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Weaving A Web To Freedom

Book Three: Fliegerabwehrkanonen Spells FLAK

Chapter 30

Let Me Fill You In

Colonel Spaatz saluted and General Brooke quickly returned the courtesy. "At ease, Colonel."

"Excuse my curiosity, General, but do we have a problem?" Spaatz stepped back as Brooke made his way across the room to be seated.

"No, Colonel, relax. As far as we know nothing has changed."

Spaatz relaxed slightly, and then looking at the General, questioned. "Then what brings you here?"

General Brooke paused, leaned back in his chair and began. "When we first received Nimrod's communiqué, warning that Papa Bear might be compromised, we sent out orders to beef up the attempts to get Colonel Hogan's medical records out of Germany. We need to know what, if any, progress has been made by Germany toward …" The General fumbled for the correct phrase. Looking at the American Colonel, he decided to be blunt, "…brainwashing." The General shifted in his chair, before continuing. "During our efforts to attain this information, we have learned from our operatives that project 'Monarch' is being watched from within the German army, and that some of the Colonel's medical records have already been copied and are in the possession of a group of German officers who want to stop Hitler. We have offered them our help in exchange for a copy of those records."

Colonel Spaatz took a minute to absorb what he had just heard. "I assume there is more, General," the Colonel stated as he sat down to continue the conversation.

Brookes smiled, "Your assumption is correct. We've just heard from our contact in Germany that he has struck an agreement. We will receive a copy of what medical records the Nazis possess in exchange for explosives set off by a timer and camouflaged as a brief case. The Germans don't want to receive delivery of the explosives until they are ready to use them. There is less chance of their being exposed. But in a show of good faith, the information we want is ready for us. We've contacted Stalag 13 and informed them of the pick-up location and time. Now we wait."

"Do we have any idea what sort of testing they've been putting Ro…" Spaatz swallowed the familiarity and corrected himself. "…Colonel Hogan through?"

"Only what little his men have conveyed following the Gerry's interrogation of them at Stalag 13 when they were being questioned about what happened with Strasser. And then Hogan's recounting following his Gestapo's interrogation and subsequent second trip to Hohemark. It was only then that the Colonel began to fully understand what was happening. He admits there are parts of his treatment by the Nazis he doesn't remember. Some of which had to do with drugs that were tried on him. He does remember the first round of injections lowered his defenses and the Nazis attempted to get him to answers their questions. He was able to resist, but next they gave him something that knocked him out and he has only been able to recall bits and pieces of what occurred during that time. He said he remembers faces, voices, and words like: 'better world, strength, Aryan'. But they are all disjointed. Our researchers say it sounds like attempts at reprogramming. Colonel Hogan claims that whatever it was that they were trying, it didn't have the desired effect and so they released him. The camp medic said Colonel Hogan was sick and going through withdrawal when he returned to camp, but he recovered fully and is still in command and functioning normally. Well, actually I think he said 'He's still in command and as stubborn as he's always been'." General Brooke raised an eyebrow at Spaatz.

Spaatz smiled and nodded, "Sounds familiar!"

General Brooke nodded his head, "Well, you should know, he was under your command."

"Oh, he always followed orders…after he told me what he thought." Spaatz smiled, remembering some of their respectful though heated conversations. "What did you mean by they took him to Hohemark the 'second' time?" Spaatz asked.

The General's smile faded. "There are some things you don't know about Colonel Hogan's initial encounters with the Axis power. As you know, Hogan spent a lot of time at Auswertestelle West after he was first shot down. He said that while he was there he experienced intensive interrogation as they tried to get military information from him. And according to Black Paw that is how it started out. What you don't know is that it went beyond that. Colonel Hogan had the misfortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time and his strong willed determination to not give the Nazis any information earned him a spot in project 'Monarch' …at the outset, long before his encounter with Major Martin, alias the former Hans Strasser."

Spaatz sat up a little straighter, "You mean Hogan had been experimented on before we sent Major Martin to check out the rumors that the Nazis were gong to include him in 'Monarch'?" Spaatz looked away before looking back at the General as it dawned on him he was deliberately not told of this earlier involvement. "Why was I not informed?"

"You'll have to take that up with your government. It was their decision how far down the ranks that information traveled. And it wasn't far. I don't have to remind you, Colonel, that this is all classified information and does not go beyond this room." Brooke stopped himself from saying more. He didn't want to breach security. He knew why it didn't reach Spaatz. The information had been classified by the US under National Security and was no longer a military issue. Evidently it wasn't just Germany and Britain studying brainwashing techniques.

The General continued, "Black Paw wasn't able to get any of the specifics about the first studies being done at Hohemark, but he did learn that they had drafted an American Colonel into the project. A Colonel, whose name he later learned was Colonel Robert E Hogan. We all assumed when they released Hogan to Wetzlar transit camp that they had concluded their experiments. We made some attempts to get our hands on the records but 'Monarch' was too highly classified and Black Paw heard no more. Hogan's name and internment at Stalag 13 turned up on the POW lists from Germany about two months later. We all mistakenly assumed Project Monarch had been abandoned and was a dead issue. We had put the matter to bed realizing that unless Colonel Hogan managed to escape and make his way back to England, it was unlikely we would learn anything more. And then about three months after his capture we receive word from one of our submarines that they had been contacted via radio by a bunch of POWs in a Stalag in Germany!"

"And is that when you got the idea to start a… What is it Rob calls it, oh, yeah a 'Travelers Aid Society?"

Brookes laughed, "His words, not ours. He originally wanted out of Germany and back in the sky, but he decided he liked the idea of outsmarting the Germans in their own backyard, and the POW's started arriving back in England in increasing numbers. It wasn't long before your Ace Pilot was after us to let them do more than just move escaping prisoners out of Germany." Brookes laughed, "He seemed to have some pretty grandiose ideas…and we started liking them, but we weren't sure he could pull them off. That is when we pulled you into our confidence. We needed more of a character reference. It proved to be a wise decision to take him up on his offer."

Spaatz smiled remembering that meeting. What a shock and a relief to learn Rob had been in touch with London all this time. Spaatz's smile faded, "So you've never told Colonel Hogan that you knew the Nazis took him to Hohemark hospital to experiment on him after he left Durchgangslager?"

"There didn't seem to be any point. If he couldn't remember, why tell him and risk bringing back memories he possibly wouldn't be able cope with? He was performing so well with his sabotage and espionage; we didn't want to rock the boat over something that was over. Anyway that is a mute point now; Colonel Hogan is starting to remember that first encounter on his own. What concerns us at present is, if the Nazis haven't been able to get anywhere in their experiments on him, why do they keep coming back?"

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"Out." Baker ended his radio transmission and gave Wilson the hastily translated message.

"Well that explains that." Wilson ran his left hand through his hair as he read the clipboard Baker handed him.

"What explains what?" Kinch asked, walking into the radio room.

Baker and Wilson looked up from the message they had just received.

"Baker just received an answer from London on why we haven't been able to get any penicillin dropped in," Wilson began. "A truck delivering supplies to some of the field hospitals disappeared. Part of its load was penicillin for the wounded. All the remaining available penicillin has been rounded up to replace what was lost and is already in route. They'll let us know when they have the next batch released for dispersal."

"What do they mean the truck disappeared?" Kinch asked, as he pulled a stool out from underneath the radio table and sat down.

"They didn't elaborate on that. It could have been blown up by a land-mine or caught on fire during an attack who knows? The fact is it's gone and it will be awhile before we can get any medicine to help the Colonel." Baker laid the headset down on the table and hung the clipboard back up on the nail head.

"So nobody else get shot, understand?" Wilson stated loudly. "I wish I had saved one round of the penicillin I gave Dirk."

"Is the Colonel that bad off?" Kinch asked, looking at the medic's worried face.

"It's not good, Kinch. It's not good." Wilson stared down at the floor, searching his mind for an alternative course of action. "When I checked on him after roll call, I could tell his fever was up." Wilson looked up at Kinch. "I decided to continue to wait until after breakfast to change his dressing and then clean it out good, and I mean really good. But by the time I came back after breakfast, I had convinced myself to go to Klink if the Colonel's wound looked like I feared it would, and ask for medical intervention."

Kinch quietly digested this bit of information and then added, "That explains why you were so upset when you saw the Colonel and Klink driving away."

Wilson somberly nodded.

"Well, I hate to drop more on you, Joe, but you may want to go have a look at Newkirk and LeBeau. Captain Krantz SS just dropped in a little while ago and forcefully asked them some questions. They're in the cooler."

The medic looked up at Kinch concerned, "Well, why didn't you tell me instead of letting me ramble on? Can I get to them the conventional way or do I need to go through the tunnel?"

"You can walk in through the front door. Gruber gave his permission. I think he feels bad for not being able to prevent it. Carter and I have been to see them. They don't look like they're too bad off, but their faces were starting to swell some and they had some cuts that were bleeding quite a bit."

"On my way." Wilson headed out and then stopped. Turning back and looking at the radio men he added, "You know, we're lucky to have a couple of Krauts in charge of this camp who give a damn." Wilson again turned to leave and as an afterthought turned back adding, "…some of the time anyway." With that he disappeared into the tunnels.

Kinch nodded his head. Wilson was right it could have been a lot worse if their Kommandant was a flag-waving Nazi. As it was, Colonel Klink thought of himself as a German officer, a soldier bound by military regulations but still holding onto a code of honor, sometimes feebly, but holding on nonetheless.

Baker took a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Kinch. "Before Wilson arrived asking about the penicillin, London sent this message to 'Papa Bear'."

Kinch took the paper from Baker and studied it. Looking back at Baker he said, "This could be a challenge!"

Baker smiled, "Yeah, its times like this I'm glad the Colonel chose you as his second in command and not me!"

Kinch looked at Baker and scowled. Scratching his head he turned to pace.

Baker smiled to himself, Judging from the Colonel and Kinch, I guess pacing goes with the job.