The Submarine Trip

Wednesday morning came even earlier than it had on Sunday to the house at 252 Merion Road. The children were super excited about going to school.

Even Marta and Gretl were dressed; they had helped each other button the buttons on the back of their dresses. And Isabel had helped them brush their hair. And the older five were also dressed.

Now it was the lack of voices in the hall which encouraged the married couple to get out of bed and dress. Georg had put on his casual clothes; he would change later for his trip to North Carolina on the submarine.

They could hear the children before they came all the way down the stairs. "They're excited Georg."

"I guess so; they're loud enough."

Friedrich spoke the minute he saw them. "We need to eat soon. The school bus comes at seven fifteen."

"That early Friedrich?"

"Yes, we're among the first to be picked up."

"Well, your mother and I want you to be ready on time. I'm sure breakfast is ready."

Liesl had reminded Katia and breakfast was waiting for them. The older three had eaten rather hurriedly. They had been excused to get ready to leave. By the time they returned downstairs everyone had finished eating.

They gathered on the sidewalk and waited for the bus to arrive. It was right on time. The driver stopped and opened the door. After hugs from each parent the three children boarded the bus. Once they were seated it pulled away.

And it was now time for Kurt and Brigitta to walk to their school. The parents walked with them to the street on which it was located.

"Remember, your school is past the elementary school."

"I remember." Kurt answered

And Brigitta commented. "I see a lot of other children on the sidewalk ahead of us. They must be junior high school students; we'll follow them."

"Very well, we'll watch from here."

And now Georg and Maria returned home. Marta and Gretl were outside waiting for them.

"Are you both ready to leave?"

"We are and I remember how to get there." Marta announced proudly.

"Then we'll follow you."

Georg squeezed Maria's hand as the girls began to walk in the direction of the school. The way had become crowded with students the closer they got to the school. And Marta told her mother and father.

"We can go in by ourselves."

"My girls are growing up on their father and mother."

"We are; but next year you will have a baby to watch grow up."

"Yes, your mother and I are eagerly anticipating its birth."

"Girls, I'll be waiting for you when school gets out. Now give your father a kiss; he'll be on his way to see the submarine by that time."

The girls did give him a kiss. They watched the girls enter the school building. Then they walked as couples do back towards their home. This promenade position caused them to walk slower than usual. It also allowed for conversation.

"Maria, I've been thinking about this state, North Carolina. If I remember correctly, from the map Mike had on the ship, there was a strip of islands along this state's coast."

"Yes, I remember seeing them too. Do they concern you?"

"Yes, but I don't know why."

"You'll learn soon enough. I need to get home."

"To use the bathroom?"

"Yes, I had two cups of tea with breakfast."

So the couple picked up their pace and hurried home. Maria went right inside. Georg had heard Stefan and Phillip talking. He went around back to see them.

"Did you deliver the young girls to their school?"

"We did. They asked to go in alone. So we watched from the sidewalk. What are you getting ready to plant?"

"The man at the garden section of Sears told us we can plant strawberries, carrots and broccoli. We're getting the ground ready for each of them. The strawberry plants will probably produce berries in about four weeks; the others take a little longer."

And Phillip asked. "What time is Charlie coming for you?"

"Shortly after noon."

Georg entered the house through the back door which opened into the kitchen. He immediately heard Katia.

"I'm fixing an early lunch for us."

"You read my mind."

"The two men have probably worked up an appetite; they've been working hard."

So, around eleven o'clock all the adults enjoyed a quiet lunch together. And the doorbell chimed shortly after twelve noon.

"That's Charlie. I better get ready to leave."

Georg used the downstairs bathroom to do so. Maria went to speak with Charlie.

"I told the children their father was doing something to help the country who offered us a place to live in freedom. And I know he's excited about traveling in one of the navy's newest submarines."

"The USS Sailfish won't disappoint him. And we both may learn things about the area known as the Outer Banks of North Carolina."

Georg heard the tail end of their conversation. He asked. "Is the Outer Banks the name of the land off the coast of the state?"

"You're correct. On our way down there, I'll tell you about it. And Maria, the submarine will return around noon on Saturday."

"Very well, we'll be here."

Georg and Maria shared a kiss before he entered the car. She watched it until it disappeared back towards the Navy Yard. Now she wondered what Georg would learn about the Outer Banks.

Georg wondered too. But when he saw the USS Sailfish, its size got his attention.

"Charlie I expected it to be bigger than the last one I commanded but it's over twice its length."

"She is impressive. Her length is three hundred and ten feet; the beam is twenty-seven feet. On the surface her maximum speed is twenty-three knots; submerged it's eight knots.

"She can hold more than fifty personnel. She can dive to a maximum of two hundred and fifty feet. Her armament consists of eight torpedo tubes and twenty-four torpedoes as well as deck and machine guns. She's driven by both electric and diesel engines. She also has twin propellers."

"Let's go aboard; the inside is impressive too."

Waiting to greet Georg was the submarine's commanding officer, Rear Admiral Cole. He extended his hand to Georg.

"Welcome aboard, sir. She's ready to leave the dock. We can watch her leave from here."

Soon the water churned near the propellers and the submarine began to move. They stayed on the tower until the ship was headed down the Delaware River towards the Atlantic Ocean. Both the admiral and Georg knew it would take several hours.

The admiral led them down the ladder of the entrance hatch. Once again Georg was amazed at its shinny and colorful interior. And equally amazed at the quarters he would share with Charlie.

The admiral then took them to his expansive wardroom. They sat around a desk looking at the map of North Carolina and the area known as the Outer Banks.

Georg now was very anxious to see for himself this area. He was told the submarine would be lurking off the coast of the Outer Banks sometime during the night. And that a dingy would take them from the sub to the land.

He was so curious about his arrival he had a difficult time falling asleep. At home, Maria was just as bad. She finally slept a few hours before she needed to go to the bathroom; she didn't return to bed. She quietly came down stairs and made herself some tea.

Both stayed busy. And Saturday arrived; Maria, the children and the others waited out front of the house for him to come home. Georg had learned so much that all the way home he was deciding what he should and shouldn't tell everyone.

It became easy for him because the children each had so much to tell him. Later after they went to bed he told the adults all he had learned.

He began with a statement. "You're going to find all that I will tell you is beyond anything you may have thought about. It's worse than even the admiral in command of the submarine knew.

"I met a young girl about the age of Louisa; in fact she was a lot like her. She was daring. She could have easily climbed the trellis to get in your room, Maria. She even rides her pony bareback. Her life is a tad bit sad."

"Why Georg?"

"Maria, it's because her parents were lost at sea when a sudden storm caught them by surprise. Nellie was only three at the time. Her grandfather whom she calls Gramps has raised her. He makes his living by fishing.

"Nellie has a real curious nature. And she doesn't scare easily. You're not going to believe this. There was a shipwreck one night and Nellie and her Gramps heard a feeble cry of a person.

"It was storming that night; neither let it stop them from investigating. First they tripped on some tires which had washed ashore. Then they tripped on a man's head."

"Did you say a man's head?"

"I did, Franz. And the man was alive. They were somehow able to dig him out and get him to their little shack not far from the water. And now, in the dead of night, Nellie got on her pony and rode to get help.

"She sacred the heck out of the guard at the Coast Guard Station; he even pulled his gun from his holster."

"Oh dear!" Maria exclaimed.

"Nellie hurried and told him why she was there. He told her to hurry home on her pony; he was right behind her in his jeep.

"They discovered the man was able to communicate using hand signs. His ship had been wrecked during the bad storm. The guard had called for an ambulance to come take the man to sickbay.

"Before the guard left he told both Nellie and her Gramps not to tell a soul about what had happened. They didn't. But Nellie and her girlfriend did go down to the beach the next day.

"You'll never believe what they found."

"Tell us. Your story can't get any more incredible."

"Well it is. They found a puppy tied to a piece of a window frame. Nellie claimed him; her girlfriend already had four dogs at home. And her Gramps let her keep him. She secretly had him trained by a dog trainer for police dogs.

"I suppose you're going to tell us the dog did something heroic."

"I am, Katia. The dog helped capture a Nazi spy."

"I was joking Georg. What happened next?"

"It was soon learned there were other spies living in an abandoned mansion. They had constructed a radar tower on the home's chimney. It blended in with the tall pine trees around the house. No one except Nellie and girlfriend noticed it. It provided interference so the town's radar couldn't warn the ships of the submarine which was parked on the ocean's floor which would rise at night to let off a torpedo and sink oil tankers or any other ship around, including cruise ships.

"The capture spy was singing like a songbird. The authorities, the navy intelligence men and a group of men from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, surrounded the mansion and captured all five men before they had time to burn the place down. It had already been soaked in gallons of gasoline.

"And Nellie, her girlfriend and Buddy the dog were all awarded medals. And for now, the Germans have left the area. The money Admiral Jessup was given for protecting the North Carolina coast will still be used to provide better patrolling of the area by submarines and destroyers."

"Georg, how much of this are you going to tell the children? You know the older children will ask about your trip."

"I'll tell them about Nellie, her pony which she rides bareback and the dog she found which goes everywhere with her. I think that will satisfy them."

A/N: The story about Nellie was inspired by a short novel I found while searching for facts about the Outer Banks during WW II. Although it was fiction it was based upon true facts. The area had a nickname. It was called Torpedo Junction.