Disclaimer: Only Muller is mine.
AN: Because Anonymous suggested it. Last call for suggestions. I think I'm only going to have one more chapter before I wrap this up.
Thanks as always to Suzanne of Dragon's Breath for the beta and to everyone who took the time to review.
Gestapo Dossier: Colonel Robert E Hogan, USA
Observations of Lieutenant Karl Muller, Gestapo
Sent to Major Wolfgang Hochstetter, Hammelburg Gestapo Headquarters
Decoded message follows:
Day 15
I have been remiss, perhaps, in that I have neglected to report my observations of the men of Hogan's staff.
These four individuals are not the sort one would expect to be on an American colonel's staff. All four are enlisted personnel, which is necessary because Hogan is the only officer in the camp, but they are not the highest ranks available; in fact two are corporals. As he is an American, common sense dictates that he would also have an American staff, yet two are from other countries. Most surprisingly, one member is a negro.
I mentioned Corporal Peter Newkirk in an earlier missive, though at the time I was unaware that he served on Hogan's staff. He is the rather talented British pickpocket who searched me soon after my arrival. I have not had close contact with him since, and I am rather content with that fact, as he seems to be the suspicious type. I mentioned already that he is a talented pickpocket, and he may or may not be skilled at other types of larceny as well.
Newkirk is the main reason I believe Hogan assembled his staff with something other than normal prison life in mind. I can think of very little use a pickpocket would be to normal prisoners with the exception of searching newcomers, and in that case the thief in question would not rate a place on the CO's staff. Even if Newkirk does serve Hogan as a scrounger, I believe Hogan would not court the resentment of other prisoners by having such an individual on his staff. However, if the prisoners routinely need to steal from their captors, then this anomaly is explained.
The second man on Hogan's staff is the French Corporal Louis Lebeau, a chef by trade. I have never had an excuse to speak with him, but from what I can tell he is a fierce French patriot, of the type that is currently fighting in the Free French with the exiled General de Gaulle. Where Newkirk is the self-serving opportunist, I can easily see Lebeau as part of the underground.
While I can understand why Hogan keeps Lebeau around—he has a reputation for making even prison rations enjoyable—I do not understand why he is on the staff. Chefs are servants, not advisors.
Sergeant James Kinchloe is the third member of the staff. He is an American and a negro. Though I have seen him, usually in formation or standing near Hogan, I have never heard him speak, nor have I seen any indication of a personality.
It is a mystery to me as to why Hogan chose this man. There are many more American sergeants, so rank is not the issue. Hogan could be trying to placate the other negroes, but that seems unlikely, as the population is not that large, and simply giving them orders should suffice. I can only conclude that he has some unique talent that makes Hogan ignore his color.
The final man is exactly what an outsider would expect Hogan to choose, yet he has no special abilities that recommend him, especially in light of the other staffers. As far as I can determine, Sergeant Andrew Carter, USA, has absolutely no unique skills. He was one of those who questioned me after my arrival, and his was the most subtle, but only because it was not an interrogation at all. I learned much more about him—his home, his family, his younger cousin's pet gerbil—than he learned about me.
The boy—I have no idea what his age is, but I cannot help but think of him as a boy—is a complete innocent. I did not think that was even possible in wartime, and I cannot imagine why Hogan would want him on his staff. Carter may have some small skill at vetting new prisoners, but many have more, and they are not so honored.
If this ever comes to an official investigation, I believe that Carter would be most likely to break under more rigorous questioning, whereas Newkirk might be able to be bought.
One possible explanation for Hogan's rather bizarre choices is, as I mentioned a few days ago, that he cannot keep others on his staff, because of a lack of perks, or simply because there is too much work involved. However, I seriously doubt this is the case. There is a certain amount of prestige associated with being on an officer's staff that I cannot see so many prisoners willing to forego, even with the dearth of perks available in a prisoner of war camp.
My observations lead me to believe that Hogan has other reasons for keeping these, for lack of a better word, characters on his staff, reasons that have little to do with his duties as the senior officer in a prison camp.