Chapter by Dax
The sleeping giant was once again going back to fight the mighty Japanese Empire, only this time, they were the ones who were going to be doing the first strike. Resiliently, the Americans had learned that the enemy had set up base in the Solomon Islands.
The location: Guadalcanal.
It was the only island big enough to fit an airfield and Japanese had been in the process of finishing it, so they had to attack now.
August 7, 1942
The Island of Guadalcanal was being hit from the sea as a number of American Destroyers and Cruisers. Their guns fired in unison of each other, thus catching the defending Japanese forces off guard. As they showered the island with lead and steel, fuel dumps were hit, outposts and even the airfield were hit by the navy's constant attack. Onboard the carrier Enterprise, Captain Samuel Davis stood proud, with him, Lt. Colonel Eve Maverick. Turing to the his superior and fellow pilot, Sam could see there was something very wrong with the way Eve was acting.
"You okay Mama Bear?" Sam asked her.
Looking up at the concerned captain, Eve held out a telegram she had just received from the war department. Sam didn't need to be told what it was, for he already knew.
"My husband was killed in action three days ago," Eve sobbed, bringing a hand to her mouth muffle the sound "I haven't even told Kate or Lilly yet."
The pain Eve felt must have been unbearable. She had now lost her husband of twenty five years, who had given her two wonderful daughters, and had remained truly faithful to his wife. Eve was in no way fit for combat duties while in this state, so Captain Davis called up a member of the ship's medical staff to take her down below to rest and have time to mourn.
"Take care of her, otherwise the Angels and I'll have your ass," he shouted to the ship's medic.
Across the flight deck of the Enterprise, Cain sat on the wing of his Hellcat fighter plane. He watched Eve get taken below deck, but could only shake his head. Turning to his brother who was running the final safety checks on his plane, the dark wolf asked his brother,
"Do you think Eve will be alright?"
Able smiled and looked up at his brother.
"Eve is the toughest woman I know. There was even a time when Eve took on three crooks who tried to rob her on her and Winston's first date." Able then finished his safety checks before looking over at Guadalcanal, the beach now looked like it had been hit by a meteor the size of the Empire State Building.
"Those Japs have better just raise the white flag and give up."
First Lieutenant Dax Stirling ran up.
"Get ready for take off! We launch in five!"
Pilots rushed to the flight deck and gathered around Lt. Col Able "Cloud" Adams and Colonel Jaime "King" Ramirez. Deck crews hurried to prepare the planes for take off, responding efficiently to the impending battle that was about to happen.
The armored dive bombers were fueled, armed with 1000 pound bombs, and were all ready for take off. Meanwhile, Able was addressing the pilots that gathered together.
"The strength of the Japanese forces on the island are unknown. Devil Squadron will lead the dive bomb attack. While Angel Squadron will be their fighter protection. But Rouge Squadron will remain on the Enterprise, being only allowed to take flight if our carrier task force comes under enemy attack."
Lt. Col Humphrey "Rex" Chambers Sr, a veteran pilot of the first world war, looked at his fellow pilot with concern.
"But what if the Japs have set a trap for our Marines, and are cut down before reaching the airfield?"
"The bombers from the USS Saratoga will help clear the way for our ground forces," Able explained. "Now is the time for us to finally get back at the Japanese for what they did to us at Pearl Harbor. Good luck and God be with you."
Somewhat reassured, Rex along with the rest of the pilots of Enterprise raced toward their planes.
The battle for Guadalcanal had now begun.
Dax, preparing to depart, placed his late father's Bowie Knife in its sheath and hurried to his dive bomber. When he reached it, Jake Banners, his fresh-faced young tail gunner, was sitting in his seat waiting for him.
"Feeling alright, sir?" Jake asked enthusiastically.
"Like shit, but ready to kick some. How about you, Jake?"
Jake beamed. "Right now I feel like I could take on the whole Japanese Empire myself."
"Yeah," Dax said quietly, "I know what you mean."
In just a matter of minutes, Devil Squadron was flying over the Japanese defensive positions. Able gave the order.
"Attack in squadron order!"
Then he and his team of bombers went into a dive. Japanese soldiers on the ground ran for cover as explosions erupted around them.
In Dax's cockpit, his gunner, Jake, was jostled by the sudden dive of the bomber. Trying to keep his grip on gun in his hand, he shouted,
"Whoa! Dax, I can't seem to find my restraints."
"Just hang on!" Dax shouted over the sound of the biggest explosion he had ever heard . "Bomb away, now we just have to-" bullets ripped through the side of his cockpit as a Japanese Zero flew by.
"Jake! Be ready on that gun, the Japs have fighters!"
Jake didn't answer. Dax manged to crane his around and saw Jake, blood streaming from his forehead, slumped against his gun.
He was gone.
The Zero that had claimed Jake's life was flown by the legendary Japanese ace, Saburo Sakai! He had fifty kills and now he was looking to add the Enterprise's pilots to his kill count. Looking out across the battle field, Saburo saw the leader of Devil Squadron. With a smile, he turned and went after Able.
As Able was making another pass to strafe the enemy positions with machine gun fire, Saburo Sakai opened fire on him. Bullets ripped though his right wing, almost cutting it off. Fighting hard to stay in the air, he could see that he was losing fuel as well, and very quickly at that to.
Corporal Cassandra "Candy" Malone of Angel Squadron saw that Able was in trouble. "I'm coming, Colonel," she declared. "Bank right and I'll cover you."
"Negative! I just lost power to my engine!" Came his reply. "Just keep the rest of the bombers safe!"
With inhuman precision, Saburo Sakai depressed the fire control of his Zero again. A loud, desperate shout sounded over the radios of the both Angel and Devil Squadron, blending into a final agonized scream of flesh and metal as Able's dive bomber went down in a ball of fire.
Second Lt. Delilah "Skunk" Cutter and Corporal Samson "Strongman" Johnson both saw their leader die, and it was fellow pilot, Private Elise "Squirt" O'Connor who cried out, "We lost Cloud! I repeat, Cloud is KIA!"
When Cain heard what Elise had just said, he didn't reply immediately. His eyes were watering, and he angrily wiped them clear. They were blurring his view of the battlefield.
"We're a couple of shooting stars, Able," he whispered huskily, "And we'll never be defeated."
Once the objective was complete, Cain lead his team and Angel Squadron back to the Enterprise. Once there, Cain went straight to his brothers bunk and sat down on it. The once strong willed Captain of Devil Squadron was truly broken. As the crew of the Enterprise cheered on their pilots, Cain ignored them, heart broken over the loss of his only brother. Seeing how hurt he was, Terra picked up a blanket and placed it gently over his shoulders.
"There wasn't anything you could have done," she whispered comfortingly. "But you must be strong. You are the new leader of Devil Squadron and they need you now more then ever."
"I can't believe he's gone," came Cain's reply, his voice a ghost of whisper. "And Dax was shot down also, I saw him go down before we could return to the ship."
Out on the Enterprise's flight deck, Sweets looked out over the sea toward Guadalcanal.
"Please be alright, Dax. Come back to me," she said.
August 8, 1942
The next day, as the US Marines started setting up shop at the now captured Japanese airfield they had now named Henderson Field, a group of them were scouting out the area where Dax's plane had crashed.
As one of the Marines advanced toward the downed dive bomber, a Japanese soldier came charging out of the bushes, intent on killing the Marine with his bayonet, but Dax came out of nowhere and saved the Marine.
The other four Marines watched in amazement as the two struggle to gain control of the bayonet. Reaching for his Bowie Knife, Dax was able to get behind the Japanese soldier before stabbing him in the neck. Two more Japanese soldiers came rushing out with their bayonets, the four Marines raised their weapons to fire, but Dax ordered them to stand down. He wanted to fight them himself. With blinding speed, the Lieutenant dodged the first soldier and rolled behind the second one, killing him with his Bowie Knife, but the first Japanese soldier was able to turn around and tried to run Dax through with his bayonet.
Dax avoided the attack and tried to slice the throat of the enemy soldier, but he evaded and managed to knock the Bowie knife out of the Dax's hands. The enemy soldier then took a chance to charge at the now unarmed pilot. Both warriors slammed into a tree. The Marines just watched as the Japanese soldier tried to push Dax away from him, the Texas wolf was too strong. But with one more final push of force the Japanese soldier was able to get the upper hand and knocked Dax to the ground.
That however gave Dax an opening to kick the Japanese soldier away, giving himself enough time to pull out a spare throwing knife tucked away in his boot. The Japanese soldier never knew what hit him until he felt the sharp blade fly into his neck. The Japanese slowly fell to the ground before dying. Dax got up and gave an Apache war cry of victory and shouted,
"No one will ever defeat us" in Apache before giving the dead Japanese soldiers a salute.
However, as the Marines began setting up shop at the airfield, the Enterprise was sent back out to sea. This however proved to be a bad idea. Because that night in the area of the New Georcia Sound, the Japanese Navy sunk four heavy cruisers in just thirty minutes and damaged one light cruiser and one destroyer. The death toll for the Americans was 1,077, and that was the price for overestimating the enemy.
The next morning, Dax and the rest of the Marines came to realize that they now were the only ones who were left to hold Guadalcanal from the powerful Japanese Empire. All they had to fight with were light Artillery and Springfield rifles left over from the First World War. Well, if this was what they had, they were going to make Uncle Sam proud of his fighting forces.
When the Japanese learned that the American forces had withdrawn from Guadalcanal, they felt this was their time to strike. So they sent a massive Carrier fleet and troop transports to wipe out the Enterprise and retake the island for the Marine defenders.
August 20, 1942
Three Japanese carries, the Ryujo, Shokaku, and Zuikaku all were heading to engage the Enterprise and Saratoga. No one would know who would come out on top, but God did know the outcome of the future battle that was about to take place.
August 24, 1942
Enterprise's crew were in full combat mode, over a hundred Japanese fighters and bombers were baring down on the American carrier. 54 Hellcat fighter rushed to intercept the enemy, among the fighter were members of Angel, Rouge and Devil Squadron.
Private Elise "Squirt" O'Connor was the first to spot the approaching Japanese planes.
"I see the enemy!" she was ecstatic. "I'm moving in."
With that, she dove her plane toward the center of the oncoming Japanese air force. From above, her older brother, Private Daniel "Pipsqueak" O'Connor of Rouge Squadron flew up beside his sister.
All his flying instincts kicked in, and he was locked in on the intoxicating challenge of winning. An enemy Val dive bomber drifted into his sights ahead.
"You're mine, Jap!" he said, bringing his Hellcat into firing position behind the enemy bomber.
Daniel fired...and the bomber fell from the sky.
His first kill ever!
Aboard the Enterprise, Anti-air guns erupted in a hails storm of lead and steel. Then the battleship North Carolina opened fire behind the Enterprise. It was becoming the biggest battle the US had ever fought. Up in the air, Sergeant George "Hench" Mahony and Rex were going after some Zeros. In the corner of his eye, Hench saw a group of Val dive bombers go into a dive, their target the Enterprise.
"Rex, you see?!" Hench shouted.
"They're going for the Enterprise! Stop them!" Rex shouted. He and the sergeant turned toward the diving Vals and began picking them off. Just as Rex was about to take out the last bomber, it released its bomb.
Then just like that, the massive aircraft carrier Enterprise shook from the huge explosion. The Japanese had landed a direct hit on the carrier! The ship began to roll over as fire crews and sailors fought to save their ship.
"Keep them away from the Enterprise!" Eve ordered, but it was too late. Another Val bomber scored another direct hit fifteen feet away from where the first bomb had hit, this explosion that killed a number of the Anti-air gunners on port side of the Enterprise.
Fire and smoke was seen coming from the upper and lower decks of the Enterprise, she was damaged, but still in the fight. However, another Val scored a third direct hit on the Enterprise, this time the damage was overwhelming. Captain Arthur Davis ordered a full left rudder, but the helmsman couldn't get the carrier to obey the command. The ship's steering was out and now they were out of control. The entire task force had to circle around the Enterprise to keep from hitting the damaged ship.
With their mission accomplished, the attack Japanese bombers and their fighter cover made their way back to their carriers. Japan had won this battle, but the war was far from over. But in a twist of fate, the damage done to Enterprise saved her from sinking. The second Japanese attack group had no idea that the American carrier was still right where they had bombed her, so they had gone in the wrong direction.
The next day, the deck of the Enterprise was now filled with pilots and crew members who had gather to berry their dead at sea. Taps were played, goodbyes were said, and the pilots of Devil Squadron lowered their head in a silent prayer for their fallen leader, Lt. Col Able "Cloud" Adams. Cain walked up to the coffin that had his brother's belongings in it. The dark wolf pulled out a bible and read from it. With a smile, he looked up at his team of pilots.
"Every time you see a cloud, remember that it was Able who taught us the meaning of teamwork," he said.
"May God be with you, Able."
Then the bodies of the fallen were thrown into the sea, where they would stay. Then the Enterprise made its way back to Pearl Harbor for repairs. The Japanese also did the same and returned to the safety of the Japan's waters to regroup and rearm.
October 26, 1942
A huge Japanese navel force that consisted of four mega carriers, Shokaku, Zuikaku, Junyo, and Zuiho were heading right for Guadalcanal, and the only thing stopping them was USS Enterprise and Hornet. However, two American dive bombers quickly took the Zuiho out of the fight. Now it was three against two, and now, it was time for the real battle to begin.
TO BE CONTINUED…