The Final Storm - Jeff Shaara [92]
Nimitz eyed the MPs, thought, oh, for crying out loud. This is ridiculous.
“General Buckner, will you please ask your men to remain outside. We will summon them if needed.”
Buckner seemed suddenly uneasy, as though his bluff had been called.
“Um … of course, Admiral.”
He turned, the men absorbing a look from Buckner that Nimitz couldn’t see. He wants witnesses, Nimitz thought. Maybe he thinks I’m here to relieve him. So, he knows there’s a problem. That’s a start. The aide was out, then the MPs, one of them pulling the door closed behind him. Nimitz felt the air heating up even more, said, “For chrissakes, General, let some air in here. Unless you believe you’ve got a security problem in your own headquarters, we don’t need to seal this place up like a fuel drum. I assume your MPs won’t be lurking outside the door like private eyes, for God’s sake.”
Buckner turned again, self-conscious, seemed to check out beyond the door.
“No, sir. Certainly not. If we need a staff briefing, I’ll summon them.”
Nimitz didn’t wait, motioned toward the map.
“What’s going on in the south, General? Seems to be a lack of progress.”
Buckner seemed surprised that Nimitz had avoided small talk. Buckner was immediately defensive, something Nimitz expected.
“Sir, we are facing a dedicated, fanatical enemy, who has all the good ground. The Japanese have created a massed defensive position that takes full advantage of the assets of the island. Naval intelligence … our intelligence was unable to tell us exactly where they’d be, but we know their positions for certain now. Their plan was most certainly to distract us in the north while they put up a major front across the southern half of the island that would be difficult, no matter which forces attacked them. It’s pretty admirable, actually. I’ll give Ushijima credit for a good plan.”
Nimitz saw a scowl from Vandegrift, said to Buckner, “What about your plan, General?”
Buckner crossed his arms, tilted his head to one side.
“Everything is under control here, sir. Before this is over with, we’ll have destroyed every enemy installation, every hiding place, every defensive position. The Japs have nowhere to run. Your navy boys are doing a fine job with their artillery, and I expect that will continue. There won’t be a building standing in any town on this whole place. We’ll level this place just like Mac did Manila. The enemy will understand that we’re not playing around.”
Nimitz looked down at the table, thought, Manila? MacArthur devastated a glorious, historic city for no good reason, except that he could. And the civilian casualties …
“What of the Okinawan people, General? Our mission here is to capture these islands and eliminate the Japanese. I don’t recall anyone in Washington telling us to eliminate the people who live here.”
Buckner nodded, seemed to concede the point.
“Damn shame. But they chose their lot, sided with the Japanese. Can’t be helped if they’re in the way now. I have given this a great deal of thought, I must admit. I firmly believe that once we have secured this place, we embrace the Okinawan people into some sort of protectorate, making them a part of, well … us. Though of course they would not be granted citizenship, anything like that. The engineers have assured me that this island can support two dozen or more airfields, and we will certainly benefit from the cooperation of the citizens here, labor and whatnot. We must also look to the future, our operations against the Japanese mainland, and even afterward. We must maintain control here,