Chapter Two - Tennessee Boys
November 26 1937
"All aboard!" came the booming voice of the train conductor.
Rafe and Danny shot each other a look. "Well, Rafe, I guess this is it," said Danny. He picked up his bag.
Rafe nodded. "This is it, Danny."
Jeremy, Rafe's little brother, handed him his bag and smiled a small goodbye. His face was young and serious. "Rafe, you gotta come back for us, okay? You too, Danny?"
Ella, next to him, nodded agreement. She reached out and gave Rafe a hug, then gave Danny one for good measure. "Bye," she whispered softly.
Rafe looked over the heads of his siblings, at his parents. Even though he was merely twenty-one, he was already taller than both of them. His father was smiling proudly, and his mother was dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. "Take care, Rafe," she murmured through her tears.
Rafe leaned over and kissed her. He hugged his father. "Bye, Daddy. Bye Mom."
Mrs. McCawley motioned to Danny to come over, and she gave him a goodbye hug as well.. "Rafe, you take care of Danny, alright?"
Rafe laughed. "Don't worry, Mom, I've been doin' that since he was born."
Danny punched him, laughing too.
"All aboard!"
"Rafe, we gotta go," Danny nudged him.
Rafe nodded. He grabbed his bag and took one last look at his family before he and Danny stepped together onto the train. It would be a long time before he would see them again.
***
November 28 1937 New Jersey
"This is Hayden Field?"
Rafe and Danny stared at the sprawling grounds before them, mouths slightly open in shock and awe. There were hangars upon hangars, and planes upon planes...more than either of them had ever seen in one place. The happy, friendly cries of young pilots like themselves filled the air. Danny smiled to himself. He had been here only a few seconds, and already he felt as if he belonged.
"Yo! New boys, are ya?"
Danny turned. A cocky-looking pilot, about their age, was making his way towards them.
"I'm Anthony. Anthony Velucci," said the stranger, sticking out his hand.
"I'm Danny Walker," said Danny, shaking Anthony's hand. "And this is my best friend — "
"— Rafe McCawley." Rafe supplied, also taking Anthony's hand. "Good to meet ya."
"Tennessee, right?" said Anthony. "You got one strong Southern accent." Rafe smiled assent.
"I'm from Brooklyn. But I'm Italian, actually," he continued. "Brooklyn's close by. Been down here some days already. You oughta see Captain Connor, he's the guy in charge of new boys like us. Just go straight until you see the big fancy building."
Danny squinted into the sunlight. Anthony's directions were vague, but he could well see what he meant by the "big fancy building". He could make out its silhouette, outlined against the sky. It was indeed somewhat opulent. "And we thought we were early," he murmured, glancing back at Anthony.
Anthony laughed. "Guys like us who volunteer to fly are all one breed. We can't wait to get into the cockpit."
Rafe picked up his bag, and he nodded at Anthony. "Thanks, man."
"See ya around," Danny added.
Anthony nodded, and waved as they left.
***
"Another pair of early birds."
Captain Connor was an experienced and tough officer who had long learnt that rookie pilots with a thirst for flying were not to be trifled with. As one of his buddies had once said, "Don't ever get between them and their wings."
These two young bucks from Tennessee who now stood before him looked exactly like the kind his friend had had in mind. He looked them up and down, pacing about his office as he did so. The taller one, McCawley, showed no sign of being scared. There was something steady and confident about his countenance. The shorter one, Walker, seemed equally sure of himself. Captain Connor could see however that Danny Walker was apt to be more levelheaded than his friend. Already he could see Rafe McCawley's eyes darting surreptitiously towards the airplanes outside that decorated Hayden Field.
Danny held back, so Rafe took the lead. "Yes, sir," he said. "We, uh, are looking forward to being a part of the Army Air Corps."
Connor laughed heartily. "Is that so, McCawley?"
Rafe nodded. So did Danny.
Connor was tempted to smile at their unassuming pride, but checked himself. "Very good, then." He reached into his desk and pulled out a sheet of paper. Handing it to Rafe, he said, "This is the room allocation. You two are sharing 7-A. Since you're early you are not expected to help in the airfield, but you are free to wander about. Keep in mind, though, that by December 5th you are expected to report PROMPTLY at 0630 hours to Hangar Three for training. You got that, McCawley and Walker?"
"Yes sir," said Rafe.
"Yes sir," Danny echoed.
"Very well. Dismissed."
Rafe and Danny saluted and made their way out. Captain Connor permitted himself a small smile and a nod. Experience gave him a gut feeling now that those two would be outstanding in time to come.
***
Danny flopped down on his bed and looked across at Rafe, who was gazing about him with wide open eyes. "Ain't this great, Danny?" he asked, almost like an enthusiastic child in that moment. Actually, Danny reflected, that was all they were...enthusiastic children who loved to fly.
Danny got up and started unpacking methodically. "Sure is, Rafe."
Rafe had never been one for orderliness. Ignoring his bag, he examined the room plan he had been given. "Look here, Danny, it says Anthony's in 5-A. That's just down the corridor. And our room neighbours in 7-B are called William Jackson and Red Winkle." He walked over to the door and opened it. There was no one in the adjoining 7-B. "Not here yet," he announced.
Danny, done with his unpacking, pointed to Rafe's bag. "Rafe, are you planning to touch that?"
Rafe gave his bag a sidelong glance. "That? My bag? Oh Danny, there's a whole big field to explore. Who wants to sit in here and empty out bags?"
Danny sighed. Rafe had always made it a point to protect him, as he was younger, but sometimes he felt a little like Rafe's caretaker himself. Smiling a little he recalled the episode when Rafe had insisted that Danny make him wings out of cardboard, and Danny had tried to make him see sense. Needless to say his efforts had been futile. He threw up his hands. "Okay, Rafe, let's go. Where do we start?"
Rafe pulled Danny out to the corridor where there was a large map of the field on the wall. He jabbed a finger at a spot on the map. "Hangar One. We start there. That's probably where they keep all the best P-40s. Betcha anything they're gonna train us with the old and tired ones."
***
December 5 1937
"What did I tell ya?" Rafe whispered to Danny.
It was their first day of cadet school, and Danny had to admit that the P-40s they were looking at seemed somewhat less spiffy than the ones they had seem in Hangar One some days ago. If he hadn't known better he would have thought them to be un-flightworthy. With a little dusting off, they could probably fly all right, but definitely not as well as the brand new ones that were used by the more senior pilots.
Captain Connor stood before them, tall and commanding, but to the row of young and eager cadets he was not intimidating. Most of them had only one thing on their mind — flying. Danny himself was no exception. His hands were itching to grip a joystick.
"Good morning, cadets," Connor began.
"Good morning, sir," they said in reply.
"I see you are all dressed and ready," Connor said in approval. Danny's eyes darted down at his new uniform. To others, it might have been exhilarating, frightening, even unbelievable, that they were actually wearing the uniform of the Army Air Corps. But Danny felt perfectly at ease. He could have been born to wear this uniform. Probably was, he thought.
Connor's voice jolted him out of this pondering. "This is the United States Army Air Corps, gentlemen," said Connor, sounding deadly serious. "Playtime's over. This is for real now. You are going to learn to fly, and you will learn it well, or not at all. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir!" they chorused.
Connor rubbed his hands together and nodded. "Good, then. Let's get started. First of all, those of you who have flown before, raise your hands."
Only two hands went up. Rafe's — and Danny's. They looked at each other and smiled.
If Connor was impressed he showed no sign of it. He stepped forward and stood in front of Danny. "Walker, is it?"
"Yes, sir," said Danny curiously.
"You say you have flown before?"
Danny nodded.
"Good. Now, tell me what a pilot ought to do first before starting a flight."
Danny relaxed. He knew that like the back of his hand. "Check the plane for fuel, and mechanical problems. Make sure there is enough room for takeoff and clear the runway of objects — "
Connor was nodding. He held up a hand. "That will do, Walker. Now, McCawley, how many times have you flown before?"
"I don't know, sir," said Rafe. "Too many for me to remember."
Now Connor looked slightly impressed. Danny grinned inwardly. "Do you agree with Walker's instructions, McCawley?" asked Connor.
"Absolutely, sir."
Connor stepped backward and looked at Rafe and Danny with some satisfaction. Then his gaze spread to the other pilots, some of whom were staring at Rafe and Danny with awe and admiration. "You heard them, men. By the end of this lesson, I expect you to know all that, plus whatever else Walker was going to say before I cut him off." He nodded to the various other training officers behind him. "These officers here will be in charge of your training. Disperse."
The row scattered as the pilots milled towards the training officers, who were heading for an open field behind the hangar and ordering them to follow. Danny was about to go when he was halted by Captain Connor's voice. "By the way, McCawley and Walker — is everyone in Tennessee like you two?"
Rafe shook his head. "No, sir. Not likely."
Connor nodded. "Good," he said. Then he smiled suddenly, a rare smile. "I don't think I could deal with a whole uprising of Tennessee boys like you, threatening to steal my job on the first day of cadet school."
Rafe smiled as well. So did Danny. "Thank you, sir," they both said.
Connor's smile disappeared, and the businesslike mien returned. He gestured towards the fading crowd. "Get to work, boys."
They saluted and ran to catch up with the others. Danny allowed himself to celebrate inside. His first impression hadn't been wrong. This was indeed one place where he belonged, and he had known it all along.
***
Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed — you know who you are! And thank you now for reading. I hope you enjoyed Chapter Two as much as I did. Once more do forgive any errors and tell me if you find them. I made up a whole lot of stuff in this chapter - hope you all don't mind! Remember to review!