Stalag 13, Barracks 2
October 15, 1943, 0930 hours
Kinch continued reading the information he had transcribed when he received the message from London overnight. The other men who formed Colonel Hogan's inner circle listened to the news with varying levels of indignation.
"A German munitions storage facility near Pilsen," Kinch read. "The Flaggsdorf Bridge near Frankfurt; An airplane factory near Munich; The tunnel on the main rail line through the Alps into Austria. And get this, for good measure, several statues at stadium in Nuremberg were destroyed." Kinch paused and looked at Colonel Hogan. "And this just in the past week," he added.
"Bloody show off," Newkirk commented bitterly.
"That Nimrod sure is a busy fellow," Carter said. "If he keeps up this pace, there won't be anything left for us to blow up."
"We do just as much as he does," Le Beau said, "but we don't get half of the credit. It's not fair!"
"Face it, Louis," Baker said. "We're stuck here in this prison camp. All of our activity has to be done nearby. Nimrod is able to run around the country at will blowing things up."
"I tell you, it's not fair!" Le Beau fumed.
Colonel Hogan leaned against one of the bunks watching his team's indignation of the exploits of Nimrod, the British spy that had been a thorn in the sides of the Germans for the past year. It was as if his men considered this a competition and didn't want to be outclassed. A little healthy competition is good for the morale. I just have to make sure that it doesn't lead to my men being careless.
"All right men," Hogan said, waiting for then men to calm down. "Remember, Nimrod is on our side. It doesn't matter who does it, as long as the German war effort is hindered."
"But Colonel, Le Beau said it," Newkirk said. "We do as much as he does, but don't get the credit."
"Remember Newkirk, we are supposed to be the Unsung Heroes," Hogan replied.
"It's just not fair," Le Beau muttered.
"The Colonel's right Louis," Kinch said. "We're not here doing this for the accolades or recognition." As Kinch spoke, the door of the barracks opened and Schultz walked in. Kinch paused for a second upon seeing Schultz, but then smiled and finished what he was going to say. "We're here to defeat those nasty German swine."
"Speak of the devil," Newkirk said, looking at Schultz.
"Newkirk, that's not fair," Schultz replied. "You know that I am neutral. I'm like Switzerland."
"And about as bloody big too," Newkirk quipped. The men at the table laughed.
"Jolly jokers," Schultz replied. "Maybe you do not want your mail today?"
Upon hearing the word 'mail,' the men shouted and scrambled after Schultz. He backed against the door and yelled, "Colonel Hogan, Colonel Hoooogaaaaan!"
"Come on," Hogan shouted to his men. "Give him some room."
The men backed away, leaving Schultz panting against the door. When everyone had settled down, Schultz began to call out the names and passing the letters around. When he was through, the portly sergeant left to deliver the mail to the other barracks in camp.
Kinch noticed that Colonel Hogan had not received any mail again. This was the second week in a row that the Colonel hadn't gotten a letter. Kinch looked at his commander and noticed that he had a slight frown on his face. The frown disappeared as Le Beau started up the argument where it left off.
"We need to do something to show up that Nimrod," Le Beau said defiantly.
"Hey, I just thought of something," Carter said.
"Now there's something new," muttered Newkirk.
"I think that Nimrod is not a real person," Carter stated.
Hogan looked up at Carter. "What makes you say that?" he asked.
"Well, I think that Nimrod is really a group of people that are all over the place," Carter explained. "They make it seem like it's one person to throw the Germans off track so they can't figure out who is doing it."
"That's balmy," Newkirk retorted. "Why would London tell us that it's Nimrod? They would only have to tell the Germans. We are getting our news direct from London."
"But Newkirk," Carter said. "If it was completely safe to communicate over the radio, then we wouldn't have to have code names, would we?"
Hogan smiled. "Carter," he said. "That's a very well thought out idea."
"Thanks sir," Carter replied. "Do you think that is the way it is?"
"Men, I don't think we'll know who Nimrod is until after the war," Hogan replied. "If we even find out then."
Hogan looked around at his men. He knew they were eager to open their mail, but didn't want to start if they were still discussing the exploits of Nimrod. "All right boys, you got your mail, now why don't you read it!" he said.
There was a loud rustle as envelopes were opened and news was exchanged. Hogan was about to retreat to his office when he caught Kinch looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Hogan knew what this meant. Kinch didn't miss much that went on around the barracks; Kinch would have noticed that he didn't get any mail again. The man knows me well. I suppose that's not surprising, since I picked him as my flight engineer, much to the dismay of some of my other friends. "You can have your pick of any engineer in the air corps," they would tell me. "Why pick him?" I got tired of saying "Because I can have my pick of any engineer in the air corps, and I want the best." I laid it on the line with my crew – if any of them had a problem flying with Kinchloe, they better put in for a transfer now. Some did. Good riddance! I didn't have the time to deal with their prejudices. Most of the crew stayed, and Lt. Fields, the navigator/radio operator even gave Kinch some unofficial training when he expressed interest in the equipment. I think Kinch appreciated my support, and now he looks after me. OK, so I didn't get any mail again. It happens.
Hogan threw a smile Kinch's way and said, "I'm going to rest a while. Kinch, Baker, whichever of you is manning the radio this afternoon, let me know when we get the transmission we are expecting."
"It's me today, Colonel," Baker replied. "I'll let you know as soon as it comes in."
"Thanks, Baker," Hogan replied as he retreated to his office.