To the Last Man - Jeff Shaara [101]
Von Hoeppner laughed, pick up the folder again, said, “Oh, my, no! Certainly not, Captain! I have no doubt that you will always perform exemplary service to the Fatherland. It was something of a controversy here, I admit. There were some who suggested you be assigned to my staff, to do as Captain Boelcke had done, touring aerodromes, an effective tool of morale, or spending your time instructing fighter squadrons. Life is never so fragile as in wartime, Captain. A flyer endangers himself every time he leaves the earth, yes? Forgive me for saying so, but should something unfortunate occur, your loss would be catastrophic not only for the Air Service, but for all of Germany. After much discussion, the final decision was placed on my desk.”
Richthofen felt the room beginning to spin, a swirl of heat rushing through his brain. He wanted to say something, the word rising inside of him. No. Please, no.
“Captain, I have your new orders right here. Despite the judgment of others, I have decided to reorganize the Pursuit Squadrons into larger groups, a Jagdgeschwader, a Hunting Wing, consisting of four squadrons. The first wing will be referred to as JG-1 and will consist of Squadrons Four, Six, Ten, and your Squadron Eleven. While you are enjoying your leave, you will consider who your successor should be for Squadron Eleven. I will accept your recommendation. When your leave concludes, your will assume the organization and command of the entire first wing, JG-1. Congratulations again, Captain.”
Von Hoeppner handed Richthofen the folder, a list of pilots in each of the four squadrons, a roster of their aircraft. He felt himself deflating, a wave of cool relief rushing through him. Von Hoeppner watched him for a moment, said, “I am surprised by your reaction, Captain? I expected you to be more, um, pleased.”
“Sir? Oh, my, yes, thank you. Pleased, indeed. I thought . . . from what you said, I thought you were ordering me not to fly.”
Von Hoeppner laughed. “Yes, well, there were some who suggested precisely that. But I promise you, Captain. You keep shooting down aeroplanes, and no one here will order you out of the air. There is, however, one concession I had to make to the High Command. There is a department that handles those matters of relations between the military and the people. They are designated the Information Section. It is their job to sift through the news that comes from the front lines, to ensure that the morale of the people is not injured.”
Richthofen nodded, thought, Censors.
“They are quite good at their work, and I respect their suggestions.” He sat back in his chair. “I will be frank with you, Captain. It was necessary to make an arrangement between the Air Service and the adjutant general’s office. Call it a compromise. Your command of JG-1 was agreed to by everyone. That you would continue to fly was not. However, fly you will. There is only one condition. Commencing immediately, you will begin writing your memoirs. The Information Section feels that by putting your experiences down on paper, the people will have the opportunity to share in your triumphs and adventures. This will be far more useful than the newspapers. I have to admit, I think it a marvelous idea.”
“Write . . . my memoirs? Sir, how do I do that? I have no idea how to write such a thing.”
“That’s the beauty of this arrangement, Captain. You will have all the help you need. The Information Section will provide you with an assistant, a stenographer. You need only relay your thoughts, the details of your life, each day’s adventures, and someone else will write it down. Later, the ministry will provide a skilled professional to assemble those notes and organize them into a format suitable for publishing. Think of it, Captain. Your life, your accomplishments, your legacy, all on paper, an inspiration for generations to come. In fact, Captain, not only will this be of benefit to Germany, but you could profit as well. Considerably.”
Richthofen sank down in the chair, thought a moment. “I’m not completely comfortable with this, sir. My life