We tried to make the best of it, but I prayed that the fourth day would be nothing but sunshine."
Pappy just laid in bed, his dog meatball, at his side. He could hear the light breezes blowing and birds chirping, but he didn't turn to see if it was sunny out.
A smile formed on his face when he heard something. "Yahoo! It's sunny! Hey guys wake up!" T.J's voice screamed out. Then shortly after, the rest of the men could be heard cheering for the sunny day.
"Hey hey hey," French said as he stepped out of his tent, "Can you believe this guys? A sunny day!"
"There must be an angel watching out for us." Jim chortled.
T.J rushed over and peeked his head in Pappy's tent. "Hey Pappy, wake up!"
"What is it T.J?" he muttered. "Air raid or Gen. Moore?"
"Ha, neither Pappy, it finally stopped raining!" T.J could barely hold in his excitement.
Pappy lifted his head and flashed a small smile at the Lieutenant. "Oh, well then, drinks are on me."
As T.J left to spread the news, Pappy just laid his head back down and wrapped his arm around his pet.
In the sheep's pen everyone was smiling and could barely hold in their excitement over the sunshine.
"Man," T.J spoke up. "Who would've thought that just a little sunshine could turn everyone's attitude around?"
"You know," Jerry then perked up. "I heard that the weather can affect the way a person behaves."
"That's just a lot of superstitious nonsense." Boyle jerked in.
"Oh yeah? How would you know?" T.J jerked back.
Just then a small argument broke out.
Jim just sat there, a small smile crossed his face. "Ok guys, hold it!" he called out, and everyone settled down. "I can't believe you guys, you argue over the rain, now you're arguing over the sunshine?"
Everyone thought for a minute then began laughing when they realized that Jim was right.
"Hey guys, why don't we try and break up this monotony by having the nurses over for a party?" T.J cheered.
The guys all thought that it was a great idea, then Casey walked in.
"Hey guys!" he yelled, when everyone settled down he continued. "We can have a party, but it won't be with the nurses."
Everyone started protesting and arguing.
"It's-It's not my fault!" Casey called over. "It's the rain, it's caused a lot of mudslides and fallen trees, all the routes to the hospital are closed off."
"Well that's just great, just great!" Don said in a frustrated tone. "Could this day get any worse?"
Just then the air-raid alarm went off.
"Apparently so." Boyle said as the men all rushed out to their planes.
Pappy was already climbing in his plane when the other men joined him. "Let's go you meat-heads!" he yelled.
Hutch and Meatball watched as the men took off; Casey, Boyle, T.J, Jim, Don, Jerry and Anderson flew after Pappy, the rest of the men stayed below to defend the base.
"Here they come!" Boyle called out.
"Alright you guys, team up." Pappy said over the radio. "Anderson you're with me."
"Right Pappy."
Everyone broke off into teams and headed out; Pappy, Jim, Don, and Casey flew leads with Anderson, T.J, Jerry, and Boyle as their wing-man.
"The dogfight was pretty routine; just a few zero's were in the area trying to leave Vella La Cava a crater once again. But we weren't going to let that happen. The men were looking for a way to break up the monotony; well there it was."
"Casey 2:00!" Boyle called out, Casey turned his head, he and Boyle climbed just in time to avoid an oncoming zero.
"Thanks Boyle." Casey sighed.
"Don!" Jerry called out, "We got a problem."
"What is it?"
"Zero's on our tail!"
Don slightly turned and saw two enemy planes following his wing-man. "We need some help here!" he called out.
"We're on our way Don!" Jim replied, and he and T.J appeared and were able to get the enemy off their friends before they began firing.
T.J followed one for a moment, then fired. Shortly after the zero caught fire and crashed in the sea. "Yahoo! I got one!"
"That's great T.J." Jim complimented. "Now let's go help Greg."
The six planes flew after their leader; Pappy and Anderson were taking on about four zero's when the other Black Sheep showed up.
"Let's get 'em men!" Jim called out, and the Black Sheep fired. Some of the zero's flew off, and one was shot down.
"That's good gentlemen," Pappy said. "let's head home."
All the men started to get back in formation when Anderson suddenly looked up. "Pappy watch it! Zero coming out of the sun!"
Pappy looked up and saw the plane begin to descend. "I got it!" he replied, and he went after him. Pappy followed the enemy, he was hoping that he'd just scare the zero off, but he was willing to fire if he had to. Pappy got the zero in his sights and fired, the enemy was hit.
"Way to go Pappy!" T.J called out.
Just then Jim broke in. "Pappy you got one on your tail!"
But before Pappy could respond the zero fired and hit his plane from the back, as Pappy tried to recover the zero flew over him then turned and came back.
"Jim, Pappy needs help!" Boyle spoke up.
"Don, Casey, you're with me, the rest of you wait up here." The three planes went after their friend, but it was too late.
The zero fired and hit Greg's canopy, he let out a slight grunt that was heard over the radio.
"Pappy are you ok?" T.J asked.
"I'm hit, can't make it, I gotta bail!"
Everyone watched as Pappy's plane went down in the sea, they could see a parachute falling over to a thick jungle side of Vella La Cava.
"T.J follow him, we'll take care of this guy." Jim said.
"Right Jim." T.J flew after Pappy, he watched as the parachute landed hard in the trees. "Jim, I gotta land, Pappy might be in trouble."
Jim, Don and Casey fired and shot down the enemy's plane. "Go ahead T.J, we'll follow you in."
T.J landed and jumped out of his plane. "Hutch!"
Hutch ran over, "What's wrong?"
"Pappy went down on the other side of the island, I need a radio and a canteen of water."
Hutch ran back to his shack and returned shortly with the supplies, then watched as T.J headed off into the jungle to search for their leader.
The other planes landed soon after, Jim was the first one on the ground and Hutch met him. "Hutch, where's T.J?"
"He went in the jungle a few minutes ago to look for Pappy."
Jim nodded then led the men towards the sheep's pen. "Casey I want you to try and make radio contact with T.J, see where he's starting his search."
Casey nodded then headed off for the radio room.
Jim and the others went in the sheep's pen so he could talk to the others.
The breeze blew and caught the tree lodged parachute, the chute wires tugged on Pappy's harness. A sudden surge of pain woke the unconscious Major.
Pappy could barely open his eyes, the sun shone bright over him. He tried lifting his left arm, but pain throbbed in his shoulder. Using his right arm, Pappy lifted the edge of his flight coat and saw that his shoulder was covered in blood. His head fell back on the ground, he felt cold and wet, he then realized that he was lying in a mud pool.
He fumbled to find the the buckle on his harness, he had to get out of it. As he sat up a wave of dizziness and nausea flooded over him, his breathing became short and harsh as he managed to get out of his harness, then laid back down. His shoulder felt like it was on fire, he knew that something wasn't right. He tried to stay awake, but the pain sent him into unconsciousness.
T.J trudged through the jungle, he found it hard to go in certain directions because of the mud. He sat down for a moment and realized that, what felt like such a short time of searching, had in fact been hours and the sun was starting to go down.
He knew that the right thing to do would be to head back, but he didn't like how cold it was getting as the sun was setting. Just as he decided to continue his radio went off.
"Home to Black Sheep One. Home to Black Sheep One come in."
"This is Black Sheep One, come in Home."
"T.J, it's Jim, any sign of Greg yet?"
"Nothing yet Jim."
"Where are you?"
"I'm uhh not really sure." T.J looked up trying to see if he could pinpoint where he was.
"Alright T.J, better start heading back."
"No way Jim, Pappy's out here somewhere!"
"Don't you think I know that? T.J, you were the one that saw him go down, you know where he is, we don't. Now head back!"
T.J waited for a minute, he was afraid that, if Pappy was injured, he wouldn't make it through the night.
"Greg will be alright T.J, he can handle himself out there. Come back, please?"
T.J reluctantly answered. "On my way." As he packed up the radio and started heading back, he said a small silent prayer that they would find Pappy... alive.
The night was air was freezing, breezes kept blowing through the trees.
Pappy woke up, shaking from the cold, his shoulder throbbing with pain from his movement. Carefully he turned over onto his ride side, his left arm slid down and Pappy couldn't hold back the sudden cry from the pain, he tried to lift his arm but it was no use.
Using his right hand he tucked his left hand in his pocket hoping that it would stay there, he then zipped up his coat trying to keep warm. He tried to crawl over to some dryer land, but he was too weak.
He then looked up and saw that his parachute had fallen a little from it's tree prison. He rolled back over on his back and grabbed the wires and pulled the chute down, he then wrapped himself in inside and curled up in a ball and braced himself for a cold night.
In the sheep's pen T.J fumbled with his drink, he felt like a failure leaving the Major out in the cold.
"T.J it's not your fault." Boyle said trying to comfort his friend.
"How can you say that Boyle? I'm the one that left him out there."
"Because I told you to." Jim spoke from behind. He then laid a map out on the table. "Come here T.J."
T.J walked over and sat down.
"Now, this is a map of Vella La Cava, where did you see Pappy go down?"
T.J stared at the map for a moment, "I-I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Boyle jerked at him. The other men started jerked at him too.
"I-I can't remember Boyle!" T.J's voice was shaking.
"Alright guys, calm down!" Anderson yelled out, he then sat across from his friend. "T.J, look at me."
T.J looked up, his eyes were watering as he began to feel like he was helpless.
"Just try to relax T.J, take a deep breath."
Jim realized that Anderson was going to try and help T.J dig up the lost memory. He signaled for everyone to line up against the wall and remain quiet.
As T.J took a couple deep breaths, Anderson continued. "Alright T.J, now I want you to close your eyes."
T.J looked confused, but he did what Anderson told him.
"Good, now just breath normal... Breath." everyone listened to T.J's steady breathing. "Good, now I want you to go back to this morning. Where were you this morning, what were you doing?"
"I was-I was on a mission." T.J said in a monotone.
"What was the mission?"
"We-we needed to stop the Japanese, they were starting an air-raid."
"Who was with you?"
"Jim... Don... Boyle... Casey... Jerry... Anderson... Pappy..." T.J began to panic. "Pappy..." he repeated "Pappy NO!"
"What's wrong T.J? What's wrong with Pappy?" Anderson said as he grabbed T.J's clenched fist.
T.J started shaking his head, his breathing was hard and fast, sweat began pouring down his face.
"T.J, what's wrong with Pappy?" Anderson said in a stiff voice.
"He's-he's been hit, his bird's on fire."
"Is he bailing?"
"No... no, he's trying to make it back... No... No!" T.J's scream jerked at everyone in the room.
"What is it T.J? What's happening?"
"The zero's coming back at him, he's been hit! His canopy is gone!"
"What's Pappy doing T.J?" Anderson said as he placed T.J's hand over the map.
"He's-he's bailing out... Something's not right, he looks hurt."
"Did he make it back to the island?"
"Yeah, he-he landed in the trees." T.J started to calm down a little bit.
Anderson took a deep breath, "Ok T.J, now when I count to three you're going to open your eyes and show me where Pappy's chute landed. Ready?" T.J nodded his head. "Ok, one... two... three."
T.J slowly opened his eyes, he looked down at the map and pointed to the center of the side jungle.
Anderson quickly marked the map then took a hold of T.J's hand. "Ok T.J, I want you to close your eyes again." T.J obeyed. "Now, when I count to three you're going to wake up and Jerry's going to take back to your tent so you can get some sleep, alright?" T.J nodded. "Ok, one... two... three."
T.J opened his eyes, he wasn't sure what had happened. Jerry walked over and laid his hand on T.J's shoulder, then the two of them left the sheep's pen and headed for T.J's tent.
Jim walked over as Anderson began to mark the graph on the map. "What just happened?"
"I uhh kind of put him into a small trance."
"You hypnotized him?" Boyle asked.
"Not really, you see ever since T.J saw Pappy go down, a certain fear took over him. And when he couldn't find Pappy in the jungle that fear really started to take a hold of him."
"So what are you saying?" Don asked.
"I'm saying that T.J started panicking, causing trauma to block his thought process, my getting him to calm down was the only way to get the information; not your constant hounding."
"But did it work?" Jim asked.
"I believe so, I believe that Pappy is right in this area." and he pointed to the red circle drawn on the map.
"Alright men, now it's too dark to go out, but once daylight hits we've gotta be ready to go and look for him. Now I'm asking for about three volunteers, the rest of you will need to stay behind and keep an eye on things here."
"Why's that Jim?" Casey asked.
"If T.J's right, and Greg is wounded, we'll need some of you guys to get things ready here for when we bring him in."
"Well why don't we just get him to the hospital?" Boyle spoke up.
"Because of the mudslides, remember?" Anderson pointed out. "Besides, if T.J's calculations are correct Pappy's closer to us than the hospital."
As everyone agreed Jerry walked back in, everyone stared at him for a moment.
"Uhh T.J's asleep." he said finally.
"Any problems?" Jim asked.
"No, he uhh fell asleep almost instantly."
"Good, 'cuz we'll be needing him tomorrow."
"Why him?" Boyle jerked back.
"Because T.J has some medical training, he'll know what to do if Greg's been injured. But we'll still need about two more guys to go with us."
Suddenly everyone's hand shot up.
"That's nice guys, but whoever goes will have to be able to trek through mud and swap, and possibly carry Greg back through it. Now, volunteers?"
Anderson, and Jerry raised their hands.
"Good, Casey we'll need you as the radio contact, you'll be in charge of gathering supplies in case we need them when we get back."
Casey nodded his head then left.
"Anderson, what else do you think we'll need?"
"We'll need some water, maybe some bandages, and a blanket... maybe something that we could carry him back in, but yet easy to take with us."
"Alright, any ideas?" Jim looked around for a moment.
Jerry raised his hand. "Why not pack up a canvas?"
"Now what good will that do?" Don said frustrated.
"Well, if we cut it just right, then we'd be able to pack it, but also use it to carry Pappy back."
"And how do you suggest to carry it back?"
"I got it!" Anderson spoke up. "C'mon Jerry, we'll work on it." Anderson and Jerry left.
Jim sat down and looked at the island over-all map. "Don, how good are you at re-figuring map concordances?"
"Pretty good, why?"
"Do you think that you could re-figure this position on a ground map?"
"Sure."
"Then get to it." And Jim left the pen and stood below the stars. He slightly shuddered as the breeze passed over him. He had sudden memory flashes of the attack that sent Pappy down. He wasn't much on praying, but that night he prayed that when they set out to find Pappy, that he'd be alive.
"T.J? T.J wake up!"
T.J turned over and saw Jim standing over him. "Jim, what happened?"
"We're going after Greg."
T.J didn't need any further explanation, he quickly slipped his boots on, grabbed his jacket and stepped out of his tent.
The whole company was there.
"Anderson, Jerry, T.J, ready to move out?" Jim said. All three men nodded. "Casey, stay on that radio."
"You got it Jim."
Jim gave the Black Sheep one final nod, then the four men headed into the jungle.
The sound of a bird alerted Pappy awake. He tried to lift his head and look around, but he was too weak. He tried to take a deep breath, but the cold air forced him to cough, he could tell by the sound that he was sick; his cough was raspy and dry. He focused his eyes and saw some nearby berries, weakly he pulled his right hand out from the parachute and reached up to grab them.
His hand was shaking so much he almost couldn't get a hold of the berries. "C'mon Greg." he muttered to himself. He wasn't sure how, but he grabbed a whole handful and brought them back to his lips.
Chewing some of the berries almost wore Pappy out; painfully, he managed to swallow them. He noticed that the color of his hand wasn't good, it was pale. He then carefully touched his left shoulder with his right hand; the feeling of his own ice cold hand almost sent him into shock. He reached up and dropped a couple more berries in his mouth, after he swallowed them he fell back into the waiting darkness.
The trek through the mud was hard, many times the men had to stop to pull one of them free.
"How much farther?" Jerry asked.
"Well, if T.J and Don's calculations are correct, it's not much farther." Jim said looking at his map.
Jerry and Jim led the way, Anderson held back because he could see that T.J was confused.
"What's wrong T.J?"
"Anderson, did someone drug me last night?"
"No, why?"
"The last thing I remember was yelling at Boyle because I couldn't remember where Pappy had landed, now you guys are saying that I found him?"
Anderson smiled, "You were so tense last night that, your fear and anger clouded your mind. I uhh kind of put you in a trance to help you."
"You hypnotized me?"
"No, well not really. You see, when a person is filled with fear or anger or anxiety it can sometimes cause temporary memory loss. By getting them to calm down, it's easier to get that person to dig up those memories. It's kind of like how when a child has a really bad dream, you know, the kind that just shakes them up something fierce, a mother can calm those shakes by just calming the child."
T.J nodded his head, he wasn't too sure if he completely understood Anderson, but it made better sense than what he thought.
The group kept trudging on, the mud was thick on their boots and pants. Many times they had to rest.
T.J looked at the map one final time as the others rested. "Hey guys, I think I'm gonna go just a little farther."
"Why don't you rest T.J? You've been going since we left camp." Jerry questioned.
"I-I will, I just wanna go a little further."
The others rested as T.J went on, he walked through some grass but his feet stumbled as he hit more mud. He felt the need to keep going, as he took a few more steps he saw something strange. He walked closer and spotted Pappy's chute.
As T.J got closer a small smile formed across his face. "Hey guys! Guys, it's Pappy!" he rushed over to his leaders side. He could hear the others cheering as they got closer.
T.J carefully pulled back some of the chute; Pappy was pale, his lips were cracked from being dry.
"Is he alive?" Jim said as he rushed over. "T.J, is he alive?"
T.J placed his hand on Pappy's neck, the coolness from his hand slightly stirred the wounder man and he made a small moan.
"He's alive!" T.J said filled with joy.
Jim smiled, "Jerry, Anderson, get that stretcher contraption ready."
As the two men worked on the stretcher, Jim set up the radio. "Black Sheep to Home, Black Sheep to Home!"
"This home, go ahead Black Sheep."
"We found him! He's alive!"
When Casey received the news he jumped up yelling "Yahoo!"
Just then Boyle ran in. "What is it Casey?"
"They found Pappy, he's alive!"
Boyle ran out screaming the good news, cheers and hollering were sounded over the camp as Casey received the rest of the message.
"What was that Jim?"
"I said we'll be bringing him in as soon as T.J says, stand by for instructions."
"Will do."
"How is he T.J?"
T.J carefully rolled Pappy onto his back and began checking him for injuries. "He's dehydrated, and running a fever."
"Anything broken?"
T.J shook his head as he began checking for broken bones; he started with Pappy's feet and worked up to his shoulders. When his hand grasped Pappy's left shoulder, Pappy let out a weak cry.
Jim watched as T.J lifted Pappy's coat, and the look of pure fear flushed over him. "What is it T.J?"
T.J's words caught in his throat, he swallowed hard. "He's been shot."
The words struck Jim hard. "Is there an exit wound?"
T.J carefully slid his hand under Pappy's shoulder, then shook his head.
"Black Sheep to Home." Jim called on the radio. "Pappy was hit by a zero's bullet, T.J will be needing things ready by the time we get there."
"What will he be needing Black Sheep?"
T.J took the radio in his hand as Jim left to help the others. "Blankets, clean towels, warm and cold water, all the knives you can gather, bourbon or whiskey, and alcohol... and a sewing kit if anyone has one."
"We'll be ready T.J."
T.J grabbed a canteen then carefully lifted Pappy's head so he could try and get some water in him.
Pappy slowly stirred as he felt the cool water against his lips, out of pure instinct he reached up and grabbed the canteen and tried to guzzle the water.
"Easy Pappy," T.J spoke calmly. "Not so much, you'll get sick."
Pappy could barely hear his friends words, he turned his head and tried to open his eyes. "H-help." he whispered.
"Don't worry Pappy, you're gonna get help."
"T-T.J?" the words were a little clearer coming from Pappy.
"Yeah, it's me Pappy, Jim, Jerry and Anderson are here too, we're gonna get you home."
"He-he's on my tail, I-I can't shake him." Pappy reached up his trembling right hand. "I-I can't shake him."
T.J took Pappy's hand in his, he realized that Pappy was so overcome with fever that he thought he was still fighting a battle. "Don't worry Pappy, I'm right here with ya, we'll make it home."
His words seem to calm the Major down. Shortly after the others came over with the stretcher; it was a strong canvas that had sewn over panels so polls or logs could be slid in to act as handles.
"Here we go T.J." Anderson said as they laid it next to Pappy.
Jerry gently slid his hands under Pappy's arms, and Jim grabbed a hold of his feet, the men tried to carefully lift their friend to lay him on the stretcher, but Pappy let out a sharp cry as pain throbbed from his shoulder and through his body. But the pain soon eased as he was laid on the stretcher.
T.J wrapped Pappy in the extra blanket, then at the count of three the men lifted the stretcher and carried their leader back to camp.
The men waited at the base for about two more hours, Casey was worried when they hadn't called him since finding Pappy.
Just as he raised the radio mic to call them, Meatball's barking caught his attention. He stepped out and ran down to where the dog sat barking, it took him a moment but he could see the men returning with their precious cargo in the stretcher.
"Here they come!" he called out.
The others came running out from their tents and the Sheep's Pen to stand with Casey.
Jim and Jerry bared the weight of their leader as Anderson and T.J carried the supplies. As they broke into the opening a couple men rushed over to take the stretcher from their weary friends.
Boyle caught Jim and Don caught Jerry as their bodies just slumped from sudden lightness their arms were feeling.
Casey rushed up to T.J. "We got everything you asked for, it's waiting in Pappy's tent."
"Thank you Casey, get Jim and Jerry to their tents so they can rest and get cleaned up, then I'm gonna need you and Don."
Casey nodded his head, then helped Boyle and Don get Jim and Jerry to their tents.
"Anderson, I'm gonna need you too."
"You got it T.J." And he followed T.J into Pappy's tent.
The men carefully laid the stretcher on Pappy's cot, T.J washed his hands then knelt beside him and felt his forehead. "His fever's higher."
Casey rushed back in. "Here's some fresh water T.J, it's cold."
T.J dunked a rag into the water, then laid it over Pappy's forehead.
The sudden cold feeling shocked Pappy in his unconsciousness, he turned his head trying to get away from the feeling.
Anderson sat next to Pappy, holding his hand trying to comfort him while T.J poured alcohol into a bowl then dropped some knives, a pair of tweezers, and a needle in it. He then moved the small side table to Pappy's bedside.
"Anderson," he then said. "Can you and Casey get some more towels, bandages and an extra blanket?"
As the two left T.J knelt beside the Major. "Pappy," he whispered.
Slowly Pappy stirred. "T-T.J?"
"Yeah, yeah it's me Pappy. How are you feeling?" but he didn't respond. "Pappy, do you think you can sit up?"
Pappy slowly nodded his head, then painfully he sat up with T.J's help. T.J carefully slide Pappy's coat off, first the right arm so he could just let it slide off without moving his left arm.
T.J slipped Pappy's arms out of his flight suit and slid it down to his waist, then he carefully laid the half conscious Major back down. T.J could see the wound in Pappy's shoulder, the bleeding had stopped, probably from freezing in the night. T.J took another rag and soaked it in the warm water, then gently used it to wipe away the blood that was across Pappy's shoulder and chest.
Casey and Anderson returned and stopped, the sight of Pappy's wound about made Casey pass out. Shortly after Don joined them.
"We're ready T.J." Anderson spoke up finally.
T.J stood up and turned to hid friends. "Ok guys, this isn't going to be easy but Pappy needs us."
"What do you want to do?" Casey asked.
"Don, sit at Pappy's feet, Anderson sit at his waist. You'll have to be ready in case he thrashes around."
In slight fear Don and Anderson took their places, they hoped that Pappy wouldn't be awake for what was about to happen but they prepared themselves for something that was going to hurt them as well as Pappy.
"Casey, you'll have to help me, and I need you to be willing to take any command no matter what."
Casey swallowed, but agreed.
T.J knelt back down beside Pappy, then filled a small glass with some whiskey and slipped his hand under Pappy head and raised it. "Here Pappy, you gotta drink this."
Slowly Pappy drank the whiskey, he squinted his eyes in pain with every swallow until it was all gone.
T.J took the bottle of alcohol in his hand, he suddenly stopped, his hand began to shake.
"It's alright T.J." Anderson said, placing his hand on T.J's shoulder. "You can do this."
T.J nodded then carefully poured the alcohol onto Pappy's wound; the stinging pain grabbed at Pappy, he groaned as he tried to fight against it, but Anderson took a hold of his hands and Don grabbed his feet and they held him down.
T.J quickly grabbed a knife and while the pain of the alcohol still grasped at Pappy, T.J hoped that the knife wouldn't be any more painful. He carefully began to cut open the wound.
"Easy Pappy, easy." Anderson spoke gently, trying to calm the Major down. "You're alright."
Casey closed his eyes at the sight of blood, but swallowed and continued to help T.J.
As T.J cut deeper into the wound, Pappy cried out. "T.J, where-where are you?"
"He's right here Pappy," Anderson spoke. "We're all here."
"Get-get this zero off my tail, I-I can't shake him."
Casey and Don both looked confused, but Anderson kept reassuring his friend. "We're here Pappy, we'll get him. Don't worry."
Anderson was able to let go just long enough to get a fresh cool cloth to lay upon Pappy's head. "How's it going T.J?" he whispered.
"Almost there."
Pappy then turned his head. "T.J," he swallowed "Get above him... Take Anderson and get above him."
"We'll get him Pappy." Anderson said. "Just hold on."
Don kept praying that Pappy would just pass out, but he knew that Pappy was either too stubborn, or too overran with fever.
"I-I think I got it." T.J said, the men watched as he gently pulled the bullet free from Pappy's shoulder. "I got it."
Casey about passed out as blood began to flow harder from the wound.
T.J quickly sewed up a small vein, then packed the wound with thick bandages.
Anderson smiled then turned back to Pappy, "We got him Pappy."
Pappy slowly smiled, it seem to have taken a lot of energy to do so. "Let's go home guys." he whispered. Then he fell asleep.
As T.J finished bandaging Pappy up, Casey, Anderson and Don walked out, then Jim walked in. "How is he T.J?"
"I got the bullet out, but I won't know anything more until tonight or possibly tomorrow. How are you doing?"
"Oh, shoulders are sore, but I'm alright. Listen, why don't you go get some sleep I'll stay with him."
T.J tied off the bandage then pulled the blankets up to Pappy's shoulders.
"Go on T.J." Jim continued. "You've done all you can right now, I'll call if anything goes wrong."
T.J stood up and stared at Jim for a moment.
"Go on." Jim said one last time, T.J nodded then went to his tent and shortly after fell asleep.
"Hey Greg," Jim whispered as he sat next to Pappy. "You-you sure gave us a scare. What were you thinking, going after that zero all alone? You were always the one that said 'Don't leave without your wing-man'. But why did you?"
Jim knew that he wasn't going to get an answer right then, but he was going to make sure that he got some when Pappy got better.
The night was long, everyone was too worried about their leader to do anything productive. The Black Sheep gathered in the Sheep's Pen and just stared at their drinks.
"Now c'mon guys." Boyle finally spoke up. "Pappy's going to be alright. He's been wounded before."
"Yeah, but not like this." Jerry said.
"Jerry's right Boyle." Anderson jumped in. "Pappy had a zero's bullet in his shoulder, he slept out in the cold in a mud pit. He's lucky to be alive."
All the men nodded, just then Casey walked in.
"Well Casey?" Don asked.
"I was able to contact the hospital, they've started clearing one of the roads to try and get a doctor here, but they said that it would take some time."
"Well how much time?" Boyle questioned.
"It depends on how slick the mud still is. It could take a couple hours, or it could take a couple days. They'll know more in the morning."
Just then Jim walked in. "I talked with the doctor, he said that as long as we keep Greg hydrated, he should make it through this."
Everyone sighed with relief.
"Now, all of you, hit the sack. We'll need to fly a perimeter line in the morning."
The men slowly trudged past the temporary leader. Anderson stopped and laid his hand on Jim's shoulder. "How's T.J?"
"He's sitting with Greg right now."
T.J used a cool cloth to wipe away more sweat from Pappy's face, Pappy hadn't really spoke since the surgery earlier. T.J feared that maybe Pappy had fallen into unconsciousness instead of sleep.
"Hey Pappy?" he whispered. But no answer. "Pappy?" he said just a little louder.
"T.J?"
T.J smiled. "Yeah Pappy, it's me."
"What is it? Air-raid or Gen. Moore."
"Neither Pappy, I just wanted to tell you that the storms washed out the roads, it'll be a couple days before anyone can get through."
"How are the planes?" Pappy whispered.
"They're fine, Hutch is keeping them in top form."
"Good, now get some sleep."
T.J nodded and watched as Pappy turned his head and fell fast asleep. It made him feel better to know that Pappy hadn't been unconscious.
"Hey T.J?" a voice spoke from behind.
T.J turned. "Anderson, is everything alright?"
"Heh, I should be asking you that question."
T.J stood up and walked to the other side of the tent "His fever is still really high, but he's sleeping right now."
"And how about you?"
"I'm fine Anderson, I got some sleep earlier so I don't need you hypnotizing me again."
"Don't worry, I wouldn't. Jim's having us fly a perimeter line tomorrow, so you'll be down here by yourself for a couple hours."
"I see. Well, tell Jim not to worry; we'll be fine."
"Good night T.J" then Anderson left.
The morning flight was smooth.
"Anybody see anything?" Jim called out.
"Nothing yet." Boyle replied.
"I think we really spooked them the other day Jim." Casey said.
"You might be right Casey, but let's stay up here a little longer, I just wanna be sure."
Hutch worked on some small parts with Meatball at his side, occasionally her had to stop his work and comfort the sad pup.
"Ohh stop whining Meatball, Pappy'll be well soon."
Meatball liked the pat on his head, then something grabbed his attention and he ran off barking.
"Hey Meatball, what is it?" Hutch ran after the dog and saw a deep pulling in.
"Excuse me mechanic." the man said as he climbed out of the jeep.
Hutch realize who it was. "Hey, you're a doctor!"
"That's what they tell me back at the hospital."
"We-well last I heard the uhh roads were still blocked from the storms."
"They were able to get the short route open enough for me to get through, I understand you have a wounded man here."
"Uhh yeah, Pappy was shot down the other day." And Hutch guided the doctor into Pappy's tent, with Meatball at his side.
The Black Sheep flew over their island one last time.
"Hey Jim, did you see that?" Don spoke up.
"No, what was it?"
"It looked like a jeep, Jim." Casey said.
"It's a medical jeep, guys!" Anderson said excitedly. "A doctor got through!"
The radio was filled with cheers.
"Alright guys, let's get back down there." Jim commanded, and the Black Sheep landed their birds.
Jim was the first one out and on his way towards Pappy's tent; Boyle, Anderson and Don were right behind him.
As they got closer, the doctor walked out.
"Doc!" Jim called out. "How's Pappy?"
"He's very lucky, T.J did everything right for the surgery, so we won't need to transport the Major to the hospital."
"So-so how long do you think he'll be down Doc?" Don asked.
"He's very weak, probably from staying out in the cold all night with a badly bleeding shoulder, so he should stay in bed for at least a couple more days. Then after that he can roam around the camp, but no over excitement, and he'll be grounded for at least a week, maybe two, depending on how well his shoulder heals."
"Thanks Doc." Jim said.
The four men walked in Pappy's tent and had a small surprise; T.J was sound asleep, his head laying next their leader. And Pappy somewhat awake, holding and petting Meatball in his right arm.
"Greg?" Jim whispered.
Pappy raised his right index finger to his lips, signally the men to not wake T.J.
The men quietly walked closer, all with smiles on their faces.
"Hey you Meat-heads." Pappy whispered. "How was the flight?"
"Too quiet." Anderson spoke. "The enemy must be waiting for you to get better."
The men lightly chuckled, the movement sent a slight sharp pain through Pappy's shoulder, he closed his eyes and held his breath.
"You alright Pappy?" Boyle spoke up.
Pappy let out a long sigh. "Yeah Boyle, I'm alright."
"Well, we'll get outta here so you can rest Greg." Jim signaled for everyone to leave.
"Jim, wait a minute." Pappy spoke a little louder.
Jim held back. "What's up Greg?"
"What happened to me? Last I thing I remember was flying a bird that had a smoking tail."
Jim grabbed a chair and sat next to the still sleeping T.J. "The zero that flamed your bird overshot ya then came back and blew your canopy off, the bullet landed in your shoulder. You landed about an hour's walk from here. When we found you, you were curled up under your parachute. We brought you back, T.J removed the bullet and has pretty much been by your side all night."
Pappy just nodded and closed his eyes. Jim realized that he was falling back to sleep, and he quietly got up and left.
"The next few days seem to pass by pretty quickly, of course I slept through most of them. The mud dried up and pretty soon the Sheep's Pen was loaded with the nurses.
The men were happy that the Japanese had stopped their air-raids, but it got pretty dull around here and pretty soon they just flew the perimeter and returned home to beat up on each other after a fouled up baseball game.
I was grateful for my time off, but once my shoulder healed, it was like a beacon went off and every zero came after me. Now don't get me wrong; I did go after them, but I kept my wing-man close by."
"Hey Pappy, way to go you must've gotten the most out of that group." Boyle said over the radio.
Pappy just smiled, he hadn't done a lot of radio talk over the past few missions.
"How's your shoulder holding up Pappy?" T.J asked.
"It's alright T.J, Jim you fly lead home."
"You alright Greg?"
"Yeah I'm fine, just want to take it easy for minute."
Jim and Pappy's planes traded places, and Jim flew the lead.
T.J worried about their leader until he looked out his starboard window; Pappy was there signalling something. It took T.J a minute, but he realized that Pappy was signalling a thanks to him.
"Later that day, T.J asked me why I was signalling my thanks to him instead of using the radio. I reminded T.J that if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have made it out of the jungle, and the reason I didn't say it over the radio for everyone to hear was because I was little worried that the guys might tease him.
Whenever one of the guys in my outfit are teased, they go off half-cocked and do just about anything to prove the guys wrong and I didn't want that for T.J. Just once, I wanted him to have the credit without the guys baiting him for another fight.
I just wished it had lasted longer; T.J landed in the hospital for getting in a fight after Anderson and Boyle caught him doing a good deed for the doctor. These men will never learn."