Georg and the Admiral

With Maria and the children behind him, Georg himself opened their front door. Before him stood a tall lanky man in a very dark navy blue uniform with two rows of gold buttons on the front of his coat. He had two rows of colorful service bars on the left side of his coat. His sleeves were trimmed with three rows of flat gold lace with the outer two wider than the middle one.

The officer spoke immediately. "Good morning sir. I'm Commander Cummings. Admiral Jessup sent me to bring Captain von Trapp to the train station in Philadelphia."

"I'm him and I'm ready to leave with you."

"It's my privilege to meet you sir. The traffic is light at this time in the morning; we should be at the train station in about twenty minutes. Admiral Jessup and his personal assistant Captain Charlie Madison are waiting for you there."

Commander Cummings turned to speak to Maria.

"Mrs. Von Trapp, I'll have him home by dinner time."

Maria held a broad smile. This was the first time anyone had addressed her as Mrs. Von Trapp.

"Thank you. I'll be watching for your car."

Commander Cummings knew that Georg out-ranked him and the proper protocol was to open the car's door for him. After closing it he tipped his hat to Maria as he got behind the wheel. He drove away from the house slowly. He would speed up once he was on a city street.

Georg recognized the area as that which the bus driver had taken from the Navy Yard to their home. Commander Cummings continued past the road leading to the Navy Yard.

"Sir, Admiral Jessup is waiting for us at the 30th Street Train Station in the part of Philadelphia named, Center City. There you will board an electric train to Washington DC. It will have you there in two hours."

"Admiral Jessup did tell me the train would have us there in plenty of time for a congressional hearing which begins a ten o'clock."

"That's correct, sir."

The commander now turned off the main street. Georg saw the street sign. It said 30th Street. And now the commander stopped in front of a tall massive brick building.

"Is this the train station?" Georg asked and then added. "I've never seen a train station this big and fancy."

"It is, sir. It's also the home office of the Pennsylvania Rail Road Company. It's a very busy station. Many people from the neighboring state of New Jersey travel here every day for work. Others use this station to make connections with trains leaving here to all parts of America. And still others use the train to come and shop in our fabulous department stores which are all located nearby.

"And I see Admiral Jessup and Lieutenant Commander Charlie Madison are waiting for you. And I'll be here when you return sir. I have a meeting with the port commander."

And the admiral was in a hurry to greet Georg; he barely had time to shake Commander Cumming's hand before the admiral opened the car door. And as soon as Georg got out of the car, the admiral shook his hand.

"I want to thank you for being willing to join me at the hearing; senators always need a lot of convincing before they agree on anything. Your presence will help immensely."

"I'll do what I can, sir."

"Allow me Admiral to also thank the Captain for his willingness to come along. Captain, as the Admiral already knows, I'm not one for being formal. All my fellow officers have always addressed me as Charlie."

"And I'm not really a Captain anymore; that title was lost at the end of the Great War. I prefer Georg."

"Now you gentlemen both know that at the senate hearing I will use your titles."

"Yes, Admiral we know. Now we need to proceed to track number eight. Our train to DC is probably ready to board." Charlie announced.

The Admiral and Georg followed Charlie and as he had told them the train was ready to board. This train had an interesting feature. It had compartments where men could hold meetings; a door could be closed for privacy. And since this was an electric train there wasn't the noise of a train's engine.

Charlie directed them to the first vacant compartment. And even before the train left the station the admiral was discussing how he was going to try and convince the senators to appropriate money to use submarines and torpedoes to push the Germans further from the coastline.

And Charlie added this after the admiral had finished speaking. "Georg, some of the senators on this committee are quite old; they probably know of you and your heroic deeds during the Great War. They may respect your advice."

"As I told Admiral Jessup, I'm willing to help any way I can. What can you tell me about this place Washington DC? We had a Petty Officer named Mike on the USS Columbia who taught us some basic facts about the thirteen colonies but he never mentioned Washington DC. Is this place named for your first President, Washington?"

Charlie answered Georg. "Yes it is. Did Mike tell you our first capital was in Philadelphia?"

"He only told us it was there the Declaration of Independence was written."

"Yes, that's correct. Shortly after America announced its independence, a plot of land was selected to be where all official business of the country would take place. It's not a state but a district. And the C in its name is for the discoverer of this body of land, Columbus.

"The actual plan of the city was designed by a Frenchman named Pierre Charles L'Enfant. The Capital building stands at the very center of the land. From it diagonal avenues named after the states originate and they cut across a grid street system which uses the alphabet for their names. And on these avenues are our important buildings. His plan also called for many public squares and parks. The most famous is the National Mall and its museums and famous statutes.

"From the train station it's only a very short drive to the Senate Office Building. Since I feel the train slowing, we must be close to the terminal. I parked my car in the lot designated for Senators."

The train had entered the station and came to a stop. Since they were in a compartment near the exit, the group was the first to leave the train. Georg and the admiral walked through the main lobby at a leisurely pace.

Charlie had gone on ahead to bring the admiral's car to the front door. And in less than three minutes Charlie was parked in front of another huge building.

This one was constructed of white bricks and was triangular in shape. Its entrance was beneath a large oval window. Above it was a flag pole flying the American Flag. Several steps led to the building's rather plain door.

Charlie opened the door for the Admiral and Georg. They entered into a stately marble rotunda with high ceilings and tall windows. And there were gold-framed mirrors above the mantles over numerous fireplaces. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling.

Georg couldn't help but comment. "This is rather elaborate Admiral. It reminds me of an Austrian Palace."

"It is rather ornate. Men who serve in congress are held in high esteem; senators rank higher than our other governing body, the House of Representatives although their building isn't quite so ornate."

All the time they were talking Charlie was leading them towards the room where the hearing would take place. Once they had arrived there, the admiral spoke

"Georg, you are about to witness the slow workings of a senate hearing. It will take fifteen minutes to call the meeting to order. Sometimes senators even object about that process for no good reason except to delay its beginning.

"I think they do it to have their name recorded to prove they attended but many times they leave and their state's constituents never know they weren't there for the discussion and votes."

"This is all new to me, Admiral Jessup. I hope I can be of help to you."

"I'm sure you will be. Here comes my first challenger."

The man spoke before he could introduce Georg. "Now William, what's this I hear about you needing money to chase German submarines away?"

"Edmon, you're rude as usual. This distinguished gentleman with me is Captain Georg von Trapp; he's the highly decorated submarine commander from the Great War. Our government helped him flee Austria after some hot head captured him and he was on his way to the German Navy Base in Bremerhaven. He was rescued just in time."

Edmon sunk his shoulders. "Sorry sir, William and I usually banter back and forth about appropriations. All senators have the obligation to be judicious with the Federal Government's money."

"As I told Admiral Jessup, this is all new to me. I'll be an interested observer."

Another navy man had been listening to this conversation. He approached Georg.

"Captain, sir allow me to introduce myself. I'm Captain Marvin Ellender. I've served on several ships with Admiral Jessup. I know all about you. I've even read your book. It was my choice in my college German language class.

"I don't remember who wrote the introduction but I do remember what they wrote. You're thought to be a genius. You were always able to find the quickest and the surest way to solve even the most complex problems. And it was your principled, interested and unbiased way you treated your crew, formed from all the countries which made up the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which I found to be most admirable.

"You have amazing skills both technical and the ability to meld a group of men from different nations to work together. Maybe some time we could meet and perhaps go down to the Naval Academy and you could give a lecture to the Midshipmen."

"I'd like that very much but first I need to help the Admiral to convince these men to provide money to at least chase the menacing German submarines back into international water."

"I need to help as well."

Georg witnessed the chairman of the committee use a gavel to call the meeting to order. And as the admiral had predicted it took about fifteen minutes to complete.

The first item to be discussed was Admiral Jessup's request for funding the naval operation known as Torpedo Junction.

After Admiral Jessup described in detail the menacing disruption to normal living the residents of North Carolina were suffering because of the sinking of many vessels by German U-boats, the Senator from North Carolina rose to support the appropriation of funds to chase them back into international water.

There was much discussion. The Admiral asked Georg to speak. When he was introduced, he was given a standing ovation.

He told them. "I know the German leaders. This is only the beginning. Soon you will find Germans living in your coastal cities. They may sabotage your factories, your electric plants and could poison your food supply. This man Hitler is the devil in disguise. He desires an empire like the Roman Empire.

"The money you appropriate for this simple mission will show your nation's strength in deterring his plans for America."

After Georg sat, the chairman immediately called for a vote. The vote was unanimous. And before the hearing was adjourned Admiral Jessup informed them that Georg would travel to North Carolina to see for himself the German activity.

Now all the committee members stood in line to shake Georg's hand and welcome him and his family to America. And before leaving the building they had lunch in the cafeteria of the senate building.

It was after two o'clock by the time they arrived at the train station. They had about a twenty minute wait before their train arrived. Again they sat in a compartment and discussed the hearing.

And Commander Cummings was waiting for them at the 30th Street train station. He had received a telephone call which told him the hearing was over.

All of them traveled to Georg's home. And Maria and the children were outside watching for them. Maria saw the car with the small American Flag on the car's bumper coming down the street.

"Children, stay on the sidewalk your father's car is coming."

Commander Cummings had seen them; he slowed as he approached the house. Once he parked, he was immediately out of the car to open the back door. All three of them emerged.

Admiral Jessup spoke immediately. "I want to tell you Georg's presence made a difference. We got our money."

"That's wonderful Admiral."

"Yes it is. I still want him to visit North Carolina. A submarine will dock at the port of Philadelphia in a few days to take him there.

"Mrs. Von Trapp, I want you to meet Lieutenant Commander Madison, he will be traveling with your husband."

"Hello sir, it's nice to meet the officer who will be with my husband. The children and I will pray for a safe trip."

"I don't expect any encounter with a German submarine. Although our sub will have torpedoes we can use if anything should happen. Georg, as soon as I know the date the submarine will arrive, I'll call you."

"Very well, Charlie, I'll be waiting for your call."

And the family watched the admiral's car go down the street.